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
Parents
Former Member
+1
I'm struggling with shoulder issues right now. Fortunately, the MRI I had last week showed no rotator cuff tear as my orthopedic surgeon thought it would. Still, I wonder how much of what I've gone through in the past few months is due to my attempts to improve my stroke, but tried to do things my aging body (I'm 56) simply won't allow anymore. Skip
That's one of the huge considerations we incorporate in our clinics, and when we do video analisys recommendations... to offer advice that an individual can attain, without injuring themselves. Musculature, age, overall health and flexibility all come into play for an average individual seeking their PB's, which is the category that most masters swimmers fall into.
On can have long term goals, like perhaps building up the upper body musculature so one can sustain the kind of a stroke Gary is talking about, in longer distances. Age and health play a big role in how aggresively one should tackle this.
The other, short term goal is to maximize what people do have right now, and make technique corrections (inefficiencies) that will lessen the drag or improve power with what they have now. Shorter, more immediately attainable goals are often things like posture and minor stroke efficiency tweaks.
In my personal case, for example, I'm very 'body aware' and can qopt and evem demonstrate various techniques very quickly. When it comes to building power and speed into it, forget about it, I have health issues that prevent muscle and strenght building past a certain level.
This is an example of a concern I often have when people focus on the stroke efficiency mechanics in such minutia that they neglect to consider the whole body. Especially when people focus on top level swimmers, and little details of what they are doing, like hand entry, or the S curve or what not... Lot of these things may be adaptations taht top swimmers developed to take best advantage of their individual physique and talents, rather then something that works for everyone.
Also, there can be a sizeable difference between working with age groupers and developing bodies and minds, and adults.
+1
I'm struggling with shoulder issues right now. Fortunately, the MRI I had last week showed no rotator cuff tear as my orthopedic surgeon thought it would. Still, I wonder how much of what I've gone through in the past few months is due to my attempts to improve my stroke, but tried to do things my aging body (I'm 56) simply won't allow anymore. Skip
That's one of the huge considerations we incorporate in our clinics, and when we do video analisys recommendations... to offer advice that an individual can attain, without injuring themselves. Musculature, age, overall health and flexibility all come into play for an average individual seeking their PB's, which is the category that most masters swimmers fall into.
On can have long term goals, like perhaps building up the upper body musculature so one can sustain the kind of a stroke Gary is talking about, in longer distances. Age and health play a big role in how aggresively one should tackle this.
The other, short term goal is to maximize what people do have right now, and make technique corrections (inefficiencies) that will lessen the drag or improve power with what they have now. Shorter, more immediately attainable goals are often things like posture and minor stroke efficiency tweaks.
In my personal case, for example, I'm very 'body aware' and can qopt and evem demonstrate various techniques very quickly. When it comes to building power and speed into it, forget about it, I have health issues that prevent muscle and strenght building past a certain level.
This is an example of a concern I often have when people focus on the stroke efficiency mechanics in such minutia that they neglect to consider the whole body. Especially when people focus on top level swimmers, and little details of what they are doing, like hand entry, or the S curve or what not... Lot of these things may be adaptations taht top swimmers developed to take best advantage of their individual physique and talents, rather then something that works for everyone.
Also, there can be a sizeable difference between working with age groupers and developing bodies and minds, and adults.
