Question for swimmers and coaches out there -
Can Clockwise swimming help improve your stroke?
Quick background: My coach has implemented clockwise swimming (swimming on the left side of the pool) for warm-up and has received a lot resistance from longtime swimmers.
My coach explained that a lot of the swimmers are shortening up the right arm to make a turn during normal counter clockwise swimming. We also swim in a extra wide lanes in a 25 meter pool (the pool has individual lanes and we move the lane lines over to allow for circle swimming); which the coach thinks for the reason of shortening and crossing over the right arm.
For myself, I find that I have learned to flip turn on the opposite side but I find that I get so confused during warm-up and worried about the swimmer behind me running into me because they moved over too far (we have had some close calls in the water).
Anyone had any experience with swim practice that changes directions (swimming clockwise then counter clockwise)? Any advantages/disadvantages?
Thanks, John
Former Member
I swam in a pool in the south of England (Waterlooville) recently where everyone was going counter-clockwise. That was in the small two-lane section roped off for lane swimming in an otherwise all "leisure" pool.
In the city pools here, the lifeguards will frequently divide the pool into three sections (fast, medium, slow) and the circling signs at one end will direct people to come up both sides of the section, usually towards the deep end, and converge to go down the middle. Depending on which side you end up on, you can find yourself going either clockwise or counter-clockwise. It actually works quite well because it's easier to pass in the converged middle section than it is in a single lane.
