While I was trifling with the idea of doing triathlons, one of 1st things I did was revisit my stroke mechanics. I’d been swimming since college days (I picked it up in a rec swim class that I took over and over again, I miss grad school) so I wasn’t exactly a neophyte. I naturally enuff got plugged into TI, the usms swim site, got videos by Dave Marsh and Richard Quick. Mechanics had chaged quite a bit!
One thing (of many) that I worked on was front quadrant swimming. As I read it, good form required finishing the stroke at about the hip, keeping most of the good pull in the front (quadrant). Fast forward to now. I’m in a master’s group with a new coach who’s advising people to finish off the stroke at the mid-thigh, even resurrecting an old drill, the deliberate flick of water when the hand exits. I’m hesitant to argue (coach is a better swimmer) but what gives, if it’s conventional wisdom shouldn’t everyone adopt it?
It’s a topic of some debate right now, with a lot of the big names leaning toward finishing at the hip because once your hand goes past perpendicular to the pool bottom, it’s not really generating much acceleration after that point.
It’s not so much a front quadrant thing, but trying to time the finishing of it all to avoid decelleration.
It’s all a matter of degrees. Your coach may have decided that “most” of the folks in your class have strkoes that are too short. It doesn’t necessarily mean that yOUR stroke is too short. If you can get him after class ask him if you are one of the particular folks who he things needs help with that aspect. You might find out that you are not one of the folks he is really targeting.
It could just be one of those things where the coach has 12 people and needs a drill that works for the majority.
If he says, no you don’t have the issue or if he says “Well you could do a little more” then don’t sweat it. Just do the drills and think of them as kinesthetic awareness drills, feelnig different sensations as you swim is always valuable.
You’re right, coach hasn’t singled me out but others.
One thing I thought about, when I tire, I start shortening my stroke, stroke count goes up. Concentrating on ‘finishing the stroke’ might be a reverse psych method to maintain the stretch and glide. That way I can please Richard Quick and my coach and swim better to boot.
Jill,
My understanding is that it not only doesn’t add, but makes one slower–in particular causing zig-zagging.
Is this correct.
(Damn! wouldn’t it be nice to have Doug chime in here?)