In an effort to correct a "dropped elbow" problem with my stroke, I have been swimming a lot of laps with closed fists--to a point where I can swim almost as fast doing this drill as normal swimming. I do find I have to concentrate hard on extending the arm on both the beginning and end of the underwater portion of the stroke--maybe something about not having the fingers extending as usual from the hand makes the stroke feel shorter.
This drill definitely helps keep your elbow high and forces you to use your forearm and back muscles for propulsion. I've found it also seems to reduce post-workout twinges in the shoulder/rotator cuff area.
My question is: Would doing a lot of fist drill laps have the potential to create some other bad habit, perhaps in compensation for the lack of hand surface, that I might not be aware of? I try to keep everything else about my technique the same. Thanks for any thoughts on this.
Parents
Former Member
Wow! It seems we have a little interest in lightly closed fists in swimming drills. I'll try not to be boring, but my notes show that I have been doing this in every workout since 1972 when I discovered that it was the only way to prevent my hands from becoming completely numb, i.e. from "falling asleep" when swimming distances over one or two hundred yards or meters.
It is always the first thing I do when I jump in. Fifty of each stroke with fists, alternating 25's of butterfly and back strokes!
Quite by chance, this morning I changed things a bit, swimming 25 meters short course, breathing with each catch-up fist stroke.
Each stroke was held with both arms extended forward until I stopped dead in the water until the next stroke was taken. I did this for four lengths, starting left hand first, then right hand first, etc. This way I compensated for the possible advantage of going faster one way over the other. My stroke count mainly showed that as I warmed up my strokes got to be fewer per length. They were in order, 27, 23, 17, and 19.
Next I decided to try something different, fist-catchup-onearm only. With the count being 18 with left only, and 19 1/2 with right only. (the 1/2 because it was so short a distance). At this point my lane partner went home leaving me the chance to have a calmer lane, and my strokes were 16 left, and 17 right.
I should add that all this was done with crawl stroke wuthout any kind of leg help, not even a pull bouy at this time. Not only do I always my 200 warmup without kicking, but also at the present time with the burden of recovering from hip replacement surgery.
I completed my workout with 4x25 meters each of the other three strokes with fists, then openhanded 8x25 butterfly and a 50 free sprint. Warm down with 150 fists free. Time to go.
Lookout yez don't get wet.
Wow! It seems we have a little interest in lightly closed fists in swimming drills. I'll try not to be boring, but my notes show that I have been doing this in every workout since 1972 when I discovered that it was the only way to prevent my hands from becoming completely numb, i.e. from "falling asleep" when swimming distances over one or two hundred yards or meters.
It is always the first thing I do when I jump in. Fifty of each stroke with fists, alternating 25's of butterfly and back strokes!
Quite by chance, this morning I changed things a bit, swimming 25 meters short course, breathing with each catch-up fist stroke.
Each stroke was held with both arms extended forward until I stopped dead in the water until the next stroke was taken. I did this for four lengths, starting left hand first, then right hand first, etc. This way I compensated for the possible advantage of going faster one way over the other. My stroke count mainly showed that as I warmed up my strokes got to be fewer per length. They were in order, 27, 23, 17, and 19.
Next I decided to try something different, fist-catchup-onearm only. With the count being 18 with left only, and 19 1/2 with right only. (the 1/2 because it was so short a distance). At this point my lane partner went home leaving me the chance to have a calmer lane, and my strokes were 16 left, and 17 right.
I should add that all this was done with crawl stroke wuthout any kind of leg help, not even a pull bouy at this time. Not only do I always my 200 warmup without kicking, but also at the present time with the burden of recovering from hip replacement surgery.
I completed my workout with 4x25 meters each of the other three strokes with fists, then openhanded 8x25 butterfly and a 50 free sprint. Warm down with 150 fists free. Time to go.
Lookout yez don't get wet.
