Swim technique comparison using Motion analysis

[jonhwolf]

ive noticed when i swim in my swimming class that my legs hardly gets tired but my arms gets tired faster , and belive me , my arms are a little strong comparing to others to my age (15)

anyways , even know my arms gets tired , when i use em i go 5 times faster

[gnemick]

the angle of the camera is way different... you cany really compare them

[Meowws]

rofl adobe illustrator cs 3 and u say is motion sensor?? really rubbish.

[njolly99]

but hackett has long arms and she has stumps. So although she is prob bending etc its not as prominent.

[ttbikefitdotcom]

very common problem - you don't have enough ankle flexibility - if you can't easily point your toes so that the top surface of your foot is in line with your shin you won't get much propulsion. A strong kick is important for shorter distance pool swimmers. As the distance increases it becomes less so, and for triathletes it is largely a timing/stability mechanism.

[yourswimpal]

Fully agree, I used to advice beginners' triathletes on their legs . Most of them have "heavy" legs because their ankle is not flexible, that is why they cant "catch" the water. Also , they tend to stiffen their legs ( which in my opinion , make it "denser" , therefore easier to sink ) , It is actually not a kick as I view it, it is more like a whip .

[MichaelFrances]

DREHAC - I'm a relatively keen runner but when I've tried to flutter kick with a float i barely move in the water at all. How do you explain that? One video on here says just kick your legs up and down which is what I do. Another, though, stresses the roll of the body is key. When you say legs, do you mean the rolling of the hips and torso as well? Damn, so many conflicting theories.

[DREHAC]

its all about the legs, the arms don't matter that much, i hate these videos that stress upper body, when its actually lower body, ive felt the push from the legs when i did the leg kick properly, but ive only done the legs correctly a few times, never at a meet. but when i figured out the legs, i knew all the power was from there, too bad i never got the same combination right again.

[chuchofreeman]

I disagree, for me, all the power comes from the upper body. In fact, if I only kick, I get realy tired and swim very slow. I think 85% of my "speed" comes from my arms, chest, shoulders, etc. And I don't have weak legs, I run, but i don't know what happens, i just don't seem to use my legs(while swimming)

[nickfastswim]

same here like 90% of my power come from my upper body in practice and distance races. I do manage to kick alright in the 50 and 100 free. I do believe the leg muscles are the biggest muscles in the body, so it seems logical that they drain energy faster.

[giorgiobello1]

guys, in my opinion using the legs helps having a good body position hence optimize the use of the upper body..agree?

[chuchofreeman]

yep, I agree. I realize that, specially when I'm swimming backstroke. Yesterday I swim very smothly and it feels great!!! =D

[jtomasik]

I personally don't swim competitively, but I know that the legs are the strongest muscles. Watching the Olympics, it's obvious the kick as a huge part of power. My son concentrated on bringing up his leg strength in the water, and he has significantly improved his speed. He made State this year, and he's beating kids 2 and 3 years older than him. His kick is thundering!

[giorgiobello1]

thanks for your comment as a proud father...

remember the legs are the strongest muscles but they also take away lots of energy. Using much the legs or not, depends on the distance you are swimming: long distance=kick to maintain a good body position, 50m freestyle=kick as much as you can to go fast!

[hawkeyepierce123]

Excellent video, extremely helpful!

[TikalDog]

The only thing I didn't like is that the video is not taken from the same angle so that might not show a 1 to 1 comparison.

[ole12boy]

cool!

Most pple do the bottom one, try to catch until the elbow reach 75 degree then release it...

lol!

Thx!

[phoca99]

This is very useful for the vertical elbow position, could you do the same analysis on the hand and elbow from below the swimmer, or head on to show how shallow the stroke is and how the initial sweep is not downward but toward centerline? Also, how far out to the side does the elbow go.

[jccarbunkle]

swimming makes no sense. I can mess around with my stroke all day and not get any faster.

[phoca99]

At a certain level of technique it is more about getting an efficient grip on the fluid, using the hand and the forearm to pull yourself along. Try swimming with fists to feel how much pull you can achieve with just your forearm. Be sure to extend far forward on the glide. Be slippery, and relax.

[frozenflames2k7]

the person on the bottom was tough to see, but otherwise not bad :P

[kkiu56566]

Thanks:)

[catxmd]

Very helpful and insightful.