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?
Former Member
Wasn't Janet Evans a big loper? Far too much is made of this "ideal" stroke and form.
I would say that if something works well for you then do it. Don't worry about what the so called experts say.
I just looked up videos of Janet Evans on youtube after my coach mentioned her this morning. I had never seen her swim before. I'm shocked she went as fast as she did with that stroke!!
I have developed a lope. I think it comes from the slight pause during breathing and the the increased velocity for the entering arm to "catch up" to the leg cycle. This arm velocity causes an increase in momentum and it is taken advantage of with a bit longer and stroger glide. Then the whole thing repeats.
I guess it is OK to a point. Thorpe had none of this and I think his stroke was the most pleasing to watch.
I think at times people tend to overanalyze the technical aspects of stroke work and lose site of a very important element....fluidness. I see this most often in people who breather bilateral (every 3 or 5)....often they are to flat in the water and mechanical.
I'm not saying forget about technique....quite the opposite....but there if a person feels smoother and stronger breathing every 2 strokes.....which will produce a natural lope....and everything "underwater" is being executed properly than it's fine.
Point is....don't be afraid to try things (except breastroke....don't bother with it :) ).....what works for one person is not going to be the same for all.
This is an interesting topic. Personally, I think that if your stroke doesn't cause you pain(like shouler issues) and you are efficient with it, then continue to use it, regardless if it looks pretty or if others think it wrong.
Now with that said, I do think we all should continue to look for ways to improve our strokes. Regardless of how fast we are or how our stroke looks to others, we can always find little(sometimes big) ways to improve what we got.
Perhaps the lope helps a swimmer to establish a good rhythm as well as conserve energy? ....I lope as well.....but of course I'm not "quite" as fast as Phelps. I think it might help to conserve energy by helping to create a more energy efficient stroke ...although I can't say why exactly.....I noticed from my own personal experience that I relax more on my recovery and feel like I'm exerting less energy (but still maintaining the same speed more or less) when I lope vs not loping. Phelps looked very relaxed on the first 150 of that 200....I think the lope may have been more pronounced to stay loose and relaxed (while keeping the recovery relaxed) on that first 150.....hence he saved up energy for the blast of energy he used coming off of the last turn and the all out sprint down the stretch on the last 50 where he really pulled away from Peter V. and the rest of the field. I have witnessed several pretty fast swimmers (usually middle distance to distance swimmers though) growing up that also had a lope in their strokes....I also breathe to one side (as opposed to bilateral breathing) ....and it looked as if Phelps also breathed to one side in that race....perhaps the one sided breathing is connected to the whole energy conserving part of the lope (in the sense that the method doesn't work as well when you breathe bilaterally??)....Just speculating though....but you asked for our feedback...and thats my best guess (and of course I "could" be wrong....but then again its me right.....LOL!!)
Newmastersswimmer
His theory was that loping is actually beneficial and postulated the lope allows swimmers to "ride their own bow wave." It was an interesting theory.
I think this idea has a lot of merit.
The biggest "loper" is not Phelps but Lezak. And he's always been that way.
I don't have a link to it - but if you watch the 4x100 free relay from the Pan Pacifics (the standing world record swim) I think you'll see Phelps with the lope (but still not as much as Lezak). Another interesting part of this race is that the Walker, Jones, Phelps, and Lezak all breathe on just about every stroke the last 50M of their legs.
Other interesting things about these guys:
Lezak does not dolphin kick off the walls. He flutter kicks. So does Vanderkaay.
Phelps has exceptional reach on his pull - watch the underwater youtube video of the recent duel in the pool.
I watched the race in the worlds a few times the other day. It seems to me that Van den Hoogenband was faster between the walls in the first 150 but that Phelps killed him on the turns. On the fourth 50 Phelps obviously had more gas in his tank and pulled away. I'm not an elite swimmer though, so maybe I missed something. Did anyone else get that impression? If that was truly the case maybe the lope in his stroke wasn't all that helpful.
Skip Montanaro
I adressed this same kind of observation in posting #10 above ....only I had the opposite impression in that I conjectured that the lope in his stroke during the first 150 may have allowed him to stay smooth and relaxed (saving and conserving energy) ...and then he used the extra energy he saved on the first 150 to blast the last turn and bolt the last 50 home the way he did....but who knows? It is hard to tell exactly....If the lope helped him to ride his own bow wave as Kirk conjectured, then perhaps he was able to save up extra energy during the first 150?? It is an interesting possibility if nothing else.
Newmastersswimmer
The biggest "loper" is not Phelps but Lezak. And he's always been that way.
Took the words right out my key board. He literally hammers the water...hard to one side. It's a very distinct rhythm.
He went 46 for the 100 meter free (short course)...with a breath every stroke...and a flutter kick of fury the whole way...especially off the walls (no dolphin). He's a virtual wrecking machine.
That said...a lope is very normal. And it appears to be a natural rhythm which helps build momentum during the arm cycle.
Janet Evans has an obvious hitch in her stroke as she pounded her way through the long distance races.
From above water this looks sloppy. But she's moving!
www.youtube.com/watch
Interesting thread. Thanks for the video links. I agree that Phelps had a "lope" in Athens, but it was less obvious. Notice how symmetric Thorpe's stroke was.
Six months ago I switched to bilateral breathing which eliminated my lope, (and helped my shoulders, distributing the load more evenly). On the other hand, I think I do have more of a tendency to swim flat, and of course I get less air.
