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 don't particularly like the baseball pitcher analogy neither. On that angle, I concur with Maglischo's latest statement on this topic (found in the 3rd edition of his book).
Feet and even hips are so far from the real anchor points in freestyle (namely hands).
Really, I like to use a much simpler analogy to qualify weight shift in swimming freestyle. That of starting a relunctant gazoline fueled "lawn mower". The body twist we typically use to add more power to our motion would equate to the upward body motion while swimming free style.
And for the downward body motion, given that I synchronize it with the downsweep occuring while catching, I would compare it to the action of wedging a waterpolo ball (or a water polo opponent ;) )
I think the weight shift is more of an observation of what is going on that what is really happening. What preceeds that "weight shift" is the body twist. Look at a pitchers back foot. The toes and knee turn in and point toward the plate just before the hips rotate and generate power. Hitting a baseball is the same thing. Toes and knee turn in, hips rotate, arms and hands follow with more force.
I don't see how swimming is all that different. Its harder to see since your upper body is also involved in setting the movement up rather than just following your core. While your kick and opposite arm set up the anchor for the body twist, your hand and forarm are setting up the catch. Then your hips rotate to increase power through the pull.
My experience is far less than those here, but it seems pretty simple to me. Perhaps I am wrong about this?
Kevin
I don't particularly like the baseball pitcher analogy neither. On that angle, I concur with Maglischo's latest statement on this topic (found in the 3rd edition of his book).
Feet and even hips are so far from the real anchor points in freestyle (namely hands).
Really, I like to use a much simpler analogy to qualify weight shift in swimming freestyle. That of starting a relunctant gazoline fueled "lawn mower". The body twist we typically use to add more power to our motion would equate to the upward body motion while swimming free style.
And for the downward body motion, given that I synchronize it with the downsweep occuring while catching, I would compare it to the action of wedging a waterpolo ball (or a water polo opponent ;) )
I think the weight shift is more of an observation of what is going on that what is really happening. What preceeds that "weight shift" is the body twist. Look at a pitchers back foot. The toes and knee turn in and point toward the plate just before the hips rotate and generate power. Hitting a baseball is the same thing. Toes and knee turn in, hips rotate, arms and hands follow with more force.
I don't see how swimming is all that different. Its harder to see since your upper body is also involved in setting the movement up rather than just following your core. While your kick and opposite arm set up the anchor for the body twist, your hand and forarm are setting up the catch. Then your hips rotate to increase power through the pull.
My experience is far less than those here, but it seems pretty simple to me. Perhaps I am wrong about this?
Kevin
