As quoted in the AP article:
"You'll all have to see. I'm not saying anything until we unveil it," Phelps said with a grin when asked how he's tweaked the stroke. "It's a significant change. You'll be able to tell exactly what I did as soon as I take my first stroke."
He's on tap to swim the 100- and 200-meter free and the 100 butterfly at the Charlotte UltraSwim in NC. Should be interesting to see.
Some interesting comments from Gary Hall Sr. over at the Race Club:
www.theraceclub.net/.../viewtopic.php
______________________________________________
Re: Shoulder Driven Freestyle
by garyhallsr » Fri May 22, 2009 1:57 am
Dear Curious Swimmer,
Lord Bullington makes some good points. Mike Bottom, who originally described the shoulder vs hip vs body (core) driven freestyles, explains the difference this way. To sprint fast, much of the power is derived from the shoulder muscles and shoulder rotation. It also requires a faster stroke rate. Because the arms are turning over faster, the hips do not have time to rotate as much and remain relative flatter than with a hip-driven freestyle. The hip-driven freestyle, characterized by Phelps, Thorpe, Hackett, Lezak and many others depends on strong kick and a longer hold period in front. A sprinter must initiate the catch immediately and release earlier to speed up the stroke rate. Mike also equates the body-driven freestyle with a straight-arm recovery, which he believes makes the hips and shoulders rotate more evenly.
One of the most consistent findings in all great swimmers is the high elbow under water. Using a high elbow doesn't increase power. It increases efficiency tremendously by reducing drag. A bent high elbow creates much less drag than a straight arm pulling deep.
Curiously, though the straight arm recovery has been used more often for sprinting, Janet Evans used a straight arm, over the top, shoulder-driven freestyle with a fast stroke rate for the 200, 400, 800 and 1500. Google Grant Hackett and watch the finals of the mens 1500 in Beijing. Interesting contrast of strokes. First four finishers were around 4 seconds apart. Hackett and Maloulli use the classic hip/leg driven freestyle, while Cochrane (Canada) and the Russian use a fast turnover, mostly shoulder driven freestyle for the entire race.
Bottom line, if you have the legs, you can use a hip driven technique for anything over a 50. Not one sprinter in the Olympic 50 m finals uses hip-driven freestyle. If you don't have the legs, you must use a faster stroke rate, shoulder driven technique, regardless of the distance.
Hope this helps.
Regards,
Gary Sr.garyhallsr
Posts: 29
Joined: Fri Dec 05, 2008 6:02 pm
Private message
Some interesting comments from Gary Hall Sr. over at the Race Club:
www.theraceclub.net/.../viewtopic.php
______________________________________________
Re: Shoulder Driven Freestyle
by garyhallsr » Fri May 22, 2009 1:57 am
Dear Curious Swimmer,
Lord Bullington makes some good points. Mike Bottom, who originally described the shoulder vs hip vs body (core) driven freestyles, explains the difference this way. To sprint fast, much of the power is derived from the shoulder muscles and shoulder rotation. It also requires a faster stroke rate. Because the arms are turning over faster, the hips do not have time to rotate as much and remain relative flatter than with a hip-driven freestyle. The hip-driven freestyle, characterized by Phelps, Thorpe, Hackett, Lezak and many others depends on strong kick and a longer hold period in front. A sprinter must initiate the catch immediately and release earlier to speed up the stroke rate. Mike also equates the body-driven freestyle with a straight-arm recovery, which he believes makes the hips and shoulders rotate more evenly.
One of the most consistent findings in all great swimmers is the high elbow under water. Using a high elbow doesn't increase power. It increases efficiency tremendously by reducing drag. A bent high elbow creates much less drag than a straight arm pulling deep.
Curiously, though the straight arm recovery has been used more often for sprinting, Janet Evans used a straight arm, over the top, shoulder-driven freestyle with a fast stroke rate for the 200, 400, 800 and 1500. Google Grant Hackett and watch the finals of the mens 1500 in Beijing. Interesting contrast of strokes. First four finishers were around 4 seconds apart. Hackett and Maloulli use the classic hip/leg driven freestyle, while Cochrane (Canada) and the Russian use a fast turnover, mostly shoulder driven freestyle for the entire race.
Bottom line, if you have the legs, you can use a hip driven technique for anything over a 50. Not one sprinter in the Olympic 50 m finals uses hip-driven freestyle. If you don't have the legs, you must use a faster stroke rate, shoulder driven technique, regardless of the distance.
Hope this helps.
Regards,
Gary Sr.garyhallsr
Posts: 29
Joined: Fri Dec 05, 2008 6:02 pm
Private message
