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....
ElainK -
I think you are on the right track and need to do your own critical thinking about what scapular mechanics involve. I am 100% in favor of as much arm movement being in the frontal plane of your body. The reason I believe in finishing with a straight arm and touching your thumb to your thigh is because it DOES make it easier to recover on the front side of your body than finishing your pull at your hip.
Let me be more specific that your thumb should touch the outside front of your thigh and the pull should finish at that point followed by a hip rotation upward (in fact your whole recovery side including the shoulder) to clear the arm for recovery. I agree with Julia that your hand/arm should never come out of the water on the dorsal (back side) plane of your body.
The other reason for finishing to your thigh is equally important. When you finish your pull at your hip and immediately begin your recovery, it means you won't have enough time to get your other arm into the optimal pulling position. This leads to the issues you have been dealing with: hand entry outside your shoulder, not a deep enough catch, etc.. Yes, your tempo might be higher, but I doubt your speed can be maintained for very long (contrary to the article by Kyle, etal). I find the shorter stroke also make it a challenge to engage a 6 beat kick if you should want to use it. Short strokes usually lead to 2 beat or 3 beat cross-over kicks which okay for longer races, but not good for shorter ones if time is important.
The finish to the front of the thigh corrects all of that IF you: a) finish at your thigh, and b) rotate your hip upward (and shoulder) before starting the recovery. In my experience, many swimmers (especially older ones) don't rotate the hip (and shoulder) upward before starting the recovery - even one of the world record holders (in his 80s) I am coaching right now.
My shoulders have been "bad" for 47 years - water polo injuries, separations, strains, etc.. No surgeries. All of my mechanics are based on what allows me to swim fast without pain. The hip and shoulder rotation is my key. When Mary Beth (my wife and training partner) has shoulder issues and tells me, the first thing I ask is if she is finishing and rotating before recovery. Almost 100% of the time, this reduces or eliminates the discomfort.
As for finishing your fly pull at your hips, I tend to advocate that for us older and slower swimmers AS LONG AS the initial recovery motion is out-sweeping around the sides (like making snow angels. Finishing at your hips and starting the recovery by lifting your elbows is an injury waiting to happen.
For those reading this and thinking "I don't have these shoulder issues" that is great. What works for each of us is unique which is why it is important to critically think about what you read and see if it works for you - or does not. :)
Paul
ElainK -
I think you are on the right track and need to do your own critical thinking about what scapular mechanics involve. I am 100% in favor of as much arm movement being in the frontal plane of your body. The reason I believe in finishing with a straight arm and touching your thumb to your thigh is because it DOES make it easier to recover on the front side of your body than finishing your pull at your hip.
Let me be more specific that your thumb should touch the outside front of your thigh and the pull should finish at that point followed by a hip rotation upward (in fact your whole recovery side including the shoulder) to clear the arm for recovery. I agree with Julia that your hand/arm should never come out of the water on the dorsal (back side) plane of your body.
The other reason for finishing to your thigh is equally important. When you finish your pull at your hip and immediately begin your recovery, it means you won't have enough time to get your other arm into the optimal pulling position. This leads to the issues you have been dealing with: hand entry outside your shoulder, not a deep enough catch, etc.. Yes, your tempo might be higher, but I doubt your speed can be maintained for very long (contrary to the article by Kyle, etal). I find the shorter stroke also make it a challenge to engage a 6 beat kick if you should want to use it. Short strokes usually lead to 2 beat or 3 beat cross-over kicks which okay for longer races, but not good for shorter ones if time is important.
The finish to the front of the thigh corrects all of that IF you: a) finish at your thigh, and b) rotate your hip upward (and shoulder) before starting the recovery. In my experience, many swimmers (especially older ones) don't rotate the hip (and shoulder) upward before starting the recovery - even one of the world record holders (in his 80s) I am coaching right now.
My shoulders have been "bad" for 47 years - water polo injuries, separations, strains, etc.. No surgeries. All of my mechanics are based on what allows me to swim fast without pain. The hip and shoulder rotation is my key. When Mary Beth (my wife and training partner) has shoulder issues and tells me, the first thing I ask is if she is finishing and rotating before recovery. Almost 100% of the time, this reduces or eliminates the discomfort.
As for finishing your fly pull at your hips, I tend to advocate that for us older and slower swimmers AS LONG AS the initial recovery motion is out-sweeping around the sides (like making snow angels. Finishing at your hips and starting the recovery by lifting your elbows is an injury waiting to happen.
For those reading this and thinking "I don't have these shoulder issues" that is great. What works for each of us is unique which is why it is important to critically think about what you read and see if it works for you - or does not. :)
Paul
