If you look across the lanes at Icebergs you will probably notice that most swimmers swim with a bendy arm with a high, pointed elbow as their arms come over and enter the water. If you have previously done any stroke correction you may have also been taught to swim this way. Here at Salty Fit, we deviate from this traditional way of swimming for a number of reasons.
Firstly, when you recover your arms over the water, by bending your elbow and stretching your arm forward to enter the water, it forces your arm outwidth it’s natural range of movement. Do you ever come out of a long session of swimming with sore shoulders? Over time, swimming with a bent elbow recovery and over-extension once your hand enters the water grinds away at your acromioclavicular joint which can eventually lead to shoulder injuries. We do not want our salty swimmers to injure themselves whilst swimming, and many of our swimmers have come to us because they have had shoulder issues in the past with swimming. Therefore we encourage you to swim with straight arms. Straight arms allow you to recover your arm within the shoulders natural range of movement, supports the shoulder girdle and leads to a stronger and longer stroke. Making you a faster and more efficient swimmer!
Secondly, you are more likely to engage the greater muscles in your shoulder girdle – ie utilising your latts in unison with your rotator cuff and upper shoulder muscles. This helps to avoid isolated muscle overuse which could lead to a rotator cuff injury or a neck and shoulder freeze! And finally, the straighter arm will bring your hand to the appropriate catch position. You are more likely to catch in front of your shoulder rather than catching in front of your head! Catching in front of your shoulder will not only give you stability, support your natural shoulder position but also set you up for a stronger, powerful and faster pull action!
Our first Build Your Style course of the season is coming up in October. Book in now and see how small changes like swimming with straight arms can transform your freestyle.