I have been reading and watching posts and replies, on the General forum, as well as Coaching forum, that seem to dismiss the importance of having developed triceps. I may be wrong, but what I surmised is that even though having a longer stroke is of great importance (and I am an advocate of a longer sroke depending upon the distance and actual stroke being swum), that many people including Kaizen making statements that a long stroke is better, there is much conclusion that "finishing" the stroke lower on the leg has several problems: 1) it takes tricep strength so avoid it and 2) finishing shorter and closer to the waist area is the way to go.
Now granted, a 50 free sprint probably needs a lesser SPL than a 200 or 400, but my concern in this topic is that there may be a message to other swimmers that finishing later on the body requires more strength in the back of the arm (triceps) so avoid it. My Word: Wrong!!
Every great, great swimmer I have ever seen has the arms of Hercules, both in biceps, shoulders and triceps. And even at my older age and a fatter body, the one remaining muscle group that is ripped is the triceps on my arms because they have been trained over years and carry me through even now. Having these great muscles developed continues to aid in my powerfully finishing my stroke and setting up for the next one. Triceps DO provide propulsion in the stroke finish/recovery portion of the stroke, so making sure they are developed, as well as other components of your body, is extremely important. Just one swimmer's point of view....and open for discussion.....
donna
I think you need those triceps. I do the dip assist, tricep kickbacks or tricep extensions. I think the finish of freestyle is essentially a tricep extension. Plus, tricep work is good for shoulders. My ART guy recently said to me that, when the shoulders start hurting, better do more tricep kickbacks.
The issue of the "finish" is a slippery ground. Everyone disagrees about how to optimize the pulling range. I personally think sprinters are finishing their strokes, and taking long, powerful, high SR strokes. So I will keep finishing mine and using my triceps. I guess if you swim mid-to-long distance, you may be early exiting and throwing forward more with a catch up style in front. I think I adjust my style a bit in practice (along with the SPL) depending on the distance I'm swimming. I have heard people say that, if you want to minimize shoulder issues, you can't have both a long finish in front and a long finish in back. I don't know. Even people that are early exiting look like they have some kind of follow through to the exit ... (I also wonder whether the overhead extension in front is harder on shoulders? Or maybe it's just the shorter stroke is easier on shoulders? My shoulders just don't like freestyle much at all.)
This is definitely one of those different strokes for different folks issues. I guess I'd like to keep my triceps strong.
I think you need those triceps. I do the dip assist, tricep kickbacks or tricep extensions. I think the finish of freestyle is essentially a tricep extension. Plus, tricep work is good for shoulders. My ART guy recently said to me that, when the shoulders start hurting, better do more tricep kickbacks.
The issue of the "finish" is a slippery ground. Everyone disagrees about how to optimize the pulling range. I personally think sprinters are finishing their strokes, and taking long, powerful, high SR strokes. So I will keep finishing mine and using my triceps. I guess if you swim mid-to-long distance, you may be early exiting and throwing forward more with a catch up style in front. I think I adjust my style a bit in practice (along with the SPL) depending on the distance I'm swimming. I have heard people say that, if you want to minimize shoulder issues, you can't have both a long finish in front and a long finish in back. I don't know. Even people that are early exiting look like they have some kind of follow through to the exit ... (I also wonder whether the overhead extension in front is harder on shoulders? Or maybe it's just the shorter stroke is easier on shoulders? My shoulders just don't like freestyle much at all.)
This is definitely one of those different strokes for different folks issues. I guess I'd like to keep my triceps strong.
