I suspect many people (myself included) view the arm
recovery in freestyle as time to give the recovering arm
muscles a little rest.
But consider the possible advantages of working the recovery
a bit harder. (This is at speeds less than sprinting)
(a) The recovering arm could be back in streamline sooner
so less form drag.
(b) The recovering arm will be more free of bubbles
when beginning the catch,
(c) The recovered arm can begin to catch as soon as
the pushing arm leaves the water.
(d) The energy cost of a fast recovery isn't that high.
The recovering arm moves through air not dense water.
(e) Front quadrant swimming is still achieved without introducing
any delay in the pulling arm i.e. you are not waiting
for the recovering arm to "catch-up" before staring the
pull.
Any Comments?!?
Parents
Former Member
Originally posted by 330man
I think that the speed of your recovery should be directly proportional to your stroke turnover rate. As you increase your speed/stroke turnover your recovery will automatically adjust.
The point that I was trying to make was that at a given
stroke rate the speed of the above water recovery could be increased, the underwater propulsive part of the stroke would take the same time. The phase of the stroke that would see a time increase is the underwater reach foward or stretch of the recovering arm before the start of the next stroke.
Yes. I don't understand your A or B. Please clarify what you mean by these.
Sorry I think I could have phased A and B better, here
is what I'm trying to say:
Compare two arm recoveries, one slow, one fast.
Assume the underwater part of the stroke takes
the same time. In the fast recovery the recovering arm
can be returned to the water and placed in a
streamlined position for longer than with a slower easier
recovery. Placing the arm in a streamlined position for
longer has the benefits of (a) reducing form drag for longer.
(b) bubbles trapped by the hand entering the water
have more time to escape, leading to a stronger pull.
Originally posted by 330man
I think that the speed of your recovery should be directly proportional to your stroke turnover rate. As you increase your speed/stroke turnover your recovery will automatically adjust.
The point that I was trying to make was that at a given
stroke rate the speed of the above water recovery could be increased, the underwater propulsive part of the stroke would take the same time. The phase of the stroke that would see a time increase is the underwater reach foward or stretch of the recovering arm before the start of the next stroke.
Yes. I don't understand your A or B. Please clarify what you mean by these.
Sorry I think I could have phased A and B better, here
is what I'm trying to say:
Compare two arm recoveries, one slow, one fast.
Assume the underwater part of the stroke takes
the same time. In the fast recovery the recovering arm
can be returned to the water and placed in a
streamlined position for longer than with a slower easier
recovery. Placing the arm in a streamlined position for
longer has the benefits of (a) reducing form drag for longer.
(b) bubbles trapped by the hand entering the water
have more time to escape, leading to a stronger pull.
