I'm a straight arm flyer and lead with my wrists. I was told by a very knowledgable person that this might be hard on the shoulders if you're not flexible (Although personally I am very flexible and loosey goosey, so I don't feel like I'm straining anything.)
So do others think straight arm fly is actually hard on the shoulders? Should we be leading with the elbows instead of the wrists? This seems odd to me. From what I can tell, Michael Phelps has a straight arm fly. I'll have to look at Crocker again. Thoughts?
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Former Member
I'm a straight-arm flyer with TWO damaged shoulders from rotator cuff injuries from long ago. I lead with my wrists. I have no problem with shoulders during fly & I did a 1000 fly at a meet last year. However, rotator cuff strengthening exercises are a routine part of my training.
I have much more trouble with freestyle but only on the recovery part of the stroke, where one arm wants to drop out of the shoulder socket on occasion.
I'm a straight-arm flyer with TWO damaged shoulders from rotator cuff injuries from long ago. I lead with my wrists. I have no problem with shoulders during fly & I did a 1000 fly at a meet last year. However, rotator cuff strengthening exercises are a routine part of my training.
I have much more trouble with freestyle but only on the recovery part of the stroke, where one arm wants to drop out of the shoulder socket on occasion.
