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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... Is straight arm fly really hard on the shoulders? Should we be leading with the elbows instead of the wrists?... Thoughts?
I should have every excuse to not be able to do fly without (further) damaging my shoulders, but I’ve developed a pretty decent fly technique in recent years. (Not long lasting, but it is decent form.)
I do a straight arm recovery, and near as I can tell I turn my hands palm down the instant they clear the water (if not sooner). My arthritic damaged shoulders won’t allow anything else. I can do 25’s for as much as I have wind for, I can do 50’s as much as I care to. 100’s are a challenge, but doable. I’m gonna (probably) try a 200 again someday (soon?). I can’t imagine doing a 1Kyd/m fly, not in this lifetime. But if I do it in moderation I can keep it looking and feeling good and not feel like I’m overstressing my shoulders.
Most vids and photos I see are flyers arms exiting straight armed, leading the recovery with the wrist, which makes a lot of sense (and looks good too ;-). I see some flyers exiting with an elbow 1st recovery. These swimmers always look super smooth and relaxed in their fly, like they could do it all day long. Haven’t quite figured out how this is done other than that they must have super flexible shoulders.
IMHO the only points of real concern are what you do to exit and enter the water with your arms, what you do in-between doesn't matter near as much (unless you are looking for some sort of record I reckon).
Arm position in the recovery can have an effect on body position, which is oh so critical in fly, but while we are all similar, we are not all the same.
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
...
... Is straight arm fly really hard on the shoulders? Should we be leading with the elbows instead of the wrists?... Thoughts?
I should have every excuse to not be able to do fly without (further) damaging my shoulders, but I’ve developed a pretty decent fly technique in recent years. (Not long lasting, but it is decent form.)
I do a straight arm recovery, and near as I can tell I turn my hands palm down the instant they clear the water (if not sooner). My arthritic damaged shoulders won’t allow anything else. I can do 25’s for as much as I have wind for, I can do 50’s as much as I care to. 100’s are a challenge, but doable. I’m gonna (probably) try a 200 again someday (soon?). I can’t imagine doing a 1Kyd/m fly, not in this lifetime. But if I do it in moderation I can keep it looking and feeling good and not feel like I’m overstressing my shoulders.
Most vids and photos I see are flyers arms exiting straight armed, leading the recovery with the wrist, which makes a lot of sense (and looks good too ;-). I see some flyers exiting with an elbow 1st recovery. These swimmers always look super smooth and relaxed in their fly, like they could do it all day long. Haven’t quite figured out how this is done other than that they must have super flexible shoulders.
IMHO the only points of real concern are what you do to exit and enter the water with your arms, what you do in-between doesn't matter near as much (unless you are looking for some sort of record I reckon).
Arm position in the recovery can have an effect on body position, which is oh so critical in fly, but while we are all similar, we are not all the same.
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
...
