I recently posted these 10 myths on some triathlon websites and stirred up some good conversation. So here I go again.....
Myth #1 To go faster in swimming one must push out the back of the arm pull.
I believe this myth may have originated with an article that appeared some time in the 90's. The article showed a swimming figure mimicking Alex Popov's freestyle pull. It showed the figure with the left arm in front and the the right arm in back ready to exit the water for the recovery. A graph showed the velocity of Popov's body in the water as a function of the position of the hand. The velocity ranged from nearly 3 meters per second down to about 1.4 meters per second during a single pull cycle. The slowest speed occurred when the hand appeared to be at around the shoulder and the fastest speed occurred in the position shown in the figure. The author erroneously concluded that since the speed was so high as the right hand was about to exit, that this is where the most power must be....hence push out the back.
My study with the velocity meter doing freestyle concurs that it is these two positions that consistently show the highest and lowest velocities of the stroke cycle in freestyle (though I was seeing more like a 30 to 40% drop, not 50%). But it is not because of the power out the back that we see the speed highest in this position. It is because it is by far the position of least drag (most streamlined). The propulsive power in this position actually is derived mostly from the left arm out in front and the kick, with little or no power coming from the end of the arm pull. The propulsive power may be even greater when we see the hand at the shoulder (slowest body speed), but because the arm is jetting straight out, perpendicular to the body, the drag coefficient skyrockets and our speed drops instantly.
The harm that is done by pushing out the back is that it delays the recovery and slows the stroke rate. Most of the arm propulsive power is derived from the entry to the shoulder (called the front quadrant....about 1/2 of the total arm cycle time is spent there). So the sooner one can get the hand back to the front quadrant after leaving the shoulder, the better.
If you happened to be blessed with Mercury motors for legs, like Michael Phelps, Ian Thorpe, Gary Jr, Natalie Coughlin etc, then you can afford to use a slower stroke rate...but hold in front, not in back.
For the rest of us mortals, keep your arms moving faster and in the front quadrant. Think you can't do that for a 1500? Think again. Lot's of distance swimmers use high arm stroke rates. You just have to train that way and get fit.
Regards,
Gary Sr.
The Race Club
Thanks, Gary, for starting what is sure to be an interesting thread.
But it is not because of the power out the back that we see the speed highest in this position. It is because it is by far the position of least drag (most streamlined). The propulsive power in this position actually is derived mostly from the left arm out in front and the kick, with little or no power coming from the end of the arm pull. The propulsive power may be even greater when we see the hand at the shoulder (slowest body speed), but because the arm is jetting straight out, perpendicular to the body, the drag coefficient skyrockets and our speed drops instantly.
The harm that is done by pushing out the back is that it delays the recovery and slows the stroke rate. Most of the arm propulsive power is derived from the entry to the shoulder (called the front quadrant....about 1/2 of the total arm cycle time is spent there). So the sooner one can get the hand back to the front quadrant after leaving the shoulder, the better.
I'm willing to grant that the front quadrant is the most propulsive part of the stroke. I'm slightly suspicious of the statement that it is drag slowing down the stroke when you describe (when the one arm is perpendicular, isn't that about when the other arm is at the end of its recovery phase, entering the water?) but don't have any basis for this other than intuition, and that is an unreliable thing to...rely on.
But even granting what you say: why is *propulsion* (alone) everything? You highlight the effects of BOTH propulsion and drag, and yet insist that we should focus only on increasing propulsion. If, as you state, the end of the stroke is when we experience the least drag and highest velocity, why should it be cut short?
Ultimately it is velocity that counts, after all: the net effect of both propulsion and drag.
If you happened to be blessed with Mercury motors for legs, like Michael Phelps, Ian Thorpe, Gary Jr, Natalie Coughlin etc, then you can afford to use a slower stroke rate...but hold in front, not in back.
For the rest of us mortals, keep your arms moving faster and in the front quadrant. Think you can't do that for a 1500? Think again. Lot's of distance swimmers use high arm stroke rates. You just have to train that way and get fit.
It seems to me there is a contradiction in attitude here. A good kick is something you either have or not, but a high turnover rate is something that can be learned through proper training. Surely the same can be said of (say) a strong six-beat kick?
Perhaps turnover rates in distance events have been increasing; I haven't kept up with that statistic. But I am pretty sure that I've been seeing more distance swimmers with strong six-beat kicks, too. And kicking in general seems to be getting more attention than it used to (deservedly so, in my opinion).
Thanks, Gary, for starting what is sure to be an interesting thread.
But it is not because of the power out the back that we see the speed highest in this position. It is because it is by far the position of least drag (most streamlined). The propulsive power in this position actually is derived mostly from the left arm out in front and the kick, with little or no power coming from the end of the arm pull. The propulsive power may be even greater when we see the hand at the shoulder (slowest body speed), but because the arm is jetting straight out, perpendicular to the body, the drag coefficient skyrockets and our speed drops instantly.
The harm that is done by pushing out the back is that it delays the recovery and slows the stroke rate. Most of the arm propulsive power is derived from the entry to the shoulder (called the front quadrant....about 1/2 of the total arm cycle time is spent there). So the sooner one can get the hand back to the front quadrant after leaving the shoulder, the better.
I'm willing to grant that the front quadrant is the most propulsive part of the stroke. I'm slightly suspicious of the statement that it is drag slowing down the stroke when you describe (when the one arm is perpendicular, isn't that about when the other arm is at the end of its recovery phase, entering the water?) but don't have any basis for this other than intuition, and that is an unreliable thing to...rely on.
But even granting what you say: why is *propulsion* (alone) everything? You highlight the effects of BOTH propulsion and drag, and yet insist that we should focus only on increasing propulsion. If, as you state, the end of the stroke is when we experience the least drag and highest velocity, why should it be cut short?
Ultimately it is velocity that counts, after all: the net effect of both propulsion and drag.
If you happened to be blessed with Mercury motors for legs, like Michael Phelps, Ian Thorpe, Gary Jr, Natalie Coughlin etc, then you can afford to use a slower stroke rate...but hold in front, not in back.
For the rest of us mortals, keep your arms moving faster and in the front quadrant. Think you can't do that for a 1500? Think again. Lot's of distance swimmers use high arm stroke rates. You just have to train that way and get fit.
It seems to me there is a contradiction in attitude here. A good kick is something you either have or not, but a high turnover rate is something that can be learned through proper training. Surely the same can be said of (say) a strong six-beat kick?
Perhaps turnover rates in distance events have been increasing; I haven't kept up with that statistic. But I am pretty sure that I've been seeing more distance swimmers with strong six-beat kicks, too. And kicking in general seems to be getting more attention than it used to (deservedly so, in my opinion).
