I know that in the "wave" breaststroke you should not come up too high because your hip sinks, so one should not over emphasize the out-of-water part of the wave.
But then, what about the in-the-water part of the wave? How much should you undulate?
I know that I should move forward, but then I see like some of the other great breaststrokers, like Oleg Lisogor, Mark Warnecke and Polyakov, they undulate going up and down a lot. Especially in the Shanghai World Cup you could see Lisogor and Polyakov's butts coming out of the water on every stroke, and the same was for Warnecke in 2005's World Championships.
So basically, to wave or not to wave, that is the question. Does it also depend on the swimmer's body type and everything?
One more quickie question: I also saw on the videos Lisogor's hips were VERY shallow in the water and he seems to be skimming ont he water. He also has this beautiful forward arched-back lunge movement and his hip STILL stays high. How can I practice that?
Incidentally, I saw this on wikipedia today:
Professional breaststrokers utilize abdominal muscles and hips to add extra power to the kick, although most do not perfect this technique until the collegiate level.
Due to the nature of wikipedia I didn't believe it immediately. Is this true? If so, how are those muscles and hips used?
Thanks everyone.
I gotta agree with Bud. I was trying underwater dolphin kick (on my belly) and going nowhere. (Fish flopping on a dock comes to mind.) After experimenting, I am finally coordinated enough to undulate down the pool... Just moving the hips up and down won't work unless you can channel that into forward motion.
As for the over-the-water hand lunge, I'll trust what Nadine said at her clinic. The emphasis is not getting the hands out of the water. Instead, their upper body is high enough (as part of the lunge), that their normal hand recovery is (naturally) out of the water.
I gotta agree with Bud. I was trying underwater dolphin kick (on my belly) and going nowhere. (Fish flopping on a dock comes to mind.) After experimenting, I am finally coordinated enough to undulate down the pool... Just moving the hips up and down won't work unless you can channel that into forward motion.
As for the over-the-water hand lunge, I'll trust what Nadine said at her clinic. The emphasis is not getting the hands out of the water. Instead, their upper body is high enough (as part of the lunge), that their normal hand recovery is (naturally) out of the water.
