http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8DBx9P2rmE
At 2:45 in the video his left forearm has a 45* bend. I’ve been trying to pull straight back so a 90* angle. No wonder I’m only a 8:45 500yd. I’ve had no lessons and don’t cross over midline so I thought I was getting some better 10:00 500yd 4 months ago. So I’ve only been getting advise from ST and watching Youtube videos. We are an area without any Masters programs so I feel stuck.
Should I be pulling my forearm back at 45* instead of 90*? Would love for this to be a flaw I have and will see some improvement immediately. If not the answer. What Youtube or other videos can I watch to give me the correct pull.
Thanks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8DBx9P2rmE
At 2:45 in the video his left forearm has a 45* bend. I’ve been trying to pull straight back so a 90* angle. No wonder I’m only a 8:45 500yd. I’ve had no lessons and don’t cross over mid-line so I thought I was getting some better 10:00 500yd 4 months ago. So I’ve only been getting advise from ST and watching Youtube videos. We are an area without any Masters programs so I feel stuck.
Should I be pulling my forearm back at 45* instead of 90*? Would love for this to be a flaw I have and will see some improvement immediately. If not the answer. What Youtube or other videos can I watch to give me the correct pull. Thanks
Other students of swimming may disagree but I think the arm angle varies from person to person and you have to see what works best for you. Just pull as hard as you can and gradually your arms will find the optimum angle for your particular body type, arms length, etc. If you have any swim instructors in your area, take a lesson and see what they have to say. Lots of subtleties in swimming and it really helps to have someone standing over you watching and making corrections.
When I swam competitively they wanted you to make and “S” in the water on your pull. Now I think they want it more straight and intead increase your turnover.
Just do what’s comfortable. But you might do some work with paddles, and some arm isolation drills trying to increase stroke effciency.
At some point there are physical limitations too. I have small hands. So I will always have higher turnover and comparatively lower efficiency
2 videos you should watch. For optimal power/efficiency output you want to keep your arms as straight as possible as you pull the water. Your elbows will naturally bend, I wouldn’t worry too much about exactly what angle they bend at. Remember you want to keep your wrist in line with your elbow underwater. Your wrist/hand should never follow your elbow. Hope that makes sense…the Gary Hall Sr. video is really good. If there is a local club swim team near you that has an underwater camera see if you can get a few minutes on it, works wonders being able to see yourself.
Paul newsome of swim smooth advocates 100-110 degree angle.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8DBx9P2rmE
At 2:45 in the video his left forearm has a 45* bend. I’ve been trying to pull straight back so a 90* angle. No wonder I’m only a 8:45 500yd. I’ve had no lessons and don’t cross over midline so I thought I was getting some better 10:00 500yd 4 months ago. So I’ve only been getting advise from ST and watching Youtube videos. We are an area without any Masters programs so I feel stuck.
Should I be pulling my forearm back at 45* instead of 90*? Would love for this to be a flaw I have and will see some improvement immediately. If not the answer. What Youtube or other videos can I watch to give me the correct pull.
Thanks
It looks to me that his elbow is almost perfectly at 90 degrees at 2:45 in the video.
Doc Councilman (Science of Swimming) suggests it’s moderately individual, somewhere in the 90-105deg range (IIRC). But very successful swimmers (for 1968) were still found slightly above/below. May correlate with shoulder flexibility and body roll. Most important is to get a flat forearm to pull. -J
I’m trying to figure this out right now and am finding that a slightly more open angle (100-105 maybe? don’t know b/c I haven’t seen myself underwater) seems to work better for me.
I know what feels right and what looks wrong.
Actually your correct. I’m wrong. His forearm is 90* to his humerus. I was comparing the forearm to his shoulder and the top plane of the water.
This is not going to be a helpful question to pose to an online forum. Individual variations are one problem, but the bigger one is the the forearm angle is not something fundamental to fast swimming. At 8:45 / 500 you probably need to put some more fundamentals in place before you begin to explore this tertiary issue.
Let’s assume you have poor body position. The angle required to swim with low feet may very well be different than the angle required for swimming with proper body position. Body position then becomes the fundamental that needs to be corrected before worrying about the forearm angle. In fact, getting such fundamentals squared away will often negate the need to ask such questions. Address fundamentals and lots of little things tend to fall into place.
And in case you want to know, here are what I consider to be fundamentals:
1.Physical Vocabulary - Swimming motions and body positions are, for the most part, alien to the human neuromuscular/musculoskeletal system. By developing a library of these motions and positions in component fashion, swimmers in essence increase their “physical vocabulary”. This then provides the foundation of fast swimming – the basic movements – that are then integrated to provide successful propulsion. Nearly all drills and drill progressions contain an element of physical vocabulary development.
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Rhythmic Development - Successful integration of swimming movements is dependent upon proper timing. For a basic example, an athlete might kick and pull with tremendous force, but if those motions are not synchronized properly, their body position, leverage and forward motion will be hampered significantly. A variety of drills can be used to develop rhythm (much in the way one might learn in a music class), and simultaneously serve to enhance workout diversity.
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Body and Movement Awareness - Most drilling activities, at their core, serve to augment ones awareness of their physical movements and the spatial relationship between body parts – but there also exists a range of activities that specifically target awareness. Two basic examples are the “head touch” or “finger tip drag”drills. It is essential, however, to utilize a wide range of drills(including awareness-specific ones) to continue to provide new stimulus to the system. I believe that repetition of a small, static set of activities becomes ineffective for awareness development after only a short period of time (maybe even 3-4 weeks).
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Relaxation and Ease of Movement - Maintaining a supple body form (rather than rigid OR flaccid) is key to executing swimming skills in an efficient manner. Overly rigid body parts, or jerky motions tend to slice through the water, failing at the
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Goal of propulsion. Overly flaccid body parts or motions tend to result in greater amounts of drag, and a loss of proper body position. The ideal are relaxed, yet firm (supple) motions and body parts, which can excel at gripping the water for propulsive forces, and serving as an ideal “hull” for riding the water.
And with all things, the pace clock is your friend. Try different methods if you want, time yourself, and then come tell us what your proper forearm angle is.
Aussie Grant Hackett 1500m
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6qIhkuzTx0
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