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.
Former Member
I use a high-elbow recovery, which is most comfortable for me and has worked thus far (meaning, I'm afraid to change it. :)). However, my 13 year old daughter recently changed from a high elbow to a straight arm recovery. Her touchy shoulder recovered completely within two weeks, and her speed and efficiency improved immediately. Interestingly, her SAR was a by-product of her coach correcting her stroke on the first day of practice of the season (her left arm wasn't extending fully and was crossing the midline on her pull). Some of the fastest age group swimmers I see have a straight arm recovery.
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.
Your turnover isn't as fast as I thought it would be for the 500, with you using a straight arm recovery
I"m a slow-turnover/DPS guy in pretty much all my strokes.
I don't have a lot of videos of myself swimming. My only common free events are the 200 and the 400/500, and I don't know that those are all that different speeds. Here is my 500 at Clovis:
www.floswimming.org/.../178358
Your turnover isn't as fast as I thought it would be for the 500, with you using a straight arm recovery
I couldn't resist this thread...anything to do with Janet Evans just fires me up! She is, to this day, the most inspirational swimmer to me. And not just because of her results...it was her training regime that was so AWESOME. Anyone else swimming 20 X 400 descends would be puking and praying for death not smiling and looking all hot. Doing even one --just one --of her daily workouts would be an achievement.
Janet Evans was a gritty swimmer and ferocious competitor...who just happened to swim with SAR. People seem to think that she became great because of her technique. I don;t buy that.
Chris,
Well said. The Michael Phelps experiment should have put this issue to bed. SAR is simply not as fast, right? As for open water, the arguments for it sound legit to me.
People seem to think that she became great because of her technique.
I don't think that is correct, though there may be some people who think she became great IN SPITE OF her technique.
I think that when someone is successful with an unorthodox style, people are going to notice. And perhaps question assumptions about what constitutes good form.
I couldn't resist this thread...anything to do with Janet Evans just fires me up! She is, to this day, the most inspirational swimmer to me. And not just because of her results...it was her training regime that was so AWESOME. Anyone else swimming 20 X 400 descends would be puking and praying for death not smiling and looking all hot. Doing even one --just one --of her daily workouts would be an achievement.
Janet Evans was a gritty swimmer and ferocious competitor...who just happened to swim with SAR. People seem to think that she became great because of her technique. I don;t buy that.
One other thing, and this is not meant to take anything away from Janet Evans.
I often hear comments to the effect that so-and-so great champion became great because of their "ferocious competitiveness," the fact that they just "won't let themselves lose." The list of such athletes is long: Evans, Jordan, Armstrong, Phelps, etc etc. I do not doubt that such people are indeed driven to a degree that most of us can barely fathom.
But the implication (usually as told by the sports media) is often that these people are pretty ordinary, talent-wise, but have some inner quality that elevates them above the hoi-polloi. This story is especially appealing to the American psyche.
Desire alone isn't enough. I have known quite a few hard workers and many lazy talents. A great champion is almost always an extremely unlikely combination of crazy-competitiveness and crazy-talent, and Evans was no exception to this rule. It added up to an amazing swimmer.
Chris,
Well said. The Michael Phelps experiment should have put this issue to bed. SAR is simply not as fast, right? As for open water, the arguments for it sound legit to me.
Why is phelps the deciding factor in what works or doesn't work for other people? Just because it doesn't work for him, doesn't mean that it won't work for others.
