Stroke length question

You know, I'm not saying you're a bad swimmer. Pardon me if I use the expression "major technical flaw". English is a second language therefore I sometimes lack those important "shades of gray" when comes the time to find qualificative attributes. That's fine, I always think I am a bad swimmer :( . I wish somebody could take a vedio for me. Unfortunately, I swim all by myself and the pool is very busy. I have a vedio taken long time ago; however, I have changed a lot since then.

Leiming The pressure on your shoulder probably results because you are trying to improve stroke length by pushing water towards your feet more forcefully, which I think is a common instinct. That instinct results from thinking that stroke length is "how far you can push water back." It's not. Stroke length is "how far your body travels from one right (or left) hand entry to the next." And the distance your body travels in each stroke cycle will be influenced most by reducing drag and working WITH the water. Try this as an experiment in your next practice. Swim more quietly than usual. At all speeds. It will be easier at slower speeds and will require intense concentration at higher speeds. Compare your stroke count -- as well as other factors like sense of effort, pressure on your shoulder, how well you feel the water -- when swimming "silently" with that when you pay no attention to how much noise you make. Please let us know if anything changes as a result. Thanks Terry, I will try that today. Now I wonder how I can stroke fast, yet quietly.

Hi Leiming, One thing to watch for with shoulder pain is that you're not letting your leading arm drift back up towards the surface at the beginning of each stroke. When your hand drifts up, your elbow drops down and that puts your shoulder in a very vulnerable position for the start of each pull cycle. I don't have much background in competitive swimming as a kid, but I did swim for my high school team my senior year and my coach emphasized long strokes and a low stroke count. Unfortunately, the coach did not provide any useful info on how to actually achieve a low stroke count. In trying to stretch out my stroke, I started letting my hand slide up to try and 'ride' the glide a bit more. Looking back, this action caused a very sore right shoulder. I find now if I focus on keeping the elbow up (and the hand down), and not overwork the catch, I can keep my shoulders from hurting. Hope this makes sense and good luck. Carrie You are definitely right. I strech out and my right hand is less patient than my left. Since I breath to my right side, I start my right pull eagerly to aviod the deceleration. But if I wait my elbow up, wouldn't that hurt speend during that waiting period?