It seems like I do better in fly if I make an effort to ride high in the water. Sometimes I try to convert all of my pull into forward motion and I feel like I am sinking and my body is too low in the water.
Should a good part of the pull be used to regain height in the water? Is this the primary function of the pull? Does most of the forward gain come from the recovery portion with high hips rather than the pull?
Still trying to figure this stroke out.
Phelps' low recovery, with chin in the water, is all the rage now.
It is interesting to read what Maglischo writes on the subject (and to look at the picture on the cover of "Swimming Fastest").
Pushing drag will be reduced if swimmers recovery the arms high enough over the water that they reach the entry position before they make contact with the water. One way swimmers keep the arms free of the water is by allowing the head and shoulders to rise out of the water, much like the arm recovery in the breaststroke. This description runs counter to traditional beliefs about the butterfly arm recovery. The usual recommendations are that swimmers should recover the arms low and laterally over the water and should keep the chin and shoulders in the water. Recovering the arms low supposedly reduces the work required while keeping the body horizontal to reduce form drag. In actuality, however, recovering the arms in this way makes it extremely difficult for swimmers to keep from pushing the arms forward through the water...
He goes on to caution against overdoing it, becoming too vertical during recovery.
In answer to another of your questions, I think the most of the forward motion comes during the pull, not the recovery.
Phelps' low recovery, with chin in the water, is all the rage now.
It is interesting to read what Maglischo writes on the subject (and to look at the picture on the cover of "Swimming Fastest").
Pushing drag will be reduced if swimmers recovery the arms high enough over the water that they reach the entry position before they make contact with the water. One way swimmers keep the arms free of the water is by allowing the head and shoulders to rise out of the water, much like the arm recovery in the breaststroke. This description runs counter to traditional beliefs about the butterfly arm recovery. The usual recommendations are that swimmers should recover the arms low and laterally over the water and should keep the chin and shoulders in the water. Recovering the arms low supposedly reduces the work required while keeping the body horizontal to reduce form drag. In actuality, however, recovering the arms in this way makes it extremely difficult for swimmers to keep from pushing the arms forward through the water...
He goes on to caution against overdoing it, becoming too vertical during recovery.
In answer to another of your questions, I think the most of the forward motion comes during the pull, not the recovery.
