Early-Vertical-Forearm

The Benko video made things a lot clearer for me. Today in practice I really felt like I was "grabbing" more water but I knew my hands were not perfectly "vertical". Rather they were slightly angled under my body. Benko does the same thing, despite what she says on the video (check out around 1:30 in the video posted above, and again around 5:15). Maybe this is what everybody meant all along, but for some reason I thought I was trying to keep my full forearm pointing towards the bottom of the pool. That's more a function of the angle of your elbow than the direction you are pointing your hand, right? Or is it a matter of physics that keeping the forearm actually "vertical" is actually more efficient? I found that trying to keep my forearm "vertical" put more strain on my shoulders while angling them slightly under my body didn't. No idea if I'm doing any of this right, but it felt most "right" when I felt like I was trying to "grab" and pull in as much water as possible. Picture the winner of a hand of poker reaching out and "grabbing" all of the chips on the table. Does any of this sound right? Thanks much! Let's begin with the hand. The area of the hand must be as large as possible and stiff. The hand should not bend when it enters the water. The pressure a bent hand asserts at the beginning of the stroke is lost at the most crucial power phase of the stroke when it returns to a straight position. The ability to drop the hand under the elbow early and vertically is determined by shoulder strength and flexibility. The ability to exert the highest level of drag force (pushing back) for the longest time is the key to power and speed. It is necessary for the hand to move out of a straight line pattern to maintain peak drag force ( a vortex behind the hand forms when pulling straight back). Everyone's body is different and requires the individual to adapt a pulling pattern that best suits their strengths and weaknesses. This is why a "coaching-eye" can really help you through some tricky nuances that require attention/correction. Get a good coach that can point out one or two things you can do to improve your pulling pattern then use some isometrics and drills to ingrain those new skills and make them a habit. Good luck.

The Benko video made things a lot clearer for me. Today in practice I really felt like I was "grabbing" more water but I knew my hands were not perfectly "vertical". Rather they were slightly angled under my body. Benko does the same thing, despite what she says on the video (check out around 1:30 in the video posted above, and again around 5:15). Maybe this is what everybody meant all along, but for some reason I thought I was trying to keep my full forearm pointing towards the bottom of the pool. That's more a function of the angle of your elbow than the direction you are pointing your hand, right? Or is it a matter of physics that keeping the forearm actually "vertical" is actually more efficient? I found that trying to keep my forearm "vertical" put more strain on my shoulders while angling them slightly under my body didn't. No idea if I'm doing any of this right, but it felt most "right" when I felt like I was trying to "grab" and pull in as much water as possible. Picture the winner of a hand of poker reaching out and "grabbing" all of the chips on the table. Does any of this sound right? Thanks much! Let's begin with the hand. The area of the hand must be as large as possible and stiff. The hand should not bend when it enters the water. The pressure a bent hand asserts at the beginning of the stroke is lost at the most crucial power phase of the stroke when it returns to a straight position. The ability to drop the hand under the elbow early and vertically is determined by shoulder strength and flexibility. The ability to exert the highest level of drag force (pushing back) for the longest time is the key to power and speed. It is necessary for the hand to move out of a straight line pattern to maintain peak drag force ( a vortex behind the hand forms when pulling straight back). Everyone's body is different and requires the individual to adapt a pulling pattern that best suits their strengths and weaknesses. This is why a "coaching-eye" can really help you through some tricky nuances that require attention/correction. Get a good coach that can point out one or two things you can do to improve your pulling pattern then use some isometrics and drills to ingrain those new skills and make them a habit. Good luck.