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.
hummmm, interesting...I figured that on a sprint I would want faster turnover, because I thought the first phase till the waist was where most power was coming from, and so I would not push all the way towards the thighs. Got to work this one out. billy fanstone
Actually you are correct. That is where MOST of the power comes from. But why not get as much power from your stroke as possible? You do want a faster turnover BUT NOT at the expense of generating maximum power.
It boils down to this, every swimmer has a different 'sweet spot' by that I mean the perfect combination of stroke length and stroke rate. And this perfect storm varies by individual.
And yes, sprinters tend to have a higher stroke rate than distance folks and _on average_ sprinters strokes are a touch longer (YMMV) because they can afford to engage more muscle groups to maximize power (shorter race duration) at the expense of fatigue BUT most distance swimmers (again YMMV) will have a slightly shorter stroke to ensure that muscle groups are not prematurely (or excessively) fatigued during the swim.
Please note that I did not use absolutes, I used 'most' and 'tend to' and 'on average' as in all things, YMMV.
Paul
hummmm, interesting...I figured that on a sprint I would want faster turnover, because I thought the first phase till the waist was where most power was coming from, and so I would not push all the way towards the thighs. Got to work this one out. billy fanstone
Actually you are correct. That is where MOST of the power comes from. But why not get as much power from your stroke as possible? You do want a faster turnover BUT NOT at the expense of generating maximum power.
It boils down to this, every swimmer has a different 'sweet spot' by that I mean the perfect combination of stroke length and stroke rate. And this perfect storm varies by individual.
And yes, sprinters tend to have a higher stroke rate than distance folks and _on average_ sprinters strokes are a touch longer (YMMV) because they can afford to engage more muscle groups to maximize power (shorter race duration) at the expense of fatigue BUT most distance swimmers (again YMMV) will have a slightly shorter stroke to ensure that muscle groups are not prematurely (or excessively) fatigued during the swim.
Please note that I did not use absolutes, I used 'most' and 'tend to' and 'on average' as in all things, YMMV.
Paul
