Theres alot of awesome swim peeps on this site!
with that being said i’m still trying to figure out the optimal hand entry position into the water.
I think for me i thought my hand went in flat, but observers have told me it was more pinky entry. I still feel the catch and have a decent pull afterwards though.
My friend however says it should be THUMB in first, then proceed to catch, pull.
so i tried that and it doesnt feel as natural.
I looked at the little SWIM SMOOTH video and he seems flat/neutral.
So is it?
thumb better?
pinky side better?
neutral?
doesn’t matter so long as you proceed with a catch and a pull ?
Theres alot of awesome swim peeps on this site!
with that being said i’m still trying to figure out the optimal hand entry position into the water.
I think for me i thought my hand went in flat, but observers have told me it was more pinky entry. I still feel the catch and have a decent pull afterwards though.
My friend however says it should be THUMB in first, then proceed to catch, pull.
so i tried that and it doesnt feel as natural.
I looked at the little SWIM SMOOTH video and he seems flat/neutral.
So is it?
thumb better?
pinky side better?
neutral?
doesn’t matter so long as you proceed with a catch and a pull ?
The answer to all your questions is yes/it depends.
If you enter with the pinky side first, you are more apt to drop your elbows. It’s also an indication that you have somewhat of a low/lazy recovery arm (Which in itself isn’t necessarily a bad thing.) or you are dropping your elbow on the reach. Thumb down is a good teaching tool, but it can also lend itself to problems and extra stress on the shoulder.
Personally, I go in flat to slightly tilted towards the thumb side.
One way to visualize what I’m talking about, is to stick your arm straight out, palm down. Tilt your hand left and right, and watch what happens to your elbow. When you have your hand tilted thumb side, it’s difficult to drop the elbow unless you bend your wrist as well. Tilted pinky side, it’s easy to drop the elbow.
Neutral. Forcing an un-natural hand position will impact the rotation of the shoulder and the position of your elbow will be compromised. Even if it doesn’t make a difference from an efficiency/speed perspective, with enough repetitions, you’re setting yourself up for increased risk of injury.
If you enter with the pinky side first, you are more apt to drop your elbows. It’s also an indication that you have somewhat of a low/lazy recovery arm (Which in itself isn’t necessarily a bad thing.) or you are dropping your elbow on the reach. Thumb down is a good teaching tool, but it can also lend itself to problems and extra stress on the shoulder.
Personally, I go in flat to slightly tilted towards the thumb side.
I’ve found that thumb slightly down enables you to keep your arm clear of the surface during entry and drive your shoulder closer to the plane of motion (both reducing drag). I think that the pinky-first/elbow drop will induce more stress on the shoulder because you’re increasing resistance and placing less emphasis on the larger muscles of the back and shoulder.