After reading Khodo's thread on Turetski, I thought it might be interesting to chat about what each of us does with our hands on the entry, as well as throughout the stroke.
The first thing I look for in my hand position is zero bubbles coming from any of the fingers. To do this, I have made adjustments throughout my years of swimming and have decided that, for me, I swim with my hands (and my feet) as loose appendages; nothing is fixed. I had found that having a strict fixed hand position tires my forearm, then tires my upper arm, and finally my shoulder. Having my hands relaxed seemed to be key. My hand position does change slightly if I have to sprint, but basically my hand enters either flat, thumb away from the hand (to the left), or at a slightly downward angle, thumb first. I seem to get the same results from either position as to the setup for the catch and then the pull.
Toward the recovery of the stroke, my hand is slightly more vertical than horizontal right before it exits the water. And during the recovery into the next stroke, my hand is so loose it looks like it could flop around if I let it.
I think a cupped hand will make a tired swimmer.
I find that doing pulling breathing sets allows me to be more focused on my hand position because my face is in the water for longer periods of time, so I get two for the price of one using this drill.
Your thoughts?
Parents
Former Member
Every stroke phase involves three ingredients....The catch, the pull...and the push. The catch is most important in getting an initial grip on the water. Once the hand enters...it's got to get a hold of still water (like a rung on a ladder) and hold it's position.
Once underwater...the hand sometimes sweeps outward in a sculling motion to obtain the grip...and then the arm starts to ride over the spot where the imaginary ladder was first latched onto. A nice loose hand entry with the palm tilted ever so slightly outward commonly used. If the hands are tight, the arms will be tight...and tension causes strain and fatigue...aside from shortening the stroke.
Any occurrence of turbulence and bubbles is a sign that the hand entry is not as smooth as it should be.
The ideal "grip" involves staying smooth from the onset of each hand entry.
My :2cents: for today.
Every stroke phase involves three ingredients....The catch, the pull...and the push. The catch is most important in getting an initial grip on the water. Once the hand enters...it's got to get a hold of still water (like a rung on a ladder) and hold it's position.
Once underwater...the hand sometimes sweeps outward in a sculling motion to obtain the grip...and then the arm starts to ride over the spot where the imaginary ladder was first latched onto. A nice loose hand entry with the palm tilted ever so slightly outward commonly used. If the hands are tight, the arms will be tight...and tension causes strain and fatigue...aside from shortening the stroke.
Any occurrence of turbulence and bubbles is a sign that the hand entry is not as smooth as it should be.
The ideal "grip" involves staying smooth from the onset of each hand entry.
My :2cents: for today.
