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Swimming Pic of the Week - April 28. 2011

Posted by Glenn Mills on Apr 28, 2011 01:57PM (2,707 views)

While taking some pictures of the swimmers this morning, I found the following comparison pretty interesting.

For those who are sold that the only way to achieve speed is through "front quadrant swimming"... here's a swimmer who goes 50 yards in just a hair over 20 seconds and is still in high school.

Unless you're already satisfied with the velocity you travel through the water... don't stop experimenting.

While these pictures aren't exact, they're pretty close to the same spot in the stroke. The first two the swimmer was cruising. The second two, the swimmer was sprinting. I know in the first he's breathing, but the differences between where the pulling arm is when the recovering arm is beginning the recovery, and entering the water should give you some insight.

Click to view images larger.

freestyle, hand entry, sprint

Responses

sprinter	Responded Apr 29, 2011 07:55AM yay, what a nice rotation.... and FQ ...and high elbow....and stretch.... and high hips. simply perfect!
Juliette	Responded Apr 29, 2011 01:24PM uhh...looking left to right or from up to down???
Reemi Wentzel	Responded Apr 29, 2011 02:29PM Can some one explain to me front quadrant swimming?
Reemi Wentzel	Responded May 01, 2011 01:50AM hmm.... maybe sophisticated term for freestyle? ...
Sheila	Responded May 01, 2011 05:26AM I believe that "front quadrant swimming" refers to having both of your hands towards the front at all times (or nearly at all times). When recovering, the recovering hand comes up to the front (sort of like a catch-up style almost) while the other hand is initiating the catch and starting the pull. This USMS article discusses it: http://www.usms.org/articles/articledispla... A Google search on "front quadrant swimming" will also return many results.
Reemi Wentzel	Responded May 01, 2011 04:39PM Thanks Sheila. I will get me some knowledge.
Reemi Wentzel	Responded May 01, 2011 10:42PM Well, that was the right information I needed. Nicely explained. Do not even know if I am swimming free style in that front quadrant way. Looking forward to my next practice, to morrow. Thanks a lot for the link Sheila!!
Dan	Responded May 02, 2011 07:11AM Ex-champion Alex Popov is an exemple of NON- "front quadrant swimmer" too.
Juliette	Responded May 02, 2011 07:42AM Yeah,...hoe do you implement this with 50mtrs sprints????
melnat	Responded May 04, 2011 12:57AM Hey folks. I think the point is that he is "front quadrant" in the top two while cruising, but not in the bottom two while sprinting. In FQS you must "surf" for a moment on the leading hand while the recovering hand "catches up". The idea is that you get a more efficient form and more effective transfer of power from the rotation. As the photos show, however, sprinters often forgo this efficiency in favor of increased turnover. As mentioned above, Popov favored a "perpetual motion" or "kayak swimming" technique that is not FQS. Speaking generally, you will find a higher degree of FQS as the distance increases.
wonderboy	Responded May 04, 2011 09:03AM Throw in Michael Phelps, who uses more of a front quadrant style on one side, but not the other, and your brain will melt. As Glenn said, play around and see what works best for you. I get a bit tired of people hearing something and then deciding it's "the answer". There are many different ways to get the desired result.
BillySwims	Responded May 04, 2011 05:18PM Hey Glenn, I've not been around for ages (apparently I've not been well...). Anyway I come back to this an emotive FQS holy-war question!! :) You say 20s 50yd sprint, I'm curious what his 50yd cruise time is? I'd suspect that he is (still) somewhat shifting, isn't he?
Reemi Wentzel	Responded May 04, 2011 08:27PM Hi BillySwims! Hope you are able to jump in the water again just like your profile drawing and practicing this joyful butterfly with high recovery arms and these cheerful water splashes above the hands!!
Mark Hesse	Responded May 05, 2011 10:17PM Biondi (remember him) front quadrant when cruising, I would bet Popov did as well. the timing changes at race speed to keep from slowing down to cruise speed. the spaces between the strokes are much smaller and the deceleration minimal. At least that's my theory.
Glenn Mills	Responded May 09, 2011 02:46PM Hey Billy. What do you mean "somewhat shifting"? Also... when talking about his "cruise" time, not really sure what you mean by that either. Are you asking what his practice intervals are? Part of me wants to say... who cares... but I don't want to sound like I'm being mean. ;) Like Mark, my opinion also, the stroke is typically the same for many of these athletes whether slow or fast... it's the intervals between the strokes that changes. Full extension and full range of motion is achieved on every stroke, it's just when you're sprinting, you don't hang out in the front as long.
GW	Responded May 10, 2011 09:41AM Had exactly the same conversation with one of my swimmers last night, Glenn. We were looking at our club captain on fly sprints and then distance swims. She takes the same number of strokes each length just ups the turnover when sprinting. It helps that she is technically proficient too so increasing turnover does not mean slipping more water!
BillySwims	Responded May 10, 2011 04:44PM Okay Glenn, "somewhat shifting" I mean that _his_ cruise pace is "fast" when compared to many other swimmers. No, I am not asking about his practice intervals, though that would be interesting. What I am intereseted in is the comparison between his speed/technique when cruising and his speed/technique when "racing". "Who cares?" well I do:) Why? Because you print two sets of pictures of the same swimmer at the same point in the stroke cycle (when the hand enters the water), the key difference between these two sets of pictures is that in one the swimmer is cruising and in the other he is swimming at 20-point for 50 yards. So it seems to me that you mised a bit of information that would give me a better appreciation of the two sets. It is important? Well may be not... but to me, I look for things that can improve my technique and if this swimmer's cruising speed is "fast" (say he's holding) 28s and he looks like the above then perhaps FQS isn't such a bad compromise...
Glenn Mills	Responded May 10, 2011 05:08PM :) Cool cool. The reason for the "who cares" is because cruising has so many different meanings. Cruising to me means you're swimming down, loosening, just kinda hanging out in the water. Chances are his "cruising" speed would be very slow, as very good swimmers can swim very slow as well. Interval training is completely different, and is absolutely based on the athlete's ability. Some sprinters can't stand doing standard intervals... like 10 x 100 on 1:05 simply because they're not comfortable holding that pace for a long time, and they're not going anywhere near their top speed. I think the comments above your's and my last one tell the tale. The stroke is basically the same all the time... only the interval of strokes change, or the time between the strokes. Keep working on your technique, and when it feels good, stop the glide out front, and there's a good chance it'll be faster. Thanks, and hope I didn't offend with the "who cares"... cause if people really cared about my definition of "cruising"... I'll shoot some video of me. Oh... wait. Here's some "cruising" video. :) http://www.goswim.tv/groups/14/courses/268
caoxue	Responded Jan 20, 2012 08:27AM 好好

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Swimming Pic of the Week - April 28. 2011

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