I recently had a disagreement with another swimmer about proper fly technique. After the recovery, where do the hands enter the water? I was taught they should enter the water a little wider than your shoulders, but he insisted that they should enter the water closer together, more like 6 inches apart. Which is correct? Does it make a difference whether you're swimming sprint fly or distance fly?
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It's starting to matter since I'm getting pretty good and the body dolphin is now as familiar and ingrained as riding a bike.
The one area that I most experiment with is the underwater positioning and stroke of my hands and arms - and how to get the most for the least. Since the fly is especially tiring, it seems imperative to find the best (and perhaps most economical) underwater motion. This is the first year that I am comfortable with and getting real command of the fly. I haven't watched any video yet this year, so I guess I'm overdue.
Reading this thread just gave me a crazy idea. The hands enter the water softfly with the palms out and down. The trick is to quickly rotate the arms and get the hands in position to pull. Having a narrow entry doesn't help. My crazy idea is to try having the hands enter the water with the palms in (instead of out) and down. This would reduce or eliminate the necessary rotation and should start the pull a little sooner.
Ok. Obviously since nobody is doing it, it's a bad idea. But why? (Looks? which is one reason why the fly is so great.) I guess I should have tried it first, then I'd know?
It's starting to matter since I'm getting pretty good and the body dolphin is now as familiar and ingrained as riding a bike.
The one area that I most experiment with is the underwater positioning and stroke of my hands and arms - and how to get the most for the least. Since the fly is especially tiring, it seems imperative to find the best (and perhaps most economical) underwater motion. This is the first year that I am comfortable with and getting real command of the fly. I haven't watched any video yet this year, so I guess I'm overdue.
Reading this thread just gave me a crazy idea. The hands enter the water softfly with the palms out and down. The trick is to quickly rotate the arms and get the hands in position to pull. Having a narrow entry doesn't help. My crazy idea is to try having the hands enter the water with the palms in (instead of out) and down. This would reduce or eliminate the necessary rotation and should start the pull a little sooner.
Ok. Obviously since nobody is doing it, it's a bad idea. But why? (Looks? which is one reason why the fly is so great.) I guess I should have tried it first, then I'd know?
