This is a great book, and the videos help a lot, too. If youve been swimming for a while youve heard about this many times. If youre relatively new to the pool, the concept of keeping a high elbow during your pull isnt always the easiest thing to get your head around. High elbow drills swimming and exercise in the water. Repeat this until sticks in their heads and they do it in the pool. Keep it moving up and lock your elbow to help reach your hand up as high as you can a. When drilling or swimming freestyle, the ideal triangle between your shoulder, elbow, and wrist is a scalene obtuse yes, i broke out my seventhgrade math book for that one. Two more drills to use for evf training are the highelbow scull and the snappaddle drill. The best freestyle swimming drills to improve your technique, speed and overall swim. High shoulder armpit if the shoulder is dropped its creates extra resistance and doesnt allow for a strong pull.
Look at the recovery motion illustrated in the fingertip drag drill, and also notice how michael phelps uses a high elbow recovery and drops his hands forward while performing the catchup drill. Youll even find allnew coverage of openwater drills and strength band workouts to be performed poolside. He has written three books on endurance training and is the patent holder for. For more help improving your evf, check out our gary hall sr. The highelbow pull of the freestyle stroke triathlete. Jan 29, 2018 coaches once taught that freestyle must be done with a high elbow on the recovery and a symmetrical stroke and that if you didnt breathe bilaterally, you were, at best, below average and, at worst, morally suspect. It is part of the swimming technique that is relatively easy to fix with good visual feedback and diligent drill work.
Essentially, while the elbow is still the highest point of your arm above the water, its only slightly higher maybe two or three inches. It is always helpful to revisit this position in drill work regularly throughout the year particularly at the beginning of every season. Highelbow recovery focus breakwater sports training. Here are a couple drills to practice the highelbow. May 31, 2018 the best way that i like to think of it is its all about setting yourself up in a highelbow position. The drill gets its name from the shape our arm makes above the water. All that means is if we draw a line from your shoulder to your fingertips in that part of the stroke, the elbow should be in front of that straight line. High elbow high elbow drill after pushoff and streamline swim free with a recovery that rubs the thumb up the side of the swimmer into the armpit. Apr 27, 2018 this high elbow recovery is the most effective way to carry your arm back in front. In this video youll notice the huge difference between an elevated elbow during the catch and a dropped elbow. One of the most important parts of great freestyle is establishing a proper high elbow catch. Tips on teaching breaststroke coaching and teaching swimming. Drag the fingertips along the surface of the water, alongside your body lead with a high elbow.
Essentially, while the elbow is still the highest point of your arm above the water, its only slightly higher maybe two or three inches than your wrist and shoulder. Swim smooths drill cheat sheet drill%%%%%purpose key%points mantra. I would have liked the video, the book, or the tubing exercises to have shown how to get into the starting position from full extension to bent elbow. May 15, 2014 discover the two drills we use to improve your high elbow freestyle. The term high elbow has been used over and over again by coaches, but. For the triathlete, a high elbow catch produces greater propulsion potential by increasing the amount of water the fingers, hand, forearm and upper inside arms can hold. Are there any good drills to develop a better technique. Small sculling paddles will also enhance this drill. The swim smooth drill set primary drills feel for the.
Jan 21, 20 correcting and perfecting a high elbow recovery can help reduce inefficient sway and help to set up your hand entry. Swim speed secrets for swimmers and triathletes by sheila taormina. Helps swimmers to bend elbows and to get on their side more. In order to swim faster freestyle a high elbow catch is everything. Swim speed strokes is a great book because she provides great images to illustrate the technique along with the why.
Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Janet evans with her unorthodox straight arm freestyle. After 12 years of coaching and seeing 100s of drills, this is my favourite drill for improving your catch. Dec 22, 2017 most coaches just teach the high elbow in the recovery of the stroke with drills such as handfinger drag drills or thumbs up the side. Learn from threetime olympian kara lynn joyce how to kara high elbow sculling drill on vimeo. For the triathlete, a high elbow catch produces greater propulsion potential by. Swimming with one arm at a time enables the swimmer to concentrate on the precise movement of each pull. Breathe to the side and work on raising the hips to the surface. You will improve your stroke and speed by mastering key elements such as hand entry, hand speed, highelbow catch, underwater pull, stroke finish, core drive, and propulsive kick. The body is horizontal in with the hips high, the head is steady and the chin tucked in the breath in is short and explosive the breath out underwater is a slow. Underwater pull the high elbow badig endurance training. Buy the swimming drill book the drill book series by guzman, ruben j. Breathe on each arm stroke keeping the head in a forward not up position look at the water as much as possible when breathing. So try sculling three times and not moving your elbow.
Plus youll discover two of our favourite drills for improving your high elbow catch. Here are a couple drills to practice the high elbow pull. Also, in 1994 she had her first book, drills and games a fun way to run a practice published by the american swimming coaches association. The drills presented in this book are described in such a way that everybody can understand them, do them on their own and achieve better performance. These are drills that appeared in the swim training plan in the april 20. This weeks training tip of the week focuses on a high elbow catch in freestyle.
List of drills for swimming butterfly drills fl name description rd lb fl right down left back swim fly with right arm only 25 then 25 with left arm. Discover the two drills we use to improve your high elbow freestyle. If you use the swim smooth guru, or one of our other coaching products e. Here are my favorite tips and freestyle drills for improving your high elbow catch. When doing so you totally eliminate the core rotation needed in freestyle and teach swimmers to swim flat. From the swimming drills book pull, breathe, kick, glide. The right and wrong time to have high elbows on freestyle u. To do that the body should be rolled approximately 45 degrees toward the recovery side through the first half of the recovery so that the arm can carried over the water with a high elbow. Improve your swimming skills and sign up for a triathlon or compete in a swim event. The variations you can come up with are nearly endless, and. Ill only send you triathlon swimming specific emails.
Im use to swimming by rotating my body through the straight elbow pull. You will improve your stroke and speed by mastering key elements such as hand entry, hand speed, high elbow catch, underwater pull, stroke finish, core drive, and propulsive kick. Sculling is the swissarmy knife of swimming drills. Could not figure out how to rotate with high elbow. Freestyle drills fr name description high elbow catch up. Each waterproof workout card reveals the olympiclevel swimming drills, kick sets, and drylands that develop speed in the worlds fastest swimmers. The elbow should be the highest part of the arm from the times it leaves the water during the recovery until it enters the wtaer again in front of the shoulder.
Swimmers are engaged in a perpetual battle with the forces of drag. Elevated elbow as the arm moves to a 45 oclock position underwater, a good catch will have a slightly elevated elbow. Instead we look to keep the shoulder reasonably high 1520cm below the surface. Proper freestyle swimming technique can help save your shoulders from injury. Pull water backwards from the beginning of your stroke, you must have a high elbow on the first part of the stroke. Nov 02, 2018 when drilling or swimming freestyle, the ideal triangle between your shoulder, elbow, and wrist is a scalene obtuse yes, i broke out my seventhgrade math book for that one. Lets start at the point in your stroke i refer to as the glide. Taormina also has plenty of useful videos and tips on many of the drills on her website. These are drills that appeared in the swim training plan in the april 20 issue of triathlete, taken from fourtime olympian sheila taorminas book swim speed workouts. Feel great traction on the water with your hands and accelerate your hands throughout the pull using a high elbow catch position. The swimmer must get on hisher side to be able to bend the elbows enough.
Do not allow the swimmer to turn it into a free drill. Most swimmers tend to be either too straight with it or theyre dropping the elbow. The 86 best swimming books, such as eddie reese, swim smooth. In 1994, she was the head coach to a national agegroup camp. Each drill with a video, download the pdf, for beginners and advance. A high elbow means we keep a slimmer profile in the water, creating less resistance to swim against. How to start swimming with a high elbow catch reader larry r. At mission san jose aquatics, we do over 200 drills. When you have a high elbow you have a strong anchor in the water to pull yourself through it. It delivers every stroke, every skill, and everything you need for swimming success. The front crawl the swimming technique home facebook.
Having a high elbow recovery can also reduce cantilever stress on your shoulder joint. In her book, sheila taormina gives a great understanding of the art of high. Two drills for high elbow freestyle effortless swimming. How to train the high elbow catch in swimming active. Too much of this book is spent underscoring why the reader should be focusing on the high elbow and less time really illustrating the drills to perfect it. How to start swimming with a highelbow catch velopress. The right and wrong time to have high elbows on freestyle. The high elbow is achieved with a vertically positioned hand and forearm that establish the catch in swimming. This book focuses arm pull high elbow position in particular, the most vital element of freestyle technique. See for yourself why the swimming drill book is on the shelf of every serious swimmer and coach. Theres also one more thing which you might have missed, as youll soon see.
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