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
Have you been drinking the Jimi koolaid again? Drylands, including push ups, do have some correlation to swim speed. That's why all the speedy swimmers do them. I'm not sure I'd ever take a drink handed to me by Jimi, I do believe in drylands and I do believe well-developed triceps are important to swimming fast. I also agree there's a variant of a pushup that can target the tris. I just don't think that the classic pushup is particularly focused on the tris or particularly great for swimming. I also can't do many, never have been able to do many and don't recall many of my speedier teammates back in the day or today calling out a pushup as a key component of their training regimen. I think they are great for fitness, but still don't believe the ability to do them and do many of them is a necessary condition to swimming fast.
Have you been drinking the Jimi koolaid again? Drylands, including push ups, do have some correlation to swim speed. That's why all the speedy swimmers do them. I'm not sure I'd ever take a drink handed to me by Jimi, I do believe in drylands and I do believe well-developed triceps are important to swimming fast. I also agree there's a variant of a pushup that can target the tris. I just don't think that the classic pushup is particularly focused on the tris or particularly great for swimming. I also can't do many, never have been able to do many and don't recall many of my speedier teammates back in the day or today calling out a pushup as a key component of their training regimen. I think they are great for fitness, but still don't believe the ability to do them and do many of them is a necessary condition to swimming fast.
