Posted by heathweaver

I was practicing with the blocks today and was completely shocked at my time. I could tell I was swimming fast, so much so that I could tell I didn’t keep my stroke consistent until the end. I have a lot of difficulty getting off the block as I either dive in a way that knocks my goggles off or I go too deep and slow way down.

Next week I am hoping to try with someone timing me and maybe even my first videos, that would be very nice.

Today my focus was on the underwater part of my stroke. I have read and heard a number of things about how underwater your hand should run in an ’s’ shape. This hasn’t made a lot of sense of why this was important. I am starting to understand now. The shape isn’t actually important, rather when your technique is correct and you’re essentially ‘reaching over a barrel’ and finish off with a strong push before your recovery your hand will certainly be moving in an ’s’ shape.

Specifically, as you get a strong catch your elbow stays high against the surface of the water, this allows you to use your shoulder and lateral muscles rather than your arm to push in the water. The other important aspect is that as you push down you can really use your forearm to push in addition to your hand. If you are doing this correctly your hand will be running down a line that is parallel to side of the center of your face. If you kept this line you would end up hitting yourself in the leg. The real point here is not just to avoid hitting yourself, rather it is to continue pushing until your hand leaves the water. The ’s’ shape means that you are pushing all the way down.