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
Little question for Gary,
Your proposal sounds very interesting. However, it goes against that of Ernest Maglischo, who is also known for having stick to the use of both the Forward Velocity and the Hand Velocity monitoring using scientific means, for what.... around 30 years now?
How do you explain this difference between your position and his'? In his mind, and fairly consistently across all editions (Swimming Faster 1980, Swimming Even Faster 1993 and Swimming Fastest 2003), the portion of the pulling path that is the most propulsive is the upsweep, which in all cases never begins until you reach mid body line. And quite frankly I do hope that it remains true since the whole arm (from shoulder to fingers) is in a far better position (safer) at this point to apply peak torque.
Again, not trying to criticize your proposal here. Just trying to understand the discrepancy that exists between two swimming bodies that both use science to assess changes in velocity.
The thing I like about your proposal though, is this suggestion that distance swimmers would benefit from a slightly higher turnover / shorter stroke. Not talking about huge difference here, but 1 stroke or 2 per 25m at a higher rate definitely works well for me. It allows me to keep a better form throughout the event. For instance, I can race most of a full 1500 at 15strokes per 25m (lower turnover rate). It's a huge risk though. Because if I loose a stroke during the event, it is going to be because of technique related muscle fatigue. Then even if I increase the turnover, it's too late. My form degraded. If I start the same event on 17strokes per 25m at higher turnover, no way that my form will degrade. I will finish the event at this stroke count. Easier to achieve even splits in other words.
I know Ernie...but truthfully, never read his book. So rather than try to debate him or his philosophy, let me try to defend my position. First, in the stroke cycle, a swimmer will spend approximately 1/2 of the entire cycle time in the front quadrant. The other half will be spent in the back quadrant and the above water recovery. That means we spend approximately 1/4 of the time in the back quadrant...or twice as much time in the front quadrant as the back quadrant. From a practical standpoint, I don't know why we would spend twice as much time in a position of lesser propulsion. Further, from a physiological and anatomical standpoint, there are many more muscle groups acting on arm/hand in the front quadrant than in the back quadrant. In fact, the tricep is about the only muscle still working a the end of the underwater pull.
What is a bit confusing is that the body speed is slowest as the arm nears the end of the front quadrant. But this is not because the power is low there. It is because the frontal drag force is so high at that moment from the upper arm...even the higher power cannot overcome the increased drag.
Gary
Little question for Gary,
Your proposal sounds very interesting. However, it goes against that of Ernest Maglischo, who is also known for having stick to the use of both the Forward Velocity and the Hand Velocity monitoring using scientific means, for what.... around 30 years now?
How do you explain this difference between your position and his'? In his mind, and fairly consistently across all editions (Swimming Faster 1980, Swimming Even Faster 1993 and Swimming Fastest 2003), the portion of the pulling path that is the most propulsive is the upsweep, which in all cases never begins until you reach mid body line. And quite frankly I do hope that it remains true since the whole arm (from shoulder to fingers) is in a far better position (safer) at this point to apply peak torque.
Again, not trying to criticize your proposal here. Just trying to understand the discrepancy that exists between two swimming bodies that both use science to assess changes in velocity.
The thing I like about your proposal though, is this suggestion that distance swimmers would benefit from a slightly higher turnover / shorter stroke. Not talking about huge difference here, but 1 stroke or 2 per 25m at a higher rate definitely works well for me. It allows me to keep a better form throughout the event. For instance, I can race most of a full 1500 at 15strokes per 25m (lower turnover rate). It's a huge risk though. Because if I loose a stroke during the event, it is going to be because of technique related muscle fatigue. Then even if I increase the turnover, it's too late. My form degraded. If I start the same event on 17strokes per 25m at higher turnover, no way that my form will degrade. I will finish the event at this stroke count. Easier to achieve even splits in other words.
I know Ernie...but truthfully, never read his book. So rather than try to debate him or his philosophy, let me try to defend my position. First, in the stroke cycle, a swimmer will spend approximately 1/2 of the entire cycle time in the front quadrant. The other half will be spent in the back quadrant and the above water recovery. That means we spend approximately 1/4 of the time in the back quadrant...or twice as much time in the front quadrant as the back quadrant. From a practical standpoint, I don't know why we would spend twice as much time in a position of lesser propulsion. Further, from a physiological and anatomical standpoint, there are many more muscle groups acting on arm/hand in the front quadrant than in the back quadrant. In fact, the tricep is about the only muscle still working a the end of the underwater pull.
What is a bit confusing is that the body speed is slowest as the arm nears the end of the front quadrant. But this is not because the power is low there. It is because the frontal drag force is so high at that moment from the upper arm...even the higher power cannot overcome the increased drag.
Gary
