A few weeks ago at a masters workout (I am usually on my own) the coach had us do a 10 2 drill, which I hadn't done before. The idea was to swim free with your arms entering the water at 10 and 2 o'clock to avoid crossing the center line. It felt quite weird. Since that time I have been tracking my stroke more, and I think I do cross the center line, or at least run right along it. The other day I tried to focus on brushing my thumbs along the sides of the black stripe on the bottom of the pool, leaving the stripe itself untouched until my hands/arms passed out of my vision and under my body.
Here's my question. The fact that even this adjustment feels a little weird suggests that maybe I cross the line more than I recognize. What are the physics of this, and should I be trying to reform my stroke in this way? Is this a big deal, or one of the idiosyncracies that we all have?
Thanks!
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Former Member
I worked on this yesterday. I think there are two issues: one, the position of the hand/arm when it enters the water, and two, the pull under the surface (which relates to the s-curve thing.) I think what I have recognized is that my hands have tended to enter the water close to the center line, crossing over soon after entry below the surface. This produces something like the "fishtail" effect described above. So for me, the entry point has to move out away from the center line, making the 10 2 or the "train track" a good image to work with, at least for me.
A piece of advice:
Read forums.usms.org/showpost.php
It's an article about EVF (Early Vertical Forearm). After reading it (and other articles by USMS user tomtopo and articles in general about EVF) you'll find a possible cure for "crossing the line". Mind you, it's one point of view. Different coaches have different points of view and/or methods. And you'll find that EVF is a bit of a grey area. After becoming more familiar with it, you'll also start noticing that some swimmers (Ian Thorpe and Grant Hackett) who use this method or style, have a more pronounced EVF or more-pronounced-elbow-to-forearm angle in one arm than the other.
Good luck
I worked on this yesterday. I think there are two issues: one, the position of the hand/arm when it enters the water, and two, the pull under the surface (which relates to the s-curve thing.) I think what I have recognized is that my hands have tended to enter the water close to the center line, crossing over soon after entry below the surface. This produces something like the "fishtail" effect described above. So for me, the entry point has to move out away from the center line, making the 10 2 or the "train track" a good image to work with, at least for me.
A piece of advice:
Read forums.usms.org/showpost.php
It's an article about EVF (Early Vertical Forearm). After reading it (and other articles by USMS user tomtopo and articles in general about EVF) you'll find a possible cure for "crossing the line". Mind you, it's one point of view. Different coaches have different points of view and/or methods. And you'll find that EVF is a bit of a grey area. After becoming more familiar with it, you'll also start noticing that some swimmers (Ian Thorpe and Grant Hackett) who use this method or style, have a more pronounced EVF or more-pronounced-elbow-to-forearm angle in one arm than the other.
Good luck
