So I am fine tuning my stroke for my first meet. I am noticing that my hands during the underwater recovery really drag, and I can't figure out a hand position that will stop it.
I take a big pull (how I was taught), way deeper on my chest than my regular pull, so the hands have a long way to go along my body. Am I still supposed to do this?
Any general comments regarding starts and turns welcome, too.
Luckily, my meet is LCM, so I only have to worry about it on the start next week.
Thanks for any help. BTW, swam a 36 (50Y) from the wall at the end of practice today, which is great for me, so thanks again to everyone who has helped me out. :chug:
Parents
Former Member
Fantastic thread!
I have been playing around with this since we have been allowed to do it. You can go farther faster by doing the dolphin kick after your hands have split. According to my understanding of the rule, all the hands have to do is move before you do the kick, so even if they have not separated, if they have moved then you are good to go.
As far as the rest of the pullout goes, a wide out-sweep of the hands really sets up for a powerful pull. You gotta use those big swimmer muscles (lats) to force the water back past your feet. Squeeze everything together when you are in your "slowest" position. This is when your hands are at your side and you have your head exposed. There was a quote before saying that when you start to slow down you need to bring your hands up, but you dont want to slow down. You will have to play with it to realize when you are losing speed. You want to shoot your hands up to a streamline before you slow down. Right as your kick is coming to a snapping finish you want to start your first stroke on the surface. That first stroke sets up the rest of the length. Make sure you are getting as much of your body out and over the surface of the water as possible to make it as easy as possible.
I could probably go on for days on how to improve your pullout. But, as I am sitting here sipping on my coffee :anim_coffee: (I love that icon!) I realize that it could get a little confusing. The main thing to remember is that a pullout is different for everyone. You need to play with it and feel for yourself which is best for you. Dont lose speed, and carry your momentum over the surface on your first stroke.
Best of luck!
Dave:anim_coffee:
Fantastic thread!
I have been playing around with this since we have been allowed to do it. You can go farther faster by doing the dolphin kick after your hands have split. According to my understanding of the rule, all the hands have to do is move before you do the kick, so even if they have not separated, if they have moved then you are good to go.
As far as the rest of the pullout goes, a wide out-sweep of the hands really sets up for a powerful pull. You gotta use those big swimmer muscles (lats) to force the water back past your feet. Squeeze everything together when you are in your "slowest" position. This is when your hands are at your side and you have your head exposed. There was a quote before saying that when you start to slow down you need to bring your hands up, but you dont want to slow down. You will have to play with it to realize when you are losing speed. You want to shoot your hands up to a streamline before you slow down. Right as your kick is coming to a snapping finish you want to start your first stroke on the surface. That first stroke sets up the rest of the length. Make sure you are getting as much of your body out and over the surface of the water as possible to make it as easy as possible.
I could probably go on for days on how to improve your pullout. But, as I am sitting here sipping on my coffee :anim_coffee: (I love that icon!) I realize that it could get a little confusing. The main thing to remember is that a pullout is different for everyone. You need to play with it and feel for yourself which is best for you. Dont lose speed, and carry your momentum over the surface on your first stroke.
Best of luck!
Dave:anim_coffee:
