I just received your book "The Swim Mastery Way" yesterday. It has opened up a whole new way of understanding how to connect and how to move the body while swimming. Thanks for putting together a great learning tool!
I'd say the obvious issue is, he's overrotating a lot (basically to 90°) on one side, which is an unstable position and inefficient to pull. Possibly he does so to feel safer catching a good breath, rather than swalloing water. Which you can see, he isnt breathing to the side but upwards looking at the sky. That movement seems to be the setup for his left arm to come up straight out of the water. For whatever reason, I guess he saw people doing it, he has stylized this straight arm movement, however only for his left arm. His right arm looks a lot better. I think key would be to improve his technique to breathe to the side and make it a quick movement, the basis to do so seems to be there. Then the whole body movement would become a little more symmetrical as a consequence, which by itself is not a quality, but would probably improve the streamline through the water. Also I would suggest to initiate his rotation with the legs, and by that I mean, the movement of the legs should be mentally and physically connected to the hip. You also need good core stability for that. Otherwise the arms, the hip and legs are all doing their own thing, which you have to actively time. That eats up energy and attention. Lastly, I think it can be debated whether he is pulling not straight enough, probably best visible at 5:05. All being said, I'm not a swim coach, just basing off of my own short experience and reflexion.
Well, I would say first that he is way over rotating. Perhaps more on the left side than the right side. He almost gets his shoulders and hips vertical, rather than being in the 35 to 40 degree range. That straight arm recover does need to go, in part because it uses more energy. As for going up and down, I would not say that he is really swimming the gallop style, but that porpoise action is part of the gallop style and by going slightly under water, you are reducing drag. Another key to the gallop style is the uneven cadence, and he is not doing that. Not sure if his straight arm recover is causing him to sink or not. I don't think his hips would go low because of that because the arms are in front of the body. For sure, to perfect your form, you need underwater video. I would like to watch him swim a length of the pool rather than the stop and start and only showing 2 to 4 arm stroke cycles.
Love these visual analysis explanations! Thank you
I just received your book "The Swim Mastery Way" yesterday. It has opened up a whole new way of understanding how to connect and how to move the body while swimming. Thanks for putting together a great learning tool!
Love the analysis, thank you
I'd say the obvious issue is, he's overrotating a lot (basically to 90°) on one side, which is an unstable position and inefficient to pull. Possibly he does so to feel safer catching a good breath, rather than swalloing water. Which you can see, he isnt breathing to the side but upwards looking at the sky. That movement seems to be the setup for his left arm to come up straight out of the water. For whatever reason, I guess he saw people doing it, he has stylized this straight arm movement, however only for his left arm. His right arm looks a lot better. I think key would be to improve his technique to breathe to the side and make it a quick movement, the basis to do so seems to be there. Then the whole body movement would become a little more symmetrical as a consequence, which by itself is not a quality, but would probably improve the streamline through the water. Also I would suggest to initiate his rotation with the legs, and by that I mean, the movement of the legs should be mentally and physically connected to the hip. You also need good core stability for that. Otherwise the arms, the hip and legs are all doing their own thing, which you have to actively time. That eats up energy and attention. Lastly, I think it can be debated whether he is pulling not straight enough, probably best visible at 5:05. All being said, I'm not a swim coach, just basing off of my own short experience and reflexion.
Well, I would say first that he is way over rotating. Perhaps more on the left side than the right side. He almost gets his shoulders and hips vertical, rather than being in the 35 to 40 degree range. That straight arm recover does need to go, in part because it uses more energy. As for going up and down, I would not say that he is really swimming the gallop style, but that porpoise action is part of the gallop style and by going slightly under water, you are reducing drag. Another key to the gallop style is the uneven cadence, and he is not doing that. Not sure if his straight arm recover is causing him to sink or not. I don't think his hips would go low because of that because the arms are in front of the body. For sure, to perfect your form, you need underwater video. I would like to watch him swim a length of the pool rather than the stop and start and only showing 2 to 4 arm stroke cycles.
Whether the arm is barely out or way out, the physics is identical. The true issue is the over rotation of the shoulders.