How far should hand move during last phase of stroke?
Former Member
Hi everyone-
I am new here and have been wondering something and there seems to be a lot of differing opinion on this. I am asking about the last phase of the stroke (freestyle) after you have had a strong catch and are pulling through---how far should you pull through? Should your hand stop at the waist or should it push through until you lose grip on the water (past the waist)?
I have heard/read both opinions but wondered if there is a general consensus on this now. Thanks for your help.
Well that is an interesting question and the answer is.........
It depends. For sprinting you want to have as long a stroke as possible in order to maximize your power and engage as many muscle groups as possible.
For distance events, you want to swim as efficiently as possible and taking a longer stroke, while more powerful, will cause fatigue toxins to build up in the triceps and rear delts faster. So if you watch you will see that most distance swimmers shorten the stroke slightly so instead of pulling all the way past thier hip lines, they stop just short of there.
From a practice perspective, I vary it based upon the current distance (but not much as I am a pure sprinter) being swum and the pace. The faster I want to go, the longer my pull is.
I hope this helps.
Paul
Well that is an interesting question and the answer is.........
It depends. For sprinting you want to have as long a stroke as possible in order to maximize your power and engage as many muscle groups as possible.
For distance events, you want to swim as efficiently as possible and taking a longer stroke, while more powerful, will cause fatigue toxins to build up in the triceps and rear delts faster. So if you watch you will see that most distance swimmers shorten the stroke slightly so instead of pulling all the way past thier hip lines, they stop just short of there.
From a practice perspective, I vary it based upon the current distance (but not much as I am a pure sprinter) being swum and the pace. The faster I want to go, the longer my pull is.
I hope this helps.
Paul
