Lesson July 2018

[Mat Hudson]

Pool Session – July 29

When we’re having these contingent conversations, digging deep in each lesson, it really challenges me to remember all we talked about and covered! I tried to keep up on my note pad…

We looked at improving sensitivity, intention, and synchronization among these three forces:

1. the recovery swing, which you affect, is meant to direct a horizontal force in the direction of travel
2. the entry, where you position the arm to receive gravity’s vertical force and then redirect that into the water and into the horizontal direction
3. the catch, which you affect, generates a wave of force, which passes through the rotating torso, and is received into the extending lead arm

The ultimate goal is to blend all three of these together at the right moment to create an enhanced sense of acceleration in each stroke. They converge for a magnified effect. You first work on each part separately. Then you work on blending two of them together (recovery momentum + gravity/entry or catch + extension) then you may start to notice all three working together.

There are three stages to the forward propulsive action. At each stage, there is a different dominant force:

• Recovery swing – you generate the starting force
• Entry (add gravity) – gravity adds force
• Extension (add catch) – you add more force

There should be a smooth transition, or I might even say a ‘feathering in of the new force, and a feathering out of the previous one’ as the movement goes from one stage to the next.

 

Recovery Swing to Entry

Practice Set

2x 25 for each focal point, First length focus on left arm. Second length focus on right arm.

Recovery Focal Points

• keep fingernails brushing the surface
• arm’s center-of-mass flies straight forward (resist arcing the arm), very linear path
• let arm be eager to enter back into the water (don’t try to hop over it at the front) – let it be pulled in like magnetism
• elbow gradually climbs from zero at exit to highest possible point at entry moment

You are ‘launching’ the arm on a controlled flight forward, almost weightless, then letting it succumb to gravity at the last moment and slide all that momentum underwater where the main work is at, parting water molecules ahead.

Looking at more detailed features of the arm:

Notice how the shoulder joint articulates in order to allow the arm to slide parallel (stay linear) to the surface – in contrast to locking the shoulder joint when the arm is arcing.

Notice how the (gradually climbing) high, leading elbow position requires the shoulder to be internally rotated until it comes aside the shoulder and the forearm swings in front.

Notice how the two bones of the forearm (radius and ulna) rotate around each other to allow the palm to stay facing straight (or the back of the hand to stay facing forward) during the exit to swing to entry. The consistent orientation of the hand is the indicator that the wrist is articulating.

 

Entry to Extension, Blending Catch

In this context of swimming (moderate or cruising stroke) you don’t drive or spear the arm into the water, but simply blend that forward momentum of the swing with the downward press of gravity and direct those two down steeply into the water then level out into the extension.

Let gravity do the main work of the initial entry, then as gravity’s force is absorbed as the arm plunges below the neutral line, you have already started blending in the force from the catch side of the body into that lead arm to perpetuate the motion and help finish the extension.

Like a ball decelerating on its way up, seeming to pause for a moment and then start accelerating on its way down, that smooth transition from one direction of force to the opposite direction describes some of how we want our transition from extension to catch to be. There is no ‘pause’ or ‘over-glide’ in the passive sense, because the side of the body is either actively extending or actively contracting, with a smooth transition between them at the end of the full extension.

You are aiming to gather and channel all three forces together into the entry and extension, into forward movement. These forces act like waves inside the body – you need to feel them flowing and the rate at which they are flowing so that your movements can be timed to receive and channel them in cooperation with their rate of flow. The tempo and the intensity of the action determine the micro-timing of this channeling, so every change in tempo or intensity requires an adjustment in the micro-timing to optimize the effect of those forces.

Practice Set

Several repeats of Superman To Skate, holding a rubber donut in the lead arm.

Then Swing Switch, focusing on just one arm per length.

Then Swing Switch, alternating focus from arm to arm.

Catch and Extension Focal Points

• feel the catch arm gather water molecules
• feel the pressure build up the hand and forearm
• feel your catch arm generating the wave
• feel the wave transfer through the torso rotation into the other arm

In the Superman To Skate drill you may experiment with different rates of pulling and applying pressure, from abrupt to gradual, feeling the difference in effectiveness, and how they affect the sense of that wave, it’s size and rate of flow.

You are aiming to feel a steady sense of pressure on the hand and forearm, so you can extend the time you are sending force into the torso.

[Jill Hummelstein]

Thanks, Mat. Super fun lesson. Thanks for breaking down these concepts into a practice plan.

On another note, I have your tempo thingamajig. Do you want me to mail it back or give it to you the next time I see you.

[Mat Hudson]

Hi Jill,

Lost TT!  I may need that Tempo Trainer – I’ve only got these two spare ones in my bag (that being one of them) so I should probably get it back sooner than later since I am using them in lessons sometimes… unless you aim to come down the second week of August?

If not too much trouble, and if you can wrap it so that it doesn’t accidentally start beeping and scare the postal workers, send it to my home…

1940 Virginia St NE

Salem, Oregon 97301

[Jill Hummelstein]

I’ll put it in the mail tomorrow.

I might be up for a lesson in two weeks. Right now I’m docking myself and letting the tendonitis in my elbows fade away. I’m sticking to running and thinking about swimming.

 

[Mat Hudson]

Pool Session – August 23

 

Entry And Extension

We examined the entry to make sure that the elbow was high from the start, which requires the shoulder to be rotated internally. That shoulder remains rotated inward like this while the arm enters and extends to the target. This internal rotation results in an elbow that is pointed more than outward, even upward, as far you your shoulder joint comfortably allows.

Extension is limited by how far you can extend the arm while keeping this shoulder and upper arm rotated like this. View extension as something the side of your torso and your shoulder does, while the forearm and (soft) hand just respond to it.

This keeps the elbow joint ready to collapse in the direction of the catch right away, with no additional twisting of the arm necessary.

Focal Points

• High Elbow Entry
• Keep shoulder rotated internally
• Reach with shoulder, aim with the wrist (not hand)
• Keep hand soft (like a Q Tip)

Practice this internal rotation pattern, standing, with your hand flat on a table or counter. Slide the hand straight forward on the surface while rotating your elbow up toward the sky.

 

Catch and Torso Rotation

When the elbow is already positioned, pointing upward a bit, the forearm is ready to collapse inward/downward, at about a 45 degree angle, to set the catch. This 45 degree angle is about appropriate for mere-mortal shoulders. A steeper angle gets more risky for shoulder injury. But the arm needs to collapse inward and vertical in order to get a good grip on the water.

In your case, I recommended that you work on emphasizing this ‘gathering’ of water, this collapse of the forearm into its more vertical position first, then pull on that grip with the torso rotation. Ultimately, the two actions are blended in such a way that you feel an initial sense of grip (water pressure) at the very start of the set of the catch, but it grows gradually, as the torso rotation is gaining steam and able to empower the rest of the catch/pull.

You use the arm muscles to form and hold the shape of the catch, in order to get that grip, and use the torso rotation (the torso muscles) to actually pull against that grip. The pressure against the hand and forearm builds gradually. This distributes the loading better onto the back, and lightens the load a bit on the elbow and shoulder. But you must maintain that sense of grip or the torso works for nothing. The two have to be tied together.

I would like you to work on this at lower intensity and lighter loads, until it feel more natural to hold that good catch shape and load the torso. Then you can gradually increase tempo, or increase the power in the stroke while maintaining that same pattern.

Focal Points

• Keep hand on track to set the catch
• Elbow slides up/outward to allow the hand to stay on track
• Hand stays on track toward the hip
• Let hip pull the wrist, with an ‘elastic band’ effect
• First emphasize the vertical forearm
• Then pull with the hip

Avoid either extreme: pulling too softly so that there is no pressure on the grip, no loading on the torso, and pulling too abruptly so that the shoulder does all the work.

[Jill Hummelstein]

Still working on this lesson. I loved this lesson.

Observations: the sense of a grip on water eludes me. I feel the catch on my hand but not on the forearm or upper arm, even with fist drill.

Maybe to catch with forearm feels very different than to catch with hand and I should try to seek out the same feeling?

What I’m working on is extending with the upper arm and trying to let the forearm and wrist and hand be an outcome of that extension. It’s very hard not to lead with the fingers and wrists. But if I can have the right tone in my fingers and wrists and forearm I do not hurt my elbows.

It seems that the intelligence and awareness in my upper arm needs cultivating.

I’m also trying to feel my shoulder blades join in the action of extension. They fan out and protract. This also decreases tendonopathy on the elbow.

[Mat Hudson]

There’s a lot to explore in that whole connection, from spine to finger tips. And, you’ve got to explore how it affects your tendonitis along the way.

We’ve tried a few different ways of describing the sensations of having that arm provoke and then engage with water resistance. The arm curves over, to gather those water molecules into a resistant ball, and then with a rather isometric-like hold of the arm shape, all the way to the shoulder, we press against that ball to ease the body forward, past it.

At lower speeds, it’s more like easing the body forward. At higher speeds, higher pressure, it is approaching a ‘driving’ sensation more than ‘easing’ – the sensation is defined by the amount of water resistance the leading edges of the body are facing. But either way, we’re aiming to have that arm hold water in such a way that it slides backward less than the body is sliding forward.

The means you’ll need to feel more resistance against that catch arm – that increased sense of resistance could be from just pulling harder with inferior shape, or pulling just as much as before but with better shape which ends up capturing more water, thus increasing the sense of pressure. Either way, your arm muscles, as a whole team, are going to feel more of a load when you have a better catch.

You’ve got to focus internally to set up that hold in such a way that reduces stress on the tendons. Then you need to focus externally to measure how well that increased sense of pressure actually  translates into a longer stroke length – not because you’re working harder, but because you’ve captured more water per stroke.

You can feel more load from a crappy catch, but it doesn’t take you farther per stroke. You will feel more load from a better catch, because it will take you farther.

Does that make sense?

[Author]

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