How many use the early vertical forearm method?
How many believe it is less prone to shoulder injuries?
I tried it for the first time today and it wore my butt out! I did feel like I had more surface area to pull with and the force felt more horizontally directed toward my feet. I have a lot of work to do if I continue to adopt this stroke method.:bolt:
www.youtube.com/watch
For Tomtopo can - we do EVF if the arm is entered when completely extended. My experiment in the 60's after injuring both shoulders. When the arms were extended I would let the hands go to the catch position with out applying force. I called it dropping in to position. When at the catch I would then apply force with the hand and forearm making sure the elbow did not drop during the catch phase.
George,
I hope you don't mind me using the phrase "dropping it into position"; it’s another way of saying "setting-up" your stroke. I was watching our high school girl's swim team and found that every single swimmer moved either their elbow first or moved their hand toward the midline before dropping their hand into position. The common misconception is that there is an alternate method of dropping your hand into position in the freestyle or any other stroke for that matter. Some swimmers contend that swimming with a straight arm precludes an EVF and nothing could be more false. Alain Bernard has an EVF with a straighter arm but as long as the hand isn't late he obtains the leverage to sprint (and very well).
If swimmers can improve how they drop their hand into position (under the elbow) their times will drop. Thanks George.
No problem
Here is how I explain this action in my web site
How the hand enters the water.
It really doesn't matter.
I found it easier to place my hand in the water with the thumb and all of the fingers entering the water at the same time. The elbow is at 90 degrees away from your little finger with a slight bend in your arm. As your hand enters the water and drops down we press the hand and forearm (down about 3 to 5 lbs pressure per sq inch) very gently. Then gradually increase (to 9 to 12 lbs pressure per sq inch) not applying full pressure and take it to the catch point of your stroke.
When you get to the catch point max it (about 25 lbs per sq inch) keep the hand as close to the body as practical and press down to your thigh.
I thought the benko video was great. She has a reasonable EVF but it isn't extreme like Thorpe. Ahd she describes how to start it, namely by getting those fingers pointing to the bottom early and let the rest follow.
After working on my catch a bit, it became clear that it is not something designed to make swimming freestyle *easier* but rather to make you *faster*. I know some of us like to glide rather than start the pull early which is probably a bad habit if we're interested in speed.
If your palm faces the ceiling at the finish you will be able to exit the water easily and cleanly. Too many statements made and not explained properly can compllicate the easy extraction.
By rolling on your side more, instead of the swimmer in a position to see their thumb as their hand exits the water, the swimmer turns their hand so they can see their palm. This position allows the larger muscles in the shoulder to become engaged and reduces the chance of impingement to occur. The entry of the hand is no different, just the exiting of the hand. It seems a little awkward at first but it not that difficult to master.
Was able to get in another hour in the pool on Friday swimming ez. (Except kick sets which I'm emphasizing.) Continuing advil, tiger balm, hot & cold and very light weight training exercises. My shoulders are requiring some rehab after attempting to adopt what I would describe as an exaggerated EVF overnight. I equate it to suddenly rotatating a well worn in ball bearing at 90 deg. Based on my experience, most would benefit from gradual introduction of EarlierVF from LVF(?).
It's great, but be carefull.:bump:
Please consider a slightly different position that doesn't hurt. Pain in a joint or when there's point tenderness (a specific spot) not related to stress adaptation (increased intensity and/or workload), must be avoided. You could be hurting yourself unnecessarily. If I was your coach we'd be sitting down for a heart-to-heart. Good luck.
