Everyone who watched coverage of the World Championships this year no doubt noticed Michael Phelps new distinct lope in his freestyle. I know a lot of other swimmers do this too, and their freaking fast, so this morning I asked my coach about it. She looked at me quizzically and said it's a very bad habit to have and if you don't do it naturally just forget about it.
But, Phelps didn't have this very obvious lope up to now, and he just broke 5 world records with it. So it doesn't seem like it can be that bad. I'm not to prove my coach wrong, I'm just curious.
So if anybody knows anything, please share. Why does it make some fast and for others it could be considered a bad habit? What's the trick to learning it? If it is a bad habit, why did Phelps bother to pronounce it?
Parents
Former Member
I don't think Phelps went out and said "Bob, I want to develop a lope in my stroke. Horses do it, so maybe I should follow suit."
I find myself swimming with a lope at times when I drive one arm forward stronger than the other. It seems to conserve energy and take me further with less energy expended. My guess would be that Phelps drives forward more strongly with one arm than the other which produces the side effect of swimming with a lope.
I don't think Phelps went out and said "Bob, I want to develop a lope in my stroke. Horses do it, so maybe I should follow suit."
I find myself swimming with a lope at times when I drive one arm forward stronger than the other. It seems to conserve energy and take me further with less energy expended. My guess would be that Phelps drives forward more strongly with one arm than the other which produces the side effect of swimming with a lope.
