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Swimming question
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Asking here as ladies are friendlier than the mens!

How, HOW do you go about making your arm bend in the swim? I know all the theory- 'over a barrel', 'push back not down', high elbows, roll more, but my arm just sort of won't bend when I swim. Drills- I think it bends. Using paddles, I think it bends more. Now I sound like a weirdo who has an arm with a life of it's own- but that's how it feelssometime. I cannot make the damn things do what I want them to.

I can see that there would be more levarage if it would- so any suggestions?
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Re: Swimming question [triFP] [ In reply to ]
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Maybe try doing some exercises (imitating stroke) with resistance bands and a mirror. Then you can see what your arms are doing.
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Re: Swimming question [triFP] [ In reply to ]
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I make a concious effort to touch my hips on every stroke with my thumb for both freestyle and butterfly. It worked for me as evidenced by a rather nice swimming scholarship to a D1 school. :)


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Re: Swimming question [triFP] [ In reply to ]
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ha! I have the same problem. I just cannot get my arm to do what I want it to! For years everyone has told me my stroke looks pretty good, but I pull wide, even this morning, new coach on the deck asked if he could give me some pointers. I told him "yes, but only if you can tell me how to get my arm to listen to my brain and to bend and not pull wide". He just laughed and said "that's the exact flaw I was going to tell you about"

I've tried dry land drills etc, but when I get in the water my arm stops listening to my brain. Even when I think I get it, the coach is always shaking his head no, not quite there yet.
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Re: Swimming question [triFP] [ In reply to ]
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The best thing I ever did for my swimming technique was to quit trying to make all the corrections, and instead focus on big picture stuff like timing, rotation, etc. Did so with the help of the Finding Freestyle 12 week on-line course. Best bang for buck I've spent on triathlon.

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Re: Swimming question [triFP] [ In reply to ]
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Finis forearm fulcrum got me to finally feel and correct this flaw
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Re: Swimming question [triFP] [ In reply to ]
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We practice catch-up freestyle for this. You are able to focus on one arm at a time and it works well. The one thing that stops swimmers from bending their elbow is if they don't rotate as they pull. Begin to rotate to the other side as you pull which helps you pull correctly.



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Re: Swimming question [BrentonFord] [ In reply to ]
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X2 on this. Drills drills drills esp catch-up.

AP

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Re: Swimming question [lilpups] [ In reply to ]
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lilpups wrote:
I make a concious effort to touch my hips on every stroke with my thumb for both freestyle and butterfly. It worked for me as evidenced by a rather nice swimming scholarship to a D1 school. :)


I do this too (no D1 whatever that is) but not sure it made a difference in bend.

For the OP, have you tried swimming one arm at a time and watching your stroke in the water? i find barrel visualization helps a lot but only after I've done it a while. First time I tried it was useless (in my head) but a few times after that and I felt like I had the idea and it felt stronger.

When I was a kid we were taught to "S" under our bodies (ie. start pull with hand pretty much in line with head, pull over to the right, back to center, then finish at the hip (a backwards S). I wonder if the visualization of that might help?

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Last edited by: kathy_caribe: Oct 23, 12 7:26
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