Just went to a PT who advocates swimming within the scapular plane. Doing all strengthening exercises within the scapular plane (never doing I, T's, or Ys above shoulder level, which I have, alas, been doing). No need, in his opinion, to do internal rotation with therabands; external rotation just 3/4 from front to 45 degrees past waist). No need for overhead rotation exercises; just stresses the shoulder joints.
What does scapular swimming mean? He demonstrated. No high elbows. No EVF.
Use rotation; use lats; use core. Let your arms swim wide and pretty straight during the recovery, but relaxed, with the momentum of your rotation. Don't bend your arms as you pull through the water. Let your lats/core/rotation/and your entire arm be your anchor. (If the lane is crowded he tightens up his recovery a little so he doesn't whack people.)
He was a national champion backstroker/Division I college swimmer. His way of swimming seems revolutionary. He said this is how Janet Evans swam, how Natalie Coughlin swims, how Torres swims, and how Phelps changed his recovery of fly, from bent elbow recovery to swinging over the water momentum recovery.
He says it could avoid a lot of shoulder problems. For me, it will mean relearning to swim.
Hum di dum. Any of you guys ever heard of this approach? At least in demonstrating, his freestyle pulling arm never had a high elbow or bend; he said he was much faster doing backstroke this way and that if I could learn how to do it correctly, I probably would be faster too. And that it would take the stress off my shoulders.
So the idea is never let the arms get above the scapular plane of the body. I need to e-mail him about breaststroke, because I don't see how you can pull without either a fair amount of internal rotation or using high elbows.
Always learning....
I am a veteran competitive swimmer and have worked on my shoulder injuries from swimming with Kipp Dye for the past 4 years. I use Scapular Plane technique and it is very fast and shoulder safe.
Video links of Scapular Plane Swimming Style:
I have included video links of Natalie Coughlin (freestyle and backstroke)- she explains this stroke style well and demonstrates it. Also a link of Phelp's fly which is scapular plane style.
Natalie Coughlin:
1. www.youtube.com/watch
2. www.youtube.com/watch
Michael Phelps Butterfly:
YouTube- Phelps Shatters 200-meter Butterfly World Record
There is only one thing you need to know about scapular plane swimming in deciding whether or not to do it:
There is a shoulder safe way to swim just as fast or faster than traditional EVF or DPS techniques.
Why wouldn’t you do what is safer for your shoulders in the long run?
How to do it:
Dryland- go through these strokes on dryland.
You should keep your hands/arms within your peripheral vision at all times.
If you get outside your peripheral vision, you are outside the scapular plane.
This puts you in the danger zone for injury and reduces the propulsion you can create.
Freestyle: Place your hand and arm in the water at a naturally slightly bent angle, without hyperextending into DPS. Begin the pull phase as you rotate from your core and hips toward the pulling arm. The arms stays naturally slightly bent. Your pull will be a little shorter than traditional swimming because your arm is not straight and there is no "finish" on the stroke. Let your arm swing out of the water, recover in that same slightly bent angle and rotate to the other side. Core rotation is key for this stroke. Rotate your head with your body to breathe.
Backstroke: The same as the freestyle but on your back. Your arms enter at 10 and 2, rather than stretched up DPS over your head. Lots of rotation, naturally curved arms. A shorter stroke with more core propulsion.
Fly: Same as the freestyle but simultaneous. Keep your head low, not strained, and your hands and arms within your peripheral vision. Phelps' fly is a great example of this.
Since this is a USMS forum, I assume most of us are hoping to be swimming for life. If you continue with EVF and DPS technique you may get lucky and not wreck your shoulders. Or you might be like thousands of other swimmers who swim with varying degrees of shoulder discomfort which eventually either sidelines them from training or racing or puts you on the operating table.
That’s where I ended up from 25 years of training with traditional swimming techniques. If I could take back every DPS drill I ever did and every stroke I swam that way, I would do it in an instant. After 3 surgeries I now happily and sucessfuly use Scapular Plane Swimming. It is hard on your core at first and you have to get strong to be effective with it. But in the long run it will likely save your swimming career...for racing, swimming laps for fun, or just lifetime fitness.
You have nothing to lose by using Scapular Plane technique.... other than the chance that you will be on the side of the pool.... instead of in it.....and cheering on your teammates while you can’t swim anymore.
I am a veteran competitive swimmer and have worked on my shoulder injuries from swimming with Kipp Dye for the past 4 years. I use Scapular Plane technique and it is very fast and shoulder safe.
Video links of Scapular Plane Swimming Style:
I have included video links of Natalie Coughlin (freestyle and backstroke)- she explains this stroke style well and demonstrates it. Also a link of Phelp's fly which is scapular plane style.
Natalie Coughlin:
1. www.youtube.com/watch
2. www.youtube.com/watch
Michael Phelps Butterfly:
YouTube- Phelps Shatters 200-meter Butterfly World Record
There is only one thing you need to know about scapular plane swimming in deciding whether or not to do it:
There is a shoulder safe way to swim just as fast or faster than traditional EVF or DPS techniques.
Why wouldn’t you do what is safer for your shoulders in the long run?
How to do it:
Dryland- go through these strokes on dryland.
You should keep your hands/arms within your peripheral vision at all times.
If you get outside your peripheral vision, you are outside the scapular plane.
This puts you in the danger zone for injury and reduces the propulsion you can create.
Freestyle: Place your hand and arm in the water at a naturally slightly bent angle, without hyperextending into DPS. Begin the pull phase as you rotate from your core and hips toward the pulling arm. The arms stays naturally slightly bent. Your pull will be a little shorter than traditional swimming because your arm is not straight and there is no "finish" on the stroke. Let your arm swing out of the water, recover in that same slightly bent angle and rotate to the other side. Core rotation is key for this stroke. Rotate your head with your body to breathe.
Backstroke: The same as the freestyle but on your back. Your arms enter at 10 and 2, rather than stretched up DPS over your head. Lots of rotation, naturally curved arms. A shorter stroke with more core propulsion.
Fly: Same as the freestyle but simultaneous. Keep your head low, not strained, and your hands and arms within your peripheral vision. Phelps' fly is a great example of this.
Since this is a USMS forum, I assume most of us are hoping to be swimming for life. If you continue with EVF and DPS technique you may get lucky and not wreck your shoulders. Or you might be like thousands of other swimmers who swim with varying degrees of shoulder discomfort which eventually either sidelines them from training or racing or puts you on the operating table.
That’s where I ended up from 25 years of training with traditional swimming techniques. If I could take back every DPS drill I ever did and every stroke I swam that way, I would do it in an instant. After 3 surgeries I now happily and sucessfuly use Scapular Plane Swimming. It is hard on your core at first and you have to get strong to be effective with it. But in the long run it will likely save your swimming career...for racing, swimming laps for fun, or just lifetime fitness.
You have nothing to lose by using Scapular Plane technique.... other than the chance that you will be on the side of the pool.... instead of in it.....and cheering on your teammates while you can’t swim anymore.
