Reaching "down" on freestyle

Haven't studied your stroke in depth - it appears to have a very deep catch though, right? I have a slight backstroke phobia seeing as that was the stroke that caused my labrum tear (working on a deep catch). Heck, you've probably looked at it more than I -- I rarely look at video, probably should -- but I would think it is the angle rather than the depth that is important. Whenever I've tweaked my shoulder badly it is when I'm reaching behind me (eg, reaching to the backseat for a map). I would think the more you rotate the the safer on your shoulders... But now you've made me nervous too. Don't listen to anything I say, then you can't blame me for tearing something new. :)

Heck, you've probably looked at it more than I -- I rarely look at video, probably should -- but I would think it is the angle rather than the depth that is important. Whenever I've tweaked my shoulder badly it is when I'm reaching behind me (eg, reaching to the backseat for a map). I would think the more you rotate the the safer on your shoulders... But now you've made me nervous too. Don't listen to anything I say, then you can't blame me for tearing something new. :) hahaha ... I've obviously seen your stroke but not really watched - do you think you have a deep catch? My shoulder got angry when I tried for the deep catch without rotation. You hit the nail on the head that I need to work on rotation and that there are many swimmers that need to do that. It's one of those things that is a good idea for everyone. I was just using your stroke as a "real life masters" example of how one stroke can work for one person but maybe not for others. :)

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. I absolutely agree that a coach should be able to adapt with their swimmers and should not blanket everyone under one category (even though that would make my life so much easier). As you mentioned, as long as there is no injury/pain and you are comfortable in your stroke while making improvements you will be good to go!

This sort of thing is what would be maddening to me if I were a coach. You have these world-class sprinters who have a lot of differences in their strokes...why? Erik says that "almost catch-up" is not good for the 50/100 but that Lezak is an exception -- why is that? Here is something I wrote (a year ago) in an attempt to answer that question. Usually, I like to stay as far away as possible from the "technique" debate. Honestly, I'm surprised to find myself right back in the thick of it. I guess that's understandable considering how obsessed most swimmers are with the importance of technique. Truthfully, this debate has nauseated me in the past for one simple reason. Swimming is a feeling, not a thought. That's why I prefer training models that teach the body to feel, opening up a different kind of thinking. Words like flow, feel, pressure, resistance, or anything that enhances tactile understanding. At the end of the day, kinesthetic awareness cannot be fully understood through cognitive analysis alone. The fact is, everyone has different strengths and weaknesses, and these should be explored on a case by case basis. I would never ask Popov to swim like Micheal Klim, or vice versa. (or a younger version of the two) Which is why the technique debate appears to be flawed from the start. The question is, what works best for you? Sure, there are general rules, but to get the most out of your swim, you have to reach a more personal level. If you're one of those people that absolutely "needs" to think technique during your swim, I suggest trying the checklist method. In other words, think of 5-6 things you'd like to work on and go through the checklist on a regular basis. Continually move in your mind from one point to the other, don't localize in one spot for too long. This ensures that you don't get "stuck" on one aspect of your swim, and this method can actually trick your mind into a kinesthetic state.

One thing that allows for a deep catch is that statement I truly believe in is "Where the head goes so goes the body."

... Swimming is a feeling, not a thought.... Wow! Very cool post! I was chatting up a coach one day and he mentioned how the kids from his team would come up to him wanting to know how to swim like Michael Phelps. His response to them is that he can't do that, because they were not him, and he would then basically tell them, "But I can teach you to swim like you". Made a lot of sense to me. I agree with a number of folks here on this MB... you can analyze this stuff to death, but for most folks I believe that approach is lost. I think it is somewhat a cultural phenomenon. In our fast paced, hi-tech "information" society, where always striving for perfection is considered "normal", we are now pretty thoroughly programmed to believe that more information is better. If you want to set records (especially national and world), get into the USMS top ten, etc., then you probably need all that information... but probably only so that your brain is totally wired to swimming... especially for a particular event. (As for specialization, take the recent accomplishments of Dara Torres for example. She drops out of the 100 free at the 2008 Olympics to stay competitive, yet in the 4x100 free relay she claimed the 2nd fastest split. Huh? Out of the 24 fastest women in the world, she is #2, yet she can't compete in the individual event? Don't get me wrong, I fully understand WHY she did what she did, but my point with this nugget is that the endless minutia on details of technique are probably only going to benefit people who possess the sort of mindset that Dara had in her approach to her performance in the 2008 Olympics.) I believe that highly detailed advice is only going to be beneficial to perhaps 5% or less of folks who swim. That is because for most folks the emphasis of their swimming is fitness, along with an occasional jaunt to a swim meet or OW event. "This is a simple game... you throw the ball, you hit the ball, you catch the ball!" - the Coach in the shower scene (from the movie Bull Durham) where he follows Crash's advice to "scare 'em". :)