Reach

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//Noob triathlete//bike commuter//ex-swimmer//slower than you

You talking about your lead arm sinking, so you're doing a deep pull as opposed to having your elbow close to the surface?

Yes, trying to remember arm over a barrel, fingers down, pull back, don't push down....

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Fingertip drag drill. Continue to extend your arm past your shoulders with a high elbow while lightly dragging your fingers on the surface. Once you get to max reach take your stroke. Do it slowly!

Or don't ever ever ever do that drill - good way to ruin your shoulders if you aren't hyper mobile.

Kick on your side, one arm extended, looking down at the bottom. Learn and feel the forces on your leading hand, while thinking about keeping the elbow high. Do progressions of this drill - 8 kicks x 1 pull, 8 kicks x 3 strokes, to integrate it. Consider using short fins while doing these drills if your kick is not strong.

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I wrote this, you should read it:
https://www.slowtwitch.com/...n_Swimming_6700.html

http://forum.slowtwitch.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=5003161;search_string=high%20elbow;#5003161


This really helped me.

Why do you say this? Doing the drill slowly encourages a high elbow and long reach. I've never had trouble teaching my swimmers the drill. My coaches in high school and college advocated the drill as well. If this has been debunked then by all means educate me.

I did a lot of fingertip drag drill growing up too. and it destroyed my shoulders unless done slowly, deliberately, and under the direct supervision of a coach. The tendency of the swimmer to close down their shoulder too early, putting strain on the joint is, in my opinion, too great of a risk to take. As a consequence, most elite coaches I know no longer use finger-tip drag drill. Side kicking progressions, or a three-touch drill (kick on side, touch recovering arm front, back, front) are better ways, in my opinion, to encourage a long stroke with a high catch and open shoulder. Furthermore, swimmers doing fingertip drag have a tendency to put too much strain/effort/force into the recovery phase, thus negating the "recovery" portion of that phase. A relaxed recovery is more effective.

My N=1 experience is that through college doing fingertip drag closed my stroke too much, and when I started training as a post-graduate/pro with an elite group I was moved away from that drill, and my freestyle benefited.

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I wrote this, you should read it:
https://www.slowtwitch.com/...n_Swimming_6700.html

Are you sure you have a problem? I got a swimsmooth email a few months ago showing elite swimmers don't initiate their catch until their hands are about 12 inches under water. Dropping your elbow is a problem dropping your hand is what you should do. You want your elbow to remain relatively high I think but your hands sinking in isn't a problem. In fact if you reach too much you direct your palm forward and it is like putting on the brakes. Have a good coach take a look at your stroke. I agree with some others that catchup may not be very helpful. It can teach you to impair proper rotation.

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They constantly try to escape from the darkness outside and within
Dreaming of systems so perfect that no one will need to be good T.S. Eliot

Here's a good one......https://swimswam.com/...ws-pointing-forward/

Interesting.. Thank you for your response. Much appreciated! I'll have to look into this some more!

  Thanks!
Interestingly I have no issues with the old side-stroke. gotta wonder how it gets lost in translation! I'll give all these a try today,
Tks!

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Thanks!!!!

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Thanks!!!! The elbow to the end of the pool idea clicks. (Now to see if I can do it) (:

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You're very welcome! Having been a swimmer for many years, and a coach as well, I find especially with myself it will take one idea to make things click. Hope this one works for you......I'm trying it later today!

  Sure hope so, I have myself signed up for an April 2nd aqua bike, 750M swim.

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