So earlier at practice I experimented with flat feet coming off every wall. There was a very noticeable difference. I could surface with ease past the flags, without any DKs. In my first two years of swimming, I have used just the balls (and toes) of my feet in coming off the walls.
Flat feet (that is, both ball and heel) feels a little awkward right now, like any technique change, but I think I'm going to start adjusting to it for permanent use.
Thanks to Jim Thornton who suggested I make this a poll!
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I'm a convert to the flat-foot push. I guess I thought you'd push off a wall the same way you'd execute a high jump or a slam dunk. Turns out those jumps are off a flat foot, too.
I already posted a high jumper. Here's a guy slam-dunking:
YouTube - Brent Docter Slow Motion Dunk Contest
His heels either touch the ground every time, or they get really close to the ground. Every dunking video I found had players jumping off a flat foot. This one is the easiest to see.
The evidence for flat feet so far:
- All elite swimmers presented push off flat-footed.
- Similar dryland jumps - high jumping and dunking a basketball - involve flat-footed starts.
The evidence for the balls of the foot so far:
- Most swimmers do it.
- Some, maybe most, coaches teach it.
Advocates of the 'balls' approach would help their cause if they showed videos of elite or high achievers in swimming or other athletic endeavors pushing off/jumping that way.
I really don't have a stake in this discussion, as I have a lot of other things to work on to get my times down. But if I were fast and competitive and wanting to shave a half-second off my 100, I'd sure look here.
I'm a convert to the flat-foot push. I guess I thought you'd push off a wall the same way you'd execute a high jump or a slam dunk. Turns out those jumps are off a flat foot, too.
I already posted a high jumper. Here's a guy slam-dunking:
YouTube - Brent Docter Slow Motion Dunk Contest
His heels either touch the ground every time, or they get really close to the ground. Every dunking video I found had players jumping off a flat foot. This one is the easiest to see.
The evidence for flat feet so far:
- All elite swimmers presented push off flat-footed.
- Similar dryland jumps - high jumping and dunking a basketball - involve flat-footed starts.
The evidence for the balls of the foot so far:
- Most swimmers do it.
- Some, maybe most, coaches teach it.
Advocates of the 'balls' approach would help their cause if they showed videos of elite or high achievers in swimming or other athletic endeavors pushing off/jumping that way.
I really don't have a stake in this discussion, as I have a lot of other things to work on to get my times down. But if I were fast and competitive and wanting to shave a half-second off my 100, I'd sure look here.
