I learned to swim as an adult a couple of years ago. When I started the front crawl, I would focus on being "long" in the water - i.e., really reaching with the forward hand on each stroke, and not pulling until the trailing hand entered the water (the TI front quadrant swimming concept).
But over time, my shoulders would bother me. And I recently learned that swimming with high elbows (envisioning your arm going over a barrel) is better for your shoulders. I was definitely dropping my elbows before.
The problem I'm having is that when I swim with high elbows, I feel like I'm not as "long" in the water, that I get less glide, and that generally, I have to work a lot harder (though my shoulders feel better). One obvious thing I've noticed is that with a high elbow stroke, I can't seem to keep my leading arm out in front until my trailing arm catches up.
Any thoughts? Thanks.
Edit: I should add that I'm a recreational swimmer, so technique that is easier on the shoulder is preferred to a technique that may be better for competitive swimmers but is more stressful to the shoulder joint.
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Former Member
Solar the old phrase swim like a fish is a very false statemnt. Fish do a fishtail movement. This action is not streamlined. It only would work if we had a fishes tail fins. I kind of agree here. That's why I prefer (and used) the expression "becoming more and more like a fish".
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Serpico, I found this clip here which shows an interesting approach in the form of a drill (or so it looks to me) that seems to be a nice way to work on modulating the way you catch. What I mean by modulating is really about getting used to catch at various depth (this drill focuses on catching deeper while still swimming front quadrant).
I am not suggesting that you should use this technique in your full stroke, but I find this clip to be interesting for you since it is indirectly advocating catching in a way that is safe for shoulder articulation.
Moreover, I believe it may have been inspired by TI's approach. As far as I am concerned, that helps correcting a misconception (at least in my mind) that TI would be (wrongly) advocating longish glides at the front
YouTube - Patient Catch - Total Immersion clip
Without having seen you I'd say it would be safe to give this drill/approach a try.
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Former Member
Solar the old phrase swim like a fish is a very false statemnt. Fish do a fishtail movement. This action is not streamlined. It only would work if we had a fishes tail fins. I kind of agree here. That's why I prefer (and used) the expression "becoming more and more like a fish".
- -
Serpico, I found this clip here which shows an interesting approach in the form of a drill (or so it looks to me) that seems to be a nice way to work on modulating the way you catch. What I mean by modulating is really about getting used to catch at various depth (this drill focuses on catching deeper while still swimming front quadrant).
I am not suggesting that you should use this technique in your full stroke, but I find this clip to be interesting for you since it is indirectly advocating catching in a way that is safe for shoulder articulation.
Moreover, I believe it may have been inspired by TI's approach. As far as I am concerned, that helps correcting a misconception (at least in my mind) that TI would be (wrongly) advocating longish glides at the front
YouTube - Patient Catch - Total Immersion clip
Without having seen you I'd say it would be safe to give this drill/approach a try.