I have recently become aware that i was slipping water during the underwater pull. This was happening because I have unusual flexibility in my hand.
I can lay my hand flat on a surface and raise my fingers up to 45 degrees while keeping my palm flat. They will bend back to 90 degrees from the palm with some pressure.
I had read "Colwin's" info on hand position in "breakthrough swimming". This discusses whether the hand should be cupped or flat for good propulsion during swimming. I was also watching a sequence in "New ideas in free & back" by "Marty Hull" where he has the swimmers deliberately " SLIP " water during the pull. They did this by allowing the hand to bend back from the arm.
When i was next in the water I checked my hand position and during the pull my fingers bent back quite far, even though my palm was still at 90 degrees to the water. This allowed the pressure against the water to " flow away".
New fluid dynamics research has shown that the water pressure flows from the fingers up the hand and to the forearm. If the fingers are not slightly cupped then this flow cannot happen as effectively and pressure against the water is lost.
I realised that I was swimming with only my palm (and forearm) providing propulsion. I corrected by making a real effort to slightly cup my fingers and instantly I held more strongly onto the water. My stroke count dropped by 1 - 2 strokes per 25m and my time was 5% less.
I have a meet coming up and I will see then whether my race times will drop after making these changes. Has anyone else noticed this effect while they are swimming ?
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Former Member
In swimming you do the same thing and at this point the shoulder enters the process by continuing the stroke to the point where the hand is fully extended. In practice I try to touch the outside of my knee on each stroke,
In "Swimming fastest" 'Maglischo cautions against fully extending the arm at the end of the stroke. The reason is that there is upward movement of the fore-arm against the water as the hand moves past the hip. Even if the hand is kept vertical by flexing at the wrist, the drag created by the fore-arm moving up is greater than the extra propulsion generated by the hand pushing thru to close to the knee.
He suggests stopping the push backward at the hip, basically when the forearm and hand are still vertical. This also makes the recovery faster and can help to keep a higher stroke rate.
He is very concerned in the arm action on all 4 strokes to avoid exerting force against the water when the forearm is not vertical.
The thumb down entry if too pronounced can cause shoulder impingement. I am now teaching a hand entry that is almost flat, thumb slightly down to save stress on the shoulders.
I was demonstrating the arm action in exactly the way you described in your post.
In swimming you do the same thing and at this point the shoulder enters the process by continuing the stroke to the point where the hand is fully extended. In practice I try to touch the outside of my knee on each stroke,
In "Swimming fastest" 'Maglischo cautions against fully extending the arm at the end of the stroke. The reason is that there is upward movement of the fore-arm against the water as the hand moves past the hip. Even if the hand is kept vertical by flexing at the wrist, the drag created by the fore-arm moving up is greater than the extra propulsion generated by the hand pushing thru to close to the knee.
He suggests stopping the push backward at the hip, basically when the forearm and hand are still vertical. This also makes the recovery faster and can help to keep a higher stroke rate.
He is very concerned in the arm action on all 4 strokes to avoid exerting force against the water when the forearm is not vertical.
The thumb down entry if too pronounced can cause shoulder impingement. I am now teaching a hand entry that is almost flat, thumb slightly down to save stress on the shoulders.
I was demonstrating the arm action in exactly the way you described in your post.
