When I swim breaststroke, I use the outsweep and insweep type of pull. I don't focus on pulling back at all. I read it somewhere that you should also focus on pulling back. WHen I tried doing that, my hands got stuck and my timing is off. Anyone has any thoughts?
Also, how wide should you pull? I sweep out to 12-15 inches outside my shoulder width, anchor my hands, then start insweep? I am concerned it might be too wide. When I tried anchoring my hands narrower, I don't feel as powerful of an insweep.
Thanks.
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Former Member
Originally posted by Allen Stark
I am glad your stroke is feeling better. Drag propulsion means using your hands as paddles. Lift propulsion is,for practical purposes,sculling. You use your hands like propellers. It's called lift as the force is similar to what lifts an airplane wing. There is a heated debate as to which is more important in swimming. I suspect you are generating more force with your new pull than you think. Try just doing the pull and see. If you are doing the heart shaped pull remember to accelerate through the pull so that the insweep is the strongest part.
Thanks for putting this into the perspective of lift vs. propulsion. I didn't think of it that way, but now it makes more sense.
Can you elaborate more on how this is similar to what lifts airplane wings. I am not sure how that works either. :confused:
I sweep my hands out and sweep my hands in toward my chin or chest with my palms pointed half way toward each other and half way facing back (like a 45 degree angle). There is this natural force that's lifting. I don't have to do much else and my head and shoulder are out of water. How is that force generated? Is it because your palms are pushing water in and up during the insweep?
Originally posted by Allen Stark
I am glad your stroke is feeling better. Drag propulsion means using your hands as paddles. Lift propulsion is,for practical purposes,sculling. You use your hands like propellers. It's called lift as the force is similar to what lifts an airplane wing. There is a heated debate as to which is more important in swimming. I suspect you are generating more force with your new pull than you think. Try just doing the pull and see. If you are doing the heart shaped pull remember to accelerate through the pull so that the insweep is the strongest part.
Thanks for putting this into the perspective of lift vs. propulsion. I didn't think of it that way, but now it makes more sense.
Can you elaborate more on how this is similar to what lifts airplane wings. I am not sure how that works either. :confused:
I sweep my hands out and sweep my hands in toward my chin or chest with my palms pointed half way toward each other and half way facing back (like a 45 degree angle). There is this natural force that's lifting. I don't have to do much else and my head and shoulder are out of water. How is that force generated? Is it because your palms are pushing water in and up during the insweep?
