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!
I think Chris and Flygirl and others have made excellent points about tailoring the stroke to the individual body. However, I do think there are some basic aspects of hydrodynamics, if you will, that apply to the vast majority of body types. Obviously, strokes have been changing for the past century at least as different swimmers, either through application of physics or accidentally discovering what works (probably more the latter) contribute new refinements.
But in general, for distance swimming, there is an advantage in extending the leading hand initially in the horizontal direction--it makes the human "boat" longer in the water, and for reasons that boat designers understand and I do not, a longer boat is able to move through the water at the same speed with less effort, and/or faster with the same effort, as a shorter boat.
I don't think very many coaches and/or swimming scientists today think there's any advantage to pushing down on the water. In yesteryear, when the high head position was touted as a way of letting a swimmer hydroplane on top of the water, maybe a little downwards propulsion was rationalized as a way of further facilitating this. But I am pretty sure that most observers today have concluded that pushing down on the water uses up energy without moving you forward.
Sprinting is much more purely propulsion-driven than distance swimming, which requires long-hull drag cutting to ensure what propulsion you do muster can last throughout the race. A short boat with a giant motor can beat a long boat with a smaller motor in a sprint. But it's likely to run out of gas over the longer haul.
These basic principles seem to apply to most swimmers, regardless of body type. Maximizing propulsion and slicing drag are two different aspects, and they can't always be given equal focus if you are to do well in a given race. Sprinters need to emphasize the former at the partial expense of the latter, or risk being left behind. Distance swimmers need to emphasize the latter in order to ration the former, or risk running out of gas prematurely. How much tradeoff there is between these two demands varies somewhat among different body types, but the basic dilemma and choice is something all must face to some degree.
I think Chris and Flygirl and others have made excellent points about tailoring the stroke to the individual body. However, I do think there are some basic aspects of hydrodynamics, if you will, that apply to the vast majority of body types. Obviously, strokes have been changing for the past century at least as different swimmers, either through application of physics or accidentally discovering what works (probably more the latter) contribute new refinements.
But in general, for distance swimming, there is an advantage in extending the leading hand initially in the horizontal direction--it makes the human "boat" longer in the water, and for reasons that boat designers understand and I do not, a longer boat is able to move through the water at the same speed with less effort, and/or faster with the same effort, as a shorter boat.
I don't think very many coaches and/or swimming scientists today think there's any advantage to pushing down on the water. In yesteryear, when the high head position was touted as a way of letting a swimmer hydroplane on top of the water, maybe a little downwards propulsion was rationalized as a way of further facilitating this. But I am pretty sure that most observers today have concluded that pushing down on the water uses up energy without moving you forward.
Sprinting is much more purely propulsion-driven than distance swimming, which requires long-hull drag cutting to ensure what propulsion you do muster can last throughout the race. A short boat with a giant motor can beat a long boat with a smaller motor in a sprint. But it's likely to run out of gas over the longer haul.
These basic principles seem to apply to most swimmers, regardless of body type. Maximizing propulsion and slicing drag are two different aspects, and they can't always be given equal focus if you are to do well in a given race. Sprinters need to emphasize the former at the partial expense of the latter, or risk being left behind. Distance swimmers need to emphasize the latter in order to ration the former, or risk running out of gas prematurely. How much tradeoff there is between these two demands varies somewhat among different body types, but the basic dilemma and choice is something all must face to some degree.
