Good swimmer may not be symmetric?

I have been trying hard to correct the lack of symmetry in my backstroke. In trying to correct it I swim slowlier As I've tried to graduate from "Old School" in the backstroke, I've noticed that my stroke also is uneven: for example, my left pull is deeper than my right. I see no clear explanation, either (my freestyle is not symmetrical, but that's because I turn to the side for air - something I don't do on my back). I've assumed that this isn't a difference that matters - unless the asymmetry is associated with one hand losing its grip or "slipping" during the pull or one arm pull otherwise being weaker than the other (I say, "is associated with" because these possible signs could be either causes or effects of the asymmetry). On paper, symmetry is the ideal in backstroke. In reality, however, most human bodies are not symmetrical and there's a possibility that the lack of symmetry in a stroke simply reflects the physical realities of the individual swimmers' bodies. So, I'm very interested to hear what others have to say about this ...

I don't know. I'd need an under or overhead view. I noticed he kind of freezes his legs when they're tilted just that one way. I think it's absolutely amazing the way these people swim. Now that I'm really into this sport and I've been immersing myself in water and YouTube videos of swimming for the past month, my appreciation for the beauty and seeming perfection of these elites' strokes and kicks and flips and glides has only grown more than I ever thought it could. As compared to videos of swimmers who have obviously put in years of hard work but who I can just intuitively look at and say, "Wow, this looks wrong, I don't know why, but it just does..", with these guys I can hardly spot the flaws. Forgive me for being so off-topic, but last August during Beijing, I was not a swimmer. As a newbie at all this, I am amazed and wowed. And it's just stunning to think that these guys are going so fast and yet when you look at the pool deck, the guys in suits are not even jogging. They work so hard to push through that water that is not air. It all comes down to knifing the most efficiently and gracefully through galaxies of molecules at a density that poses so much more resistance than air. The rules change in water. The world changes in water. These Olympians change in water. The water changes them.

Have you checked your kicks? In my case, my kicks are not symmetrical. I can kick one leg with full force and good coordination with the opposite arm, but when it's the other leg's turn to kick, I find myself quickly making adjustment so that I still kick with the first leg (the wrong one) because I'm so used to that one and not this one! The result is that when I swim asymmetrically I'm better off because I kick the way I am used to--even though wrong; but when I try to correct it and kick the two legs evenly, I'm can only do well on one side and not the other, and the arms don't pick up, either, so I slow down. So it seems to come down to this: Is it better to swim the way you are used to, even if not so symmetrical, or to correct the asymmetry and swim in perfect position? Ideally we should correct and then get used to it. But the video above shows that maybe you don't need to correct it even for the Olympics? :confused: And by the way, yes, the great swimmers make swimming look so graceful and easy!:rolleyes:

Chris Stevenson has a bit a of a lope in his freestyle, correct me if I am wrong, Chris. If you read this, being a former Olympian and current genius and ongoing student of swimming, perhaps you could share with us your thoughts on loping through the water. It almost looks like a slight aquatic limp. Is one of the advantages here that the more powerful side of the body shoulders a greater share of the propulsive burden? Note: even if Chris does not discover this thread, I would not change your stroke just because of some theoretical sense that symmetrical should be better/faster. What may seem intuitively right is not always so. Perhaps some day we will all be taught to limp through the water to reach maximum speed, and future coaches will be able to explain why! Yes I have a pronounced lope in both free and back. It is not something I consciously developed nor have I made an effort to fix it. A number of freestylers lope but, as mentioned, that may also be due partly to breathing every other stroke. I haven't made a systematic study of backstrokers but my impression is that most do not have as pronounced a "limp" as I do. It is not something I do on purpose -- I was kind of shocked the first time I saw it on video (sometime late in my college career). IMO: there may be any number of things to try to correct in stroke mechanics to increase efficiency...this would probably be far down on my list of things. Just my :2cents:.

Edit: Just saw your post, Chris. Is there a video online that shows your underwater swimming? No, I don't think so. At least, none that I'm aware.

It seems like carrying a bag on your shoulder: you move around more easily when you carry it on the side you are used to. But doing so for long term, especially with heavy load, will cause your spine and other bone structures inbalance. So you try to alternate. But when you are running to catch a train, you naturally carry it on the preferred side because you can run faster that way. :) So yes, for fitness and correcting posture, symmetry is important, but for competition, take whatever you feel more comfortable and efficient. (I still wonder, though, that maybe those great loping swimmers could break even more records if they had got used to more symmetrical movement?) Edit: Just saw your post, Chris. Is there a video online that shows your underwater swimming?

I still wonder, though, that maybe those great loping swimmers could break even more records if they had got used to more symmetrical movement? Great swimmers like Phelps and Leavuex seem to gain from the motion, because it's more fluid, up and down with head, like a longer undulation with-in the freestyle stroke. Whatever they are doing, it works.

Leslie Livingston recently told me that some coaches have begun advocating what she calls the "loping" style for both freestyle and backstroke. I think we have all been at meets where incredibly fast swimmers use this approach. It is the antithesis of symmetrical, but it seems to work really well. Chris Stevenson has a bit a of a lope in his freestyle, correct me if I am wrong, Chris. If you read this, being a former Olympian and current genius and ongoing student of swimming, perhaps you could share with us your thoughts on loping through the water. It almost looks like a slight aquatic limp. Is one of the advantages here that the more powerful side of the body shoulders a greater share of the propulsive burden? Note: even if Chris does not discover this thread, I would not change your stroke just because of some theoretical sense that symmetrical should be better/faster. What may seem intuitively right is not always so. Perhaps some day we will all be taught to limp through the water to reach maximum speed, and future coaches will be able to explain why!

I have been trying hard to correct the lack of symmetry in my backstroke. In trying to correct it I swim slowlier. Then I saw this: www.youtube.com/watch At :41-:44 and 1:07-1:12 it's so obvious he was far from being symmetric. Would he have been better off if he corrected that? nhc, Olympians are measured frame by frame, counted, evaluted to the nth degree, for the specific purpose of refining a style that will produce a medal. Many develop a unique style or have something going on physiologically that separates them from fitness swimmers. I don't see much value in nonelite swimmers trying to emulate them, or in using their swimming style as rationale for not trying to swim oneself with better technique. Keep working the backstroke. The greatest probability is, you will become more symmetrical, and the whole stroke will work better for you. It takes time. Coaching helps. Good luck! VB

Olympians are measured frame by frame, counted, evaluted to the nth degree, for the specific purpose of refining a style that will produce a medal. Many develop a unique style or have something going on physiologically that separates them from fitness swimmers. I don't see much value in nonelite swimmers trying to emulate them, or in using their swimming style as rationale for not trying to swim oneself with better technique. VB Well, that really depends on personal goals. Most swimmers have idiosyncrasies in their stroke, especially fitness swimmers. Attempting to change these moderate tendancies can become an exercise in frustration. I'm not advocating ignoring technique, just better understanding of personal limitations and working within those parameters, rather than emulating another persons idiosyncrasies/perfection.