I was looking at the swimmer in the first video. Serviceable technique. I think there are some important things lost in the dry land demonstration (and I'm willing to cut people a little slack on that--it's difficult to simulate aquatic movement on land, one of the big weaknesses I see in the swim bench machines like Vasa and Halo.) I have filmed and coached easily 1000+ triathletes through clinics, private lessons, masters. Trust me, a very very small percentage of triathletes look anywhere near that skill level. It's not perfect and my intent here is not to analyze this particular swimmer. But the core underlying mechanics are pretty sound for effective swimming. People are welcome to their opinion about whether they would want that stroke in the open water. If you had a triathlon club with 100 athletes from novice to elite I suspect a small percentage would look as good. Less than 20 percent.
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Re: Crawl technique (freestyle swimming) - Arms position underwater [jaretj]
[ In reply to ]
Re: Crawl technique (freestyle swimming) - Arms position underwater [StrokeDoctor]
[ In reply to ]
Great explanation!!
I'm the swimmer of the video, and I will do what you suggest, pretty interesting!
Thanks for your comments!
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JuanjoNTP (@JuanjoNTP)
http://www.ironman-finisher.com
I'm the swimmer of the video, and I will do what you suggest, pretty interesting!
Thanks for your comments!
-------------------------------------
JuanjoNTP (@JuanjoNTP)
http://www.ironman-finisher.com
Re: Crawl technique (freestyle swimming) - Arms position underwater [JuanjoNTP]
[ In reply to ]
Here are a couple of technique adjustments you might consider. I don't think any of them would translate into a huge jump in your performance, but small changes can have a cumulative effect. You might also save a little wear and tear on your deltoids.
1. Around the 10 second mark, you'll see your left elbow making contact with the water at about the same moment your forearm does (maybe a little earlier sometimes.) This could lead to a dropped elbow below the surface, although in your case it doesn't appear to. The same is true on the right if you observe around the 56-58 second mark. I think you salvage that okay and it doesn't really affect your transition into the catch phase. It does for the vast majority of swimmers who do this. It COULD, however, put some unnecessary stress on your deltoid muscles that might cause inflammation or tenderness.
2. Experiment with a more neutral head position. You look significantly forward after each breath, and this exerts a sinking pressure in the back end of the stroke. Swim a series of 25s with number 1 employing your normal head position, then on each length drop your eyes just a little bit. How does each slight adjustment in head position alter your sense of what's happening down the length of your body line? Do your hips/legs feel higher/lower/heavier/lighter? Is your perception of rotation easier/harder/forced/natural? Do you feel that you are increasing or reducing frontal resistance making one choice versus the other? I suspect you'll feel more stable, less resistance, a more natural sense of rotation and lighter/higher legs by dropping to neutral. Some swimmers simply kick more to compensate for this subtle downward pressure, but given the choice between an energy-spending solution and an energy-saving solution, I'd go with the latter. You have a steady, light kick that doesn't appear to be very taxing for you. Adjusting your head position would likely give you the option of using even less kick,which may save you a few heartbeats per minute without any loss in speed. For the less accomplished swimmers you are coaching--and particularly the horribly kick-challenged ones who will show up at your pool--this is a very significant consideration.
3. There are a couple of instances where your stroking arm slides wide during the initial catch / pull phase (51 second mark, left arm) and (2:01 mark, left arm, less exaggerated.) It's interesting that both of these occur as you are breathing, which leads me to believe they are a response to a slight loss of stability/balance as you breathe. That is nearly unavoidable but could probably be minimized by maintaining a lower head position through the breathing action. A common piece of advice is to 'hide one goggle lens' below the surface as you inhale. I try to observe below the surface while my mouth is taking in air above it. Doing that would probably improve stability, reduce the impulse of the stroking arm to compensate, and maybe create a more effective leveraging moment.
Since you are coaching athletes I think it's important that you tinker with these things so you understand them both intellectually and physically. I once worked on staff as part of a very large age group program and in the five years I worked there never once saw the head coaches get in the water. They didn't swim for fitness, or to work/interact with their athletes, or to experiment with new movement patterns. This is far too common in USA Swimming. I wouldn't take guitar lessons from someone who hasn't picked one up in 10 years, and I would't be too wild about taking swimming advice from someone whose pointers are based on old memories of swimming rather than current experiences. That's particularly true as our sport advances and new concepts and ideas replace old ones. If I were running my own team I would have a dedicated coach in the water with a camera every minute of practice, floating from lane to lane, snapping quick clips, having little 1 minute conversations with the athletes. That's exactly what I do when I teach privately and run group clinics.
I just finished a short document with support images/graphics that you may find useful. If you can share your email I'll send it to you.
Gary
gary@strokedocswim.com
1. Around the 10 second mark, you'll see your left elbow making contact with the water at about the same moment your forearm does (maybe a little earlier sometimes.) This could lead to a dropped elbow below the surface, although in your case it doesn't appear to. The same is true on the right if you observe around the 56-58 second mark. I think you salvage that okay and it doesn't really affect your transition into the catch phase. It does for the vast majority of swimmers who do this. It COULD, however, put some unnecessary stress on your deltoid muscles that might cause inflammation or tenderness.
2. Experiment with a more neutral head position. You look significantly forward after each breath, and this exerts a sinking pressure in the back end of the stroke. Swim a series of 25s with number 1 employing your normal head position, then on each length drop your eyes just a little bit. How does each slight adjustment in head position alter your sense of what's happening down the length of your body line? Do your hips/legs feel higher/lower/heavier/lighter? Is your perception of rotation easier/harder/forced/natural? Do you feel that you are increasing or reducing frontal resistance making one choice versus the other? I suspect you'll feel more stable, less resistance, a more natural sense of rotation and lighter/higher legs by dropping to neutral. Some swimmers simply kick more to compensate for this subtle downward pressure, but given the choice between an energy-spending solution and an energy-saving solution, I'd go with the latter. You have a steady, light kick that doesn't appear to be very taxing for you. Adjusting your head position would likely give you the option of using even less kick,which may save you a few heartbeats per minute without any loss in speed. For the less accomplished swimmers you are coaching--and particularly the horribly kick-challenged ones who will show up at your pool--this is a very significant consideration.
3. There are a couple of instances where your stroking arm slides wide during the initial catch / pull phase (51 second mark, left arm) and (2:01 mark, left arm, less exaggerated.) It's interesting that both of these occur as you are breathing, which leads me to believe they are a response to a slight loss of stability/balance as you breathe. That is nearly unavoidable but could probably be minimized by maintaining a lower head position through the breathing action. A common piece of advice is to 'hide one goggle lens' below the surface as you inhale. I try to observe below the surface while my mouth is taking in air above it. Doing that would probably improve stability, reduce the impulse of the stroking arm to compensate, and maybe create a more effective leveraging moment.
Since you are coaching athletes I think it's important that you tinker with these things so you understand them both intellectually and physically. I once worked on staff as part of a very large age group program and in the five years I worked there never once saw the head coaches get in the water. They didn't swim for fitness, or to work/interact with their athletes, or to experiment with new movement patterns. This is far too common in USA Swimming. I wouldn't take guitar lessons from someone who hasn't picked one up in 10 years, and I would't be too wild about taking swimming advice from someone whose pointers are based on old memories of swimming rather than current experiences. That's particularly true as our sport advances and new concepts and ideas replace old ones. If I were running my own team I would have a dedicated coach in the water with a camera every minute of practice, floating from lane to lane, snapping quick clips, having little 1 minute conversations with the athletes. That's exactly what I do when I teach privately and run group clinics.
I just finished a short document with support images/graphics that you may find useful. If you can share your email I'll send it to you.
Gary
gary@strokedocswim.com
Re: Crawl technique (freestyle swimming) - Arms position underwater [dogmile]
[ In reply to ]
I suspect Laure Manaudou's stroke would work well in open water: http://www.youtube.com/...e81gjbAA&t=5m55s