OK this sounds like a stupid question but someone at the pool told me that my hand needs to be open with my fingers apart when I swim. i normally cup it which is what I thought was the best way. Today I tried my fingers together and my thumb out a little bit from the hand.
The cupped hand seemed best but what do the experts say?
Parents
Former Member
Hey y'all. Try this while you're sitting at your computer. Put an elbow on the table and study the hand a little while the forearm is in the up position. If you make a fist, the hand area is as small as it can be. If you open the hand and keep four fingers closed, but relaxed, most of us have a cup shaped hand; if you bring in the thumb and close it next to its neighbor the cup becomes more pronounced. Also, the more relaxed the joints are the deeper the cup becomes, approaching the fist configuration.
Doc Counsilman, in his SCIENCE OF SWIMMING announced his results of his hand studies to show that the cupped hand was less effective than that held straight and that the spreading of fingers was found to be not detrimental. Also the wrist should be straight, especially not hyperextended.
Now, if you'll lay your hand lightly, palm down, on the table, then press down on the knuckles with the fingers of the other hand, you'll see how much bigger an area your hand covers. Your fingers are spread apart, some more than others, seeming to be the best you can do with what you've got.
The question here is whether or not it is worth the extra energy and attention to make the hand thus, bigger. And, yes, how much bigger, since we can actively spred the fingers much more!
I think you'll find that swimming with closed fists, will make your time slower by ten percent, and your stroke count per pool length will increase by ten percent.
Thus, the open hand, cupped as little as possible, extended with a straight wrist, is the best appendage to be using in swimming.
And, since Valhallan brought up, and rightly so, the subject of "elbows up", Doc Counsilman would point out that this can be achieved in the crawl stroke automatically by the thumb first hand entry. If the hand entry is "pinky first" the bending of the elbow to initiate the stroke creates the dreaded "dropped elbow", correctable only by a contortionist.
Hey y'all. Try this while you're sitting at your computer. Put an elbow on the table and study the hand a little while the forearm is in the up position. If you make a fist, the hand area is as small as it can be. If you open the hand and keep four fingers closed, but relaxed, most of us have a cup shaped hand; if you bring in the thumb and close it next to its neighbor the cup becomes more pronounced. Also, the more relaxed the joints are the deeper the cup becomes, approaching the fist configuration.
Doc Counsilman, in his SCIENCE OF SWIMMING announced his results of his hand studies to show that the cupped hand was less effective than that held straight and that the spreading of fingers was found to be not detrimental. Also the wrist should be straight, especially not hyperextended.
Now, if you'll lay your hand lightly, palm down, on the table, then press down on the knuckles with the fingers of the other hand, you'll see how much bigger an area your hand covers. Your fingers are spread apart, some more than others, seeming to be the best you can do with what you've got.
The question here is whether or not it is worth the extra energy and attention to make the hand thus, bigger. And, yes, how much bigger, since we can actively spred the fingers much more!
I think you'll find that swimming with closed fists, will make your time slower by ten percent, and your stroke count per pool length will increase by ten percent.
Thus, the open hand, cupped as little as possible, extended with a straight wrist, is the best appendage to be using in swimming.
And, since Valhallan brought up, and rightly so, the subject of "elbows up", Doc Counsilman would point out that this can be achieved in the crawl stroke automatically by the thumb first hand entry. If the hand entry is "pinky first" the bending of the elbow to initiate the stroke creates the dreaded "dropped elbow", correctable only by a contortionist.
