Today one of my teammates, probably the fastest swimmer on our team, was telling me that I should think of aiming my hands toward the bottom of the opposite end of the pool rather than of reaching forward before catching. When I watched him swim, it still looked like he was extending forward, so I'm not sure if the move is just subtle or "a feeling" or if it is really a change of arm angle. When I tried to reach down, I felt like I wasn't getting full extension, but he said it looked better. I don't want to go through what feels like a fundamental stroke change unless I'm sure I understand what I'm supposed to be doing. Can someone enlighten me? Thanks!
It all really depends on what kind of Freestyle stroke you want to swim. The long - close to catch-up Thorpe like stroke is great for 200+ distance. But it will not work for most swimmers in a 50 or 100 (Lezak would be the exception). I read a comment by Matt Grevers that he actually had to re-learn his Freestyle by pointing his fingers down when entering the water instead of pointing them at the wall.
The new straight- arm recovery or close to it sprinters enter the water ready to pull - they don't need to reach any more.
Here is a link to the very best underwater video I have seen - the 4x100 Free from Beijing:
www.nbcolympics.com/.../share.html
You can see almost an entire 50 from Sullivan right underneath him. 50 from Phelps sprinting. You can see somebody like Bousquet doing the straight arm recovery Free, Weber-Gale seems to almost shorten his stroke on purpose, and you get Lezak swimming almost catch-up on one side.
I think the bottom line is you have to experiment and figure out what works best for you. Weber-Gale, Lezak, Sullivan, Phelps, etc. four different swimmers with four different body types. A great coach will be able to help you get the most out of your stroke. Flexibility, strength, age, height, arm length, etc are all factors that are going to influence what your best stroke is.
I would try it out and as long as you are pain free with experiment - see what is comfortable and what seems to work for you.
It all really depends on what kind of Freestyle stroke you want to swim. The long - close to catch-up Thorpe like stroke is great for 200+ distance. But it will not work for most swimmers in a 50 or 100 (Lezak would be the exception). I read a comment by Matt Grevers that he actually had to re-learn his Freestyle by pointing his fingers down when entering the water instead of pointing them at the wall.
The new straight- arm recovery or close to it sprinters enter the water ready to pull - they don't need to reach any more.
Here is a link to the very best underwater video I have seen - the 4x100 Free from Beijing:
www.nbcolympics.com/.../share.html
You can see almost an entire 50 from Sullivan right underneath him. 50 from Phelps sprinting. You can see somebody like Bousquet doing the straight arm recovery Free, Weber-Gale seems to almost shorten his stroke on purpose, and you get Lezak swimming almost catch-up on one side.
I think the bottom line is you have to experiment and figure out what works best for you. Weber-Gale, Lezak, Sullivan, Phelps, etc. four different swimmers with four different body types. A great coach will be able to help you get the most out of your stroke. Flexibility, strength, age, height, arm length, etc are all factors that are going to influence what your best stroke is.
I would try it out and as long as you are pain free with experiment - see what is comfortable and what seems to work for you.
