nice one!

maybe your seatpost is too high

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It doesn't exist if there aren't any pics.

But seriously, I've heard you say "notice your hands" and "what are you looking at when you breathe" and whatnot lately. I'd love to get to that swim clinic in Austin but I'm nursing my shoulder right now. Bad timing.

So do you have anything published here on what my hands should look like during my stroke? Should I look at the bottom of the pool, or my feet, etc?

I get that you want us to pay more attention to what we're actually doing. That's cool, sometimes I realize that I've been "just swimming" halfway through my workout and not really focusing on mechanics.

Please don't post pics of a seatpost stuck in your butt.

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Your favorite mafia sucks.

I think the problem was that I put astroglide on my chamois and used a very narrow seat.

DougStern

Come to clinic anyway. We will have a major exchange of ideas on how to swim.

Looking at the bottom of the pool might be the most streamline position for swimming but you cannot learn to swim by looking downward. You need feedback and your line of sight is integral to the learning process.

If you are going to breathe to the right, extend your right arm, flex your wrist so tht you can see the palm of you hand. This locks the front of your body as your kick locks that rear of your body. You can now rotate your hips. Imagine that the word "hip" is written on the palm of your hand. So youhve flexed your wrist, you see the word "hip" start to open your hip on that side and then immediately start your head rotating in sync with your shoulder rotation.

Tha is what I mean when I say, "notice your hand."

I am typing this while standing because I still cannot get that seatpost out. Any ideas?

DougStern

well that was your mistake. astroglide is water soluble, you should have used Bodyglide. Now the seatpost is stuck because you have no lube. that's what you get for trying to ride your bike in the pool.

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I'm confused. If I'm looking at the palm of my hands, aren't I looking downward?

Notice your hands when you swim.

Listen to the man.

As a former competetive swimmer, I find it highly amusing that one can read 1000 posts about how to swim and see nothing about the hands. I can honestly say that 90% of the stuff you guys talk about when you lament about your swimming, I never thought or cared about back in the day. But I always knew EXACTLY what my hands were doing on each and every stroke.

I knew that I shoud not have tried to mix activities. Boy am I embarrassed!

DougStern

Your arm is gliding forward on the surface of the water. Flex your wrist before you pull back. Keep your elbows up as your hand goes down.

Practice standing with an arm overhead. Flex your wrist and look at it. Now do it in the pool.

DougStern

Doug,

I love these visualization techniques. Do your fingers point to the bottom of the pool at all times until you close your armpit and your hand passes your hip line?



Dev

After swimming competitively for 51 years I still marvel at how my hands move and feel the water. It is so much fun.

DougStern

Once your flex your wrist your fingers point to the bottom of the pool until they reesner the water again.

Stand by a wall with your butt against (take out the seat post), place your hand on the wall by your hip with your fingers pointing downward. Slide your hand up the wall. Notice where your fingers are still pointing.

Place both hand overhead palms touching. Keep your palms touching while you bring your hands in front of your face. Notice the position of your hands and fingers. They have not changed position.

DougStern

i love this stuff. when you grasp the essence of the movement...and know what it should look and feel like when its right...it really does become that much more fun.

lots of folks around here are looking forward to your west Michigan visit next month.

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Train hard...race well.
www.jimmishler.com
"Jim, I happen to agree with you" DougStern

Hands, cool.....I don't swim except when I race and thats where all my concentration goes. Where are my hands and what am I doing with them. I must be doing something right, then. I only swim train the morning of a race. I swim to the first bouy and take notice of which way I am curving off path that day. I then adjust my stroke accordingly to swim a straight line. My only other thought during the swim is to keep a high elbow to allow my fingers to stay just off the water as I recover. This helps keep me relaxed.

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Paul

After swimming competitively for 51 years I still marvel at how my hands move and feel the water. It is so much fun.


I am convinced my great "feel for the water" came at least in part from spending hours riding around in my parents' unairconditioned car with my hand stuck out the window "playing" with the air, tipping my hand fractions of a degree and feeling the air flow change. I did it because I was bored (no incar DVD player either . . .) but I beleive it it did help sensitize my hands to small pressure changes. Unfortunately these days the windows are always rolled up. A/C in cars has ruined a great training ground for swimmers.

Jim,

I will be in Grand Haven Dec. 9-11th. Looking forward to meeting you.

DougStern

Should the elbow stay at the surface? So the hand goes down but the humerous is in the same plane as the surface?

Should I continue looking at my hand as it moves down and back, or keep my head/gaze forward?

I used to do the same thing.

I still do it on my motorcycle.

We do a lot of sculling drills to feel pressure differentials on the hand.

DougStern

Yes, humerous stays on the surface. Do not follow the hand by looking back. Breathe by only looking to the side



DougStern

I am out of here.

I am off to chop wood.

Keep writing I will get back to you all on Sunday.

DougStern

If you ever look at old footage of Mark Spitz, you will see him flex his wrist at the end of his reach, just before the catch. That's exactly what you are talking about. And it seems so mechanical for him, just automatic.

Where can I get info on Doug's clinic schedule? I don't find anything updated on his website, but maybe I overlooked it.

From this thread:

"Seatpost stuck in my butt"

"I put astroglide on my chamois"

"I still marvel at how my hands move"

"I am off to chop wood."

"It is so much fun."

"Boy am I embarrassed!" --you should be.