Hip driven or shoulder driven? The reason I ask is that I'm a shoulder driven sprinter but have a more hip driven stroke in the 200.
I've been trying to find some speed from a hip driven stroke but so far have just not been able to come close (24.3 scy hip driven vs 23.1 shoulder driven). Is one inherently better than the other? If so, why?
Can one utilize both techniques depending on the race? Is it possible to have an effective shoulder driven sprint stroke and an effective hip driven distance stroke?
Parents
Former Member
I don't think "hip driven" swimming exists. At best, it's an illusion. Shoulders rotate because of the pulling force. Tension through the torso makes the hips rotate with the shoulders. If someone is wobbly in the middle you can maybe get them to tighten up by telling them to focus on driving with the hips, but the power is still coming from up front.
Personally, I use a focus point of fast and tight rotation at the hips when I sprint. I want to keep the amplitude of the rotation down, and eliminate any up-down or left-right motion. Thinking about the hips seems to work better than thinking about the shoulders.
I don't think "hip driven" swimming exists. At best, it's an illusion. Shoulders rotate because of the pulling force. Tension through the torso makes the hips rotate with the shoulders. If someone is wobbly in the middle you can maybe get them to tighten up by telling them to focus on driving with the hips, but the power is still coming from up front.
Personally, I use a focus point of fast and tight rotation at the hips when I sprint. I want to keep the amplitude of the rotation down, and eliminate any up-down or left-right motion. Thinking about the hips seems to work better than thinking about the shoulders.
