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.
Parents
Former Member
I haven't observed your daughter so I have no idea if this applies to her but crossing the midline and shoulder problems both are commonly a result of the swimmer not rotating enough. Some swimmers recover with the elbow behind the scapular plane when they try a high elbow recovery without incorporating enough roll to keep the elbow in front of the body.
That makes a lot of sense. It could very well be the issue with her. If it is, I would venture a guess that her coach has noticed and has been working with her to correct it. Her coach (and my son's coach) and my masters coach are one in the same, and I try hard to keep us all separate; I hear only what my kids and the coach tell me. I figure that swim work ethic, technique, etc. can stay between the kids and their coach. I don't want to be one of THOSE parents. :)
I haven't observed your daughter so I have no idea if this applies to her but crossing the midline and shoulder problems both are commonly a result of the swimmer not rotating enough. Some swimmers recover with the elbow behind the scapular plane when they try a high elbow recovery without incorporating enough roll to keep the elbow in front of the body.
That makes a lot of sense. It could very well be the issue with her. If it is, I would venture a guess that her coach has noticed and has been working with her to correct it. Her coach (and my son's coach) and my masters coach are one in the same, and I try hard to keep us all separate; I hear only what my kids and the coach tell me. I figure that swim work ethic, technique, etc. can stay between the kids and their coach. I don't want to be one of THOSE parents. :)
