I was cruising the Internet last night and somehow got on the subject of straight-arm recovery (SAR). You know, like Janet Evans and a few other prominent swimmers. The most recent being YouTube - Swimming - Go Swim Straight Arm Freestyle with Scott Tucker.
From what I read, SAR may help to reduce shoulder strain in older swimmers (i.e., me) and those with less flexible shoulders, so I gave it a try this morning just for fun.
I have to say, I like it better than high-elbow. I did several 25 sprints using both techniques and found I wasn't any slower using SAR, and I might actually be slightly faster.
The thing I was really struck with is how effortless it felt to swim SAR as compared to high-elbow (for me anyway), and I also found my pull to be more complete. With high-elbow, I have a tendency to shorten my stroke a little bit and not follow-through completely. With SAR, this isn't the case for me.
I was just curious as to how many others in Masters-land regularly swim using straight-arm recovery.
Cool! Thanks, Elaine. :agree: I'll give that thread a look-see.
It's only my right shoulder that gives me trouble now and then. Since I am right-handed, I tend to use this side of my upper body the most, and I'm sure I stress it too much sometimes when lifting stuff. I try to conciously use my left arm more when doing day-to-day stuff, but it's hard to remember sometimes.
Funny thing about swimming fly -- it doesn't bother my shoulders in the least, which I am very glad about. :D This is what led me to SAR in the first place. The article I read mentioned how similar SAR is to swimming fly.
Cool! Thanks, Elaine. :agree: I'll give that thread a look-see.
It's only my right shoulder that gives me trouble now and then. Since I am right-handed, I tend to use this side of my upper body the most, and I'm sure I stress it too much sometimes when lifting stuff. I try to conciously use my left arm more when doing day-to-day stuff, but it's hard to remember sometimes.
Funny thing about swimming fly -- it doesn't bother my shoulders in the least, which I am very glad about. :D This is what led me to SAR in the first place. The article I read mentioned how similar SAR is to swimming fly.
