I am trying to improve my freestyle. I have been working on balance,timing,counting strokes.
When watching videos of world classs swimmers, I noticed that on swimmers like Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte, that their arm in the water is fully extended(straight) and angled below the corresponding shoulder. It looks as though the arm that is about to catch the water is angled to where it points towards where the pool wall and pool bottom meet. Not pointed directly down but not pointed directly straight out from the shoulder to the wall.
It seems like most of the best freestylers have their extended arms pointed below their bottom shoulder at an angle before the pull. This also appears to only happen once they have finished the rotation to that side.
Has anyone else noticed this or am I way off?
Thanks,
David
Parents
Former Member
I enter front quadrant with both hands in front at the same time. I tend to pull back straight without the S movement. I only breathe on the left side. I try and exit with a push with an imaginary thumb stroking my thigh. I am 55 and am not about to do breathing on both sides. I do however "fake" and roll the right shoulder up most of the time. Presently I am doing 33 seconds for the 50 meters short course. Questions:
1- Should I try and do the S (sculling) with my hand and forearms even though risking going past my midline?
2- Should I exit my hand all the way down from the thigh or should I try and exit around the waist as I have read somewhere some swimmers do?
3- Should I try and swim clean and with technique and with a constant kicking motion, even when swimming the 50 meters? In other words will I be faster going all out with fast turnover of arms or is it better to swim as if I were swimming longer, however with an obvious better effort. Thanks, I race the 50 (and 100) tomorrow at 15:00 (3 hours left of GMT) and hope to get answers and use them...billy fanstone
I enter front quadrant with both hands in front at the same time. I tend to pull back straight without the S movement. I only breathe on the left side. I try and exit with a push with an imaginary thumb stroking my thigh. I am 55 and am not about to do breathing on both sides. I do however "fake" and roll the right shoulder up most of the time. Presently I am doing 33 seconds for the 50 meters short course. Questions:
1- Should I try and do the S (sculling) with my hand and forearms even though risking going past my midline?
2- Should I exit my hand all the way down from the thigh or should I try and exit around the waist as I have read somewhere some swimmers do?
3- Should I try and swim clean and with technique and with a constant kicking motion, even when swimming the 50 meters? In other words will I be faster going all out with fast turnover of arms or is it better to swim as if I were swimming longer, however with an obvious better effort. Thanks, I race the 50 (and 100) tomorrow at 15:00 (3 hours left of GMT) and hope to get answers and use them...billy fanstone
