Courtesy of Gary Hall Sr., 10-time World Record Holder, 3-time Olympian, 1976 Olympic Games US Flagbearer and The Race Club co-founder.
Many coaches consider that the arm recovery in fly, back and freestyle is exactly that: an opportunity for the arms to recover before the next pull. The arm recovery is much more important than just that.
Don’t get me wrong. Being able to relax the arms during the recovery and not expend any more energy than necessary is arguably the most important role of this motion. After all, doing so enables swimmers to sustain their speed better during the race.
I once wrote about the magic of the relaxed wrist during the arm recovery which enables the swimmer’s arm and shoulder muscles to recover better before the next pull. It only requires a few hundredths of a second for a relaxed muscle to recover fully and get ready for another strong contraction (pull). That relaxed wrist during the arm recovery helps keep the swimmer going.
Before we go completely limp with our arm recovery, however, there are two other important factors to consider that come into play during the arm recovery. One has to do with frontal drag. The other has to do with increasing the swimmer’s speed.
Let’s start with the frontal drag. The amount of drag caused by an arm and hand moving through the air, compared to moving through the water, is inconsequential. For years, most swimmers have been taught to drive their fingertips down to the water during the late phase of the arm recovery, then slide the hand forward under the water to rid the hand of most air bubbles prior to initiating the catch. The thought here was that ridding the hand of air bubbles to improve the propulsion from the pull is more important than the drag consequence of entering the water with the hand earlier. If the hand and wrist are relaxed at hand entry, the drag they cause is even worse, as the fingers may spread, the hand may flare out to the side, or the wrist may bend backward, adding from 3% to 12% more drag at race speed.
We disagree. Apparently, so do many of the elite swimmers of the world today. Popovici, Hafnaoui, Finke and many others are no longer driving their fingertips down to the water during their arm recoveries. They are lifting their hands as they move them forward, keeping them in the air until the arms are fully extended. Only then do they drop their hands into the water. Actually, they don’t just drop them into the water. They drive them into the water forcefully, making a splash in the process. So much for worrying about air bubbles. Drag consequences seem to trump bubbles.
Ahmed Hafnaoui (nearest in photo) lifting his hand during the arm recovery to reduce frontal drag. Kieren Smith (lane next to him) driving his fingertips down at entry. Taken from the finals of the men’s 400 m freestyle in Tokyo Olympic Games.
Now let’s discuss the impact the arm recovery has on a swimmer’s speed. We call this the coupling effect. Four different factors are important in determining the coupling effect a swimmer’s arm recovery will have on his or her peak swimming speed.
1. The magnitude of kinetic energy in the arm recovery. So much for a relaxed recovery. By lengthening (straightening) the recovering arm (higher octane) and by increasing the angular velocity of the recovering arm (both of which require much more work), the kinetic energy of that motion can be dramatically increased. That is why most sprinters today recover with straight or nearly straight arms and crash the water at hand entry.
Olympian sprinter Brad Tandy causes a 2 foot splash to occur at each arm entry.
2. The direction of the motion of the arm recovery. It turns out that the vectors matter in coupling. That’s physics. Since the propulsion force (by definition) is straight backward with the pulling hand, the coupling effect of the recovering arm is greater if that motion is straight forward, rather than by coming from a side angle. In other words, a more vertical arm recovery (harder to do) will result in a greater coupling effect than a more horizontal, flatter arm recovery (much easier to do) with the same amount of energy. Again, so much for the relaxed arm recovery. A more vertical recovery will generally also increase the coupling effect of the shoulder rotation, which is another benefit.
A more vertical arm recovery from Olympian Brad Tandy results in more coupling effect than a more horizontal or flatter arm recovery.
3. The timing of the arm recovery. To get the maximum velocity benefit from the coupling motion in freestyle and backstroke, what needs to happen is that the peak energy of the recovering arm coincides with the peak propulsion from the pulling hand. Usually, the peak energy of the recovering arm occurs when the arm strikes the water. The peak propulsion from the pulling hand normally occurs when the pulling hand is at or near the shoulder on its way back. In backstroke, they usually don’t coincide, as it takes too long for the pulling hand to get through the propulsion, release, and recovery phases and get back to the water again. Typically, the pulling hand is at the end of its propulsion phase in backstroke when the recovering arm reaches its peak energy (strikes the water). In freestyle, we often find the ideal connection between the two motions is also missed. In butterfly, the timing has to do with matching the peak energy of the arm recovery (arms striking the water) with the peak propulsion from the second down kick. Again, this connection is often missed.
When Olympian Dylan Carter strikes the water with his right recovering arm (peak energy), his left pulling hand is at peak propulsion (lower graph red curve at green line), leading to a nice boost in his speed.
4. The propulsion forces. Whether the coupling effect is connecting to the kick or the pull, or both forces, if the propulsion is not great, neither will be the coupling effect. All three of the above techniques could be perfect; lots of energy, right direction of the arm recovery and great timing of the arm entry. Yet, if there is not much propulsion to couple with, the effect of all that motion and energy will be minimal. Since we began using the Smart Paddle technology measuring the pulling forces from the hands, we have learned that far too many swimmers either let go or slip with their hands during the pull (not holding water) or they press in the wrong direction. Either problem will result in less coupling effect.
Sprinter Daniel Elwyn’s pulling force is significantly greater with his right hand (white curve left lower graph) than with his left pulling force (red curve left lower graph). The result is a higher peak velocity achieved when pulling with his right hand compared to his left hand (green curves above right video)
In conclusion, what is important to recognize is that the arm recovery motion in freestyle, backstroke and butterfly is more than simply recovering the arm and shoulder for another pull. The motions and timing of the recovering arm can have a profound influence on the peak velocity of the swimmer. I have seen many swimmers who demonstrate less propulsion on one hand vs the other hand, yet they show a greater velocity achieved during the pull with lesser propulsion. That outcome is the result of a greater coupling effect with the non-pulling, recovering arm.
The question is can we have our cake and eat it, too? Can we find a way to relax our arms and wrists to recover effectively, yet still get the important coupling effect and reduce drag? I think so. In my book, Fundamentals of Fast Swimming, I break the arm recovery down into two phases. The early phase (hand and arm leaving the water to reach the shoulder) should be dedicated to more wrist relaxation and arm recovery, even though we are working against gravity. The late phase (hand and arm from the shoulder to entering the water) should be more dedicated to reducing drag and increasing the coupling effect. That is precisely what we see the elite swimmers doing today in fly, back and freestyle.
Yours in swimming,
Gary Sr.
Gary Hall, Sr., Technical Director and Head Coach of The Race Club (courtesy of TRC)
Like The Race Club on Facebook
Follow The Race Club on Instagram
Follow The Race Club on Twitter
Connect to The Race Club / Gary Hall Sr. on Linkedin
THE RACE CLUB
Because Life is Worth Swimming, our mission is to promote swimming through sport, lifelong enjoyment, and good health benefits. Our objective is for each member of and each participant in The Race Club to improve his or her swimming performances, health, and self-esteem through our educational programs, services and creativity. We strive to help each member of The Race Club overcome challenges and reach his or her individual life goals.
The Race Club provides facilities, coaching, training, technical instruction, video, fitness and health programs for swimmers of all ages and abilities. Race Club swim camps are designed and tailored to satisfy each swimmer’s needs, whether one is trying to reach the Olympic Games or simply improve one’s fitness. Our programs are suitable for beginner swimmers, pleasure swimmers, fitness swimmers, USA swimming or YMCA swimmers, or triathletes; anyone who wants to improve swimming skills. All of our Race Club members share an enjoyment of being in the water and use swimming to stimulate a more active mind and body.
