I have been endeavouring to improve my freestyle stroke for some time and am now confused. I am hoping someone may have some advice.
For years I just swam thinking all I had to do was rotate my arms and kick to get to the other end. Once I could get to the other end I began to focus on technique.
I read Terry Laughlin's total immersion aiming to increase stroke length by fully extending the leading arm and practising front quandrant swimming by only commencing the catch and pull when the other arm "caught up" to the leading arm.
I have also been in a technique class however they suggest the leading arm should not be extended but should remain curved as the leading hand enters the water. They suggest the catch and pull should commence as soon as the leading hand enters the water. This is a completely different technique to that explained in Total Immersion.
I understand there are different techniques and suspect it is a matter of identifying what works best for the individual. I would be interested in other swimmers views and which technique they prefer.
Regards - John
Parents
Former Member
Originally posted by dead fish
But as a form of true training it has never been shown that what you do at slow purposeful effort has any cross over to improved fast performance. This is not only true in swimming but every other sport.
Grasshopper -
Here is a quick way to convince yourself that this is wrong: Pick a fight with a Tai Chi master. You will have a lot of time during your recovery to re-examine the "slow doesn't translate to fast performance" idea.
Also, it is NOT true in all sports. The best racewalking coaches teach kids in exactly this way. The Russians have done it that way for decades.
In both cases, I speak from experience.
-LBJ
Originally posted by dead fish
But as a form of true training it has never been shown that what you do at slow purposeful effort has any cross over to improved fast performance. This is not only true in swimming but every other sport.
Grasshopper -
Here is a quick way to convince yourself that this is wrong: Pick a fight with a Tai Chi master. You will have a lot of time during your recovery to re-examine the "slow doesn't translate to fast performance" idea.
Also, it is NOT true in all sports. The best racewalking coaches teach kids in exactly this way. The Russians have done it that way for decades.
In both cases, I speak from experience.
-LBJ
