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!
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my comments in bold
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.yes, but many swimmers develop an upward scoop with their hand. this has no benefit. another undesirable result from over reaching (without rotation) is the dreaded fish-tail.
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.i would differentiate between "pushing down" and "driving down" ...more specifically driving to the catch position. (for me, finger tips are somewhere between 12 and 18 inches below the surface) my focus it to get them (finger tips) there in an eliptical arch rather than a straight line.
my comments in bold
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.yes, but many swimmers develop an upward scoop with their hand. this has no benefit. another undesirable result from over reaching (without rotation) is the dreaded fish-tail.
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.i would differentiate between "pushing down" and "driving down" ...more specifically driving to the catch position. (for me, finger tips are somewhere between 12 and 18 inches below the surface) my focus it to get them (finger tips) there in an eliptical arch rather than a straight line.
