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?!?
Interesting link, George, but it doesn't really seem to address what you said. What I get out of it is that we propel ourselves in the water by applying a force against the water. To swim faster you need to maximize the force against the water while transferring as little kinetic energy to the water as possible since moving the water backward is "wasted energy." In swimmers or coaches terminology this would mean don't let your hand "slip" during the pull.
Interesting link, George, but it doesn't really seem to address what you said. What I get out of it is that we propel ourselves in the water by applying a force against the water. To swim faster you need to maximize the force against the water while transferring as little kinetic energy to the water as possible since moving the water backward is "wasted energy." In swimmers or coaches terminology this would mean don't let your hand "slip" during the pull.
