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?
Parents
Former Member
I don't think the straight arm recovery is an issue, but I did wonder about the leading wrist issue. When you enter the water, are your hands bent back, in a limp wrist fashion?
That's how Micahel Phelps "enters", his thumbs (not his thumb-tips but his thump-pads) touch the water's surface first, with his fingers pointing about 89 degrees to his body's longitudinal axis.
Look at the first 20 seconds of
youtube.com/watch
This agrees with the theory of recovery of Freestyle as well:
During recovery, let your shoulders do the work from shoulder to elbow and let the whole region from elbow to fingertips be completely relaxed. Yes, the wrist looks "limpy" as you said, but it really is completely relaxed and not doing any needless "work".
I don't think the straight arm recovery is an issue, but I did wonder about the leading wrist issue. When you enter the water, are your hands bent back, in a limp wrist fashion?
That's how Micahel Phelps "enters", his thumbs (not his thumb-tips but his thump-pads) touch the water's surface first, with his fingers pointing about 89 degrees to his body's longitudinal axis.
Look at the first 20 seconds of
youtube.com/watch
This agrees with the theory of recovery of Freestyle as well:
During recovery, let your shoulders do the work from shoulder to elbow and let the whole region from elbow to fingertips be completely relaxed. Yes, the wrist looks "limpy" as you said, but it really is completely relaxed and not doing any needless "work".
