by Admin Mediterra | Sep 26, 2020 | Synchronization
You can begin to synchronize the leg press with the rotation once you have the arms synchronized in front, because the leg motion is ultimately going to connect to the arms through the torso. Without that timing in front, the legs will have a hard time finding the 2BP rhythm in the rear. But before you connect those distant points, you will first work on connecting the press of the leg with the rotation.
Before the rotation, you may appreciate how the foot has been positioned in the Counter-Balanced Leg Position, poised, ready to press. Notice in the image above how the Streamline side of the body is down, while the Streamline side heel is up, near the surface. The raised position of the streamline side leg and the downward pointing leg of the other side are counter-balancing the body’s rotated position in front. The leg is ready to push downward so that the Streamline side of the body can rotate upward. The press of the leg offers support, it offers leverage to help the rotation go with a bit more power.
As with the fine tuning of the arm overlap, the timing of the leg has a little room for adjustment according to the tempo of the stroke. At slower tempos, the leg will press a moment after the torso has begun to rotate. At slower tempos, the press of the leg feels like it is helping to finish the rotation. At very fast tempos, the leg will press at the same moment the torso begins to rotate. In this case, it may feel like the press of the leg is helping to start the torso rotation. This is very helpful when working at sprinting tempos, where it is harder to keep the torso rotating back and forth to keep up with the demanding tempo.
Instructions
Step 1: Down-Up Leg-Torso Connection
Use the press of the leg to help rotate the same side of the torso upward toward the surface. The leg is moving down and the side is moving up in response. This is the simple down-up connection. Notice in the image above, how the foot is now down and the hip of the same side is on its way up toward the surface.
And, it will be helpful to practice working just one leg, one side repetitiously. Remember that the 2BP is just one foot pressing in one arcing path. The other foot is not pulling, it is just drifting back in the opposite direction. So practice working just one leg at a time, over and over again, while the other practices holding pointed toes.
Step 2: Use Hip Torque
As instructed in our Intro to the 2 Beat Leg Press, now notice how the turn of the ankle corresponds to the turn of the rotation. Rather than bending the knee and pushing with the thigh, keep the knee fairly straight (allow the slightest flex) and twist your ankle in order to activate torque in the hip socket. Create that ‘Crescent Moon’ pathway with your toes. This is the more effective way to direct the press of the leg. By arcing the toes from ‘pigeon toe’ inward to ‘toes outward’ this action torques the hip joint, urging the whole torso to rotate with it. This is how you genuinely generate a ‘hip-driven’ kick. Use the torque of the muscles surrounding the hip joint, rather than pressing downward with the thigh muscles as you would with a normal flutter kick.
Review the 2BP drill videos in the Knowledge Base to tune up how you perform the kick action.
Step 3: Refine The Timing Per Tempo
Since each swimmer’s functional tempo range is a bit different from any other’s, you will need to do some experimenting to set the best timing of the press to match each tempo zone (slow, medium, brisk) you work in.
For your slower comfortable tempos, let the press of the leg lag slightly behind the start of the rotation.
For your fastest tempos, let the press of the leg start immediately with the start of the rotation.
And for your medium tempos, let the press of the leg start somewhere in between.
Step 4: Refine The Pressure
It is tempting to kick abruptly or ‘snap’ the kick, but resist this. When you understand how the press of the leg is suppose to enhance the rotation, then you need to slow down that press and make the pressure steady and continuous as possible during the time taken by the rotation. Try to make the press of the leg last longer, to support the rotation longer.
Match the rate of speed of the leg press to the rate of speed of the rotation. It won’t be exact – the leg will certainly move a bit faster – but aim for this match as much as possible. If the leg snaps too quickly, it sends a wave of force that can’t be fully absorbed into the rotation, and this becomes another form of ‘power leakage’.
by Admin Mediterra | Sep 24, 2020 | Synchronization
Once you have practiced the LT (leg-torso) synchronization, and the ET (entry-torso) synchronization, then it is just a blending of both of those to create the LE synchronization. However, this is moving across the body, from one extreme end to the other. It can be the most difficult connection to make, but once you do, it is the most pleasing one!
Once again, you are ‘zooming out’ to take in the full body, from foot on one side to wrist on the other, to feel the connection between these two actions, through the torso. The torso rotation empowers the entry and extension to the target. The press of the leg supports the torso rotation. Therefore, the press of the leg helps empower the extension forward.
This is often the last sync combination to practice because the other synchronization combinations are set up to support this main action of extending farther forward on each stroke. This LE synchronization is what will make your stroke as long as it can be optimally. It is what creates the acceleration you seek on every stroke. So, take the time to establish the other connections, and they will enhance this one.
Instructions
When the leg comes down to its finish position the entry arm is sliding into streamline position.
Just as you practiced pressing the leg more slowly, with a steady pressure to match the torso rotation, aim to match the pressure and rate of speed of the extension also. As noted previously, it is tempting to ‘snap’ the foot for an abrupt kick, but this sends a wave of force too quickly forward, before the extending arm is ready to absorb and apply it to extend further. Keep the press of the leg as steady and smooth, matched to the torso rotation, and thereby matched to the entry/extension. The more closely these two are matched and kept proportional in speed, the more the press of the leg can assist that extension, the more you can feel it assisting. The leg will move faster and get to its finish position before the extension finishes, but aim to make that press last longer.
There is some room to adjust the timing of the press to the tempo. At slower tempos, have the press of the leg come about half way into the entry, with the intent to use the press to help finish the extension to the target. At very fast (sprinting) tempos, it may be more helpful to have the press of the leg come right as the hand is entering in order to drive it more powerfully and more quickly to the target, since the fast tempo allows so little time to get there through the water resistance ahead.
Remember to keep all actions smooth no matter how much force is involved. You can be powerful, but in water, power must be applied smoothly, gradually building up, in order to create a more uniform (less turbulent) displacement of water molecules. Smooth actions keep drag to a minimum. As Coach Mat says sometimes, “Make the action like you are cutting butter, not like pounding meat.”
And, when you are feeling fatigued, or still have a long way to swim, this can be one of the more endurance-promoting focal points you can use. The default land-mammal reaction to fatigue is to start pulling back harder on the water. Resist this urge. Instead, put your dwindling resources into protecting this Send-Force-Forward emphasis in your stroke. Under fatigue, it will do more to reduce your loss of speed and extend your energy than just about any other emphasis.
by Admin Mediterra | Sep 24, 2020 | Synchronization
Once you have practiced the LT (leg-torso) synchronization, and the CT (catch-torso) synchronization, then it is just a blending of both of those to create the LC synchronization.
You are ‘zooming out’ to take in the full side of the body, from foot to forearm, to feel the connection between these two actions, through the torso. The torso rotation empowers the catch. The press of the leg supports the torso rotation. Therefore, the press of the leg helps empower the catch.
Instructions
The leg will come down to its finish position as the catch is moving through its phase.
Just as you practiced pressing the leg more slowly, with a steady pressure to match the torso rotation, aim to match the pressure and rate of speed of the catch also. The more closely these two are matched and kept proportional in speed, the more the press of the leg can assist that catch, the more you can feel it assisting. The leg will move faster and get to its finish position before the catch finishes, but aim to make that press last longer.
This can be particularly useful and encouraging when you are starting to feel muscle fatigue in the catch, yet are pushing yourself to maintain steady SPL and/or tempo. Focusing on the connection between the leg and the catch can help ‘lighten the load’ on that catch action, enabling you to persist at the same effort a bit longer.
Keep a close eye on the shape and pathway of your catch so that you are maintaining your best grip on the water. The better your catch the more you will feel the press contributing toward making it easier.
by Admin Mediterra | Sep 24, 2020 | Synchronization
There is an ideal timing for the switch of the arms in front of the body. In the image above you can see the entry hand (E) piercing the water just across from the elbow of the lead arm. This is about the ideal moment for the arms to switch positions. Now the lead arm can begin the catch (C).
Just before this moment, the lead arm continues to extend forward while waiting for the recovery arm to come fully forward. Note that the lead arm is not passively hanging there – that side of the body is actively stretching the whole time. The streamline side of the body feels long and firm and getting longer.
There is some small room for adjustment depending on the tempo, but in general the ideal timing is to have the catch begin at the moment the entry hand has entered the water. For slower tempos your entry arm might be submerged to past the watch band by the time you set the catch, and for faster tempos your fingers may just start to pierce the water at the time you set the catch. But to switch earlier than this, or later than this is going to introduce greater ‘power leaks into your stroke.
Another way to phrase this is ‘arm overlap’. Notice how far the entry arm overlaps the lead arm in about the ideal amount. If you have too little overlap, or too much overlap at the moment the arms switch, then the catch is not able to connect with the full torso rotation, and ‘power leaks’ from the propulsive action. When there is just the right amount of overlap, then you are able to transfer force from the catch side to the entry side of the body instantaneously, and smoothly. Timing both sides with the full torso rotation is the key.
At the moment your entry hand is piercing the water, your torso begins to rotate. The ideal is to connect the catch to the start of this torso rotation also. Notice how all three must happen together.
Imagine a steel cable tying the catch wrist to the entry wrist. This cable passed through the shoulders. When one wrist moves the other must move in immediate response to it, in one smooth motion. The shoulder connect the two arms. When you set the catch on one side and start to press against the water, you instantly transfer that force – through that imaginary steel cable – into the entry arm. The entry arm slides down and then extends forward, receiving the force from the catch side of the body. This is how you generate and feel acceleration on each stroke. This is where the magic begins.
Instructions
First, in slower motion strokes, establish the ideal timing, or ‘overlap’ position and get very familiar with this.
To make the ideal zone more distinct in your nervous system, occasionally try too much overlap, and too little overlap in order to feel how those distortions cause your stroke to feel less connected, less effective. Notice how you get less acceleration.
Gradually speed up the tempo while maintaining this same ideal overlap. Eventually, you should be able to keep proper switch timing at every tempo you train with, from slow to sprint tempos.
Remember that the motion of the two arms, entry and catch sides, through the shoulders, should feel firmly connected to each other. You are aiming for a immediate, smooth transfer of force from one side of the body to the other, that gives you a sense of acceleration on each stroke.
The better the catch shape and pathway, the more force you generate that is available to be transferred to the other side.
The better your streamline position, the farther your body is able to slide forward once it receives that force.
The better your arm switch timing (the amount of overlap), the more of that force is transferred to the other side.
by Admin Mediterra | Sep 24, 2020 | Synchronization
The Catch (C) and the Rotation (R) (sometimes represented by the Hip), are not often connected in the typical swimmer. This is where one of the biggest power leaks can be plugged.
Again, the rotation – with shoulders and hips tied together into one unit – may be represented by the hip.
Ideally, you will set the catch (initiate the start of the catch) at the moment the hip is beginning to turn. On the same side of the body, the hip will begin rotating upward, and the catch will begin pressing backward. But these can only happen together when the Entry is located and timed first. Remember that the rotation will always wait for the Entry. So if the catch must wait for the torso to turn, that means it must also wait for the Entry to start – then all three will happen together.
If E and C are synchronized first, then and only then can you work on the C and R synchronization. EC must be in place first.
The easiest way to isolate the connection of the Catch and the Rotation is to do a One-Arm Swimming Drill. This drill takes the other arm out of play, so as you move through the stroke cycle with only one arm, you will be forced to use rotation to empower the catch. It should make sense to your body to do it this way when you have only one arm, and it will be obvious how helpful it is to have the torso rotation create the main power of the catch. But the moment you put the other arm back into the choreography, you may notice that your catch no longer automatically connects to the rotation – often it will start pulling way before the torso starts turning! When the catch starts pulling before the rotation, this means that arm must pull with small shoulder muscles the whole way – the small shoulder muscles will tire so much more quickly than the torso muscles will!
You can test the timing of your EC arm switches by doing recovery and entry drills to make sure your entry hand reaches the entry position as the trigger for the catch to begin.
Instructions
The goal is empower most of the catch by the rotation. In other words, you want to shift more of the catch load to the torso (to the side and back of the body) and lighten the load on the smaller shoulder muscles. The sensation you are aiming for is to feel the pressure you apply coming from that side and back of your torso, where you do not feel acutely strained in any small muscles of the shoulder. It will feel easier to maintain a powerful hold on the water when you can hold with the whole side of your body.
Beware: Just because the catch and rotation are happening at the same time does not automatically mean that the loading has been shifted to the torso. You need to feel that you are holding mostly with the slide of the shoulder toward your hip – this will engage your lat muscles which you can feel easily. If you feel more loading in the small pulling muscles around the shoulder and little or no loading on the back and side of your torso, then you have not transferred enough of the load to the torso.
This is easier to notice and improve at slower tempos. Start slowly to tune up this pattern then gradually increase tempo to normal rates as the pattern gets familiar to your nervous system.
It may be helpful to imagine an elastic band connecting your (catch side) wrist to your hip. As the hip rotates upward, it pulls the wrist backward through this imaginary elastic band.
Keep the rate of the hip turn about the same as the rate the catch/hold is pulling back on the water. Do not pull abruptly on the water. Nor should you try to rotate abruptly. You can be powerful, but apply that power gradually, and smoothly.
These two moving parts of the body should feel instantaneously connected in the same unified action, on this side of the body.
Try disconnecting CR and count strokes, then connect CR and count strokes. You should notice a clear difference in SPL between the two.
by Admin Mediterra | Sep 24, 2020 | Synchronization
The Entry/Extension (E) and the Rotation (R) (sometimes represented by the Hip), is the easiest connection to study because on virtually every swimmer the rotation will wait until the recovery arm has come all the way forward and is ready to enter the water. That side of the body is held up in the air by the rotation until the entry arm is ready to slide down into the water. The drop of the shoulder allows the arm to drop into the water. Without even having to think about it, your Entry and Rotation are likely, already approximately synchronized.
This is an automatic pattern that swimmer don’t often notice because it is already happening. But now you are going to pay attention to it because you can make that synchronization even better.
Instructions
At slow and moderate tempos you can allow gravity to initiate your rotation – the high side is being pushed downward, so when the arm swings into entry position, you can just let gravity pull the arm downward and rotation happen together. This is the most economical way to engage rotation power, obviously.
Initially, it can be easier to imagine an line connecting your wrist, arm, shoulder, and side of torso down to the pelvis as one unit that moves together. So, when you examine the connection between the Entry and the Rotation, you can more pay attention to that entire side of the body moving together. These two moving parts of the body should feel instantaneously connected in the same unified action, on this side of the body.
Practice ER where you emphasize using the Rotation to help push the Entry (E) into Extension to the target, as if connected with an extending mechanical rod.
Practice ER where you emphasize using the Extension (E) to pull the torso behind it, as if the wrist and the hip were connected by an elastic band.
Which one creates a more pleasing internal effect for you?
Which one produces a longer stroke (a lower stroke count) for you?
by Admin Mediterra | Sep 24, 2020 | Synchronization
These sets will offer an introduction to how to practice with sync combinations. You may find a whole training plan on this topic in the Master Class Sync course.
Practice Set 1
Swim 4 rounds of 3 cycles (2x 25m), one for each combination of points.
- Round #1 – 2x 25 sync EC, 2x 25 sync ER, 2x 25 sync EL
- Round #2 – 2x 25 sync CE, 2x 25 sync CR, 2x 25 sync CL
- Round #3 – 2x 25 sync RE, 2x 25 sync RC, 2x 25 sync RL
- Round #4 – 2x 25 sync LE, 2x 25 sync LC, 2x 25 sync LR
When you are more acquainted with how this kind of practice works, and when your attention can handle it, select a cue for one or both of those propulsive parts
Practice Set 2
3 rounds of 3x 150 whole stroke.
Using a Tempo Trainer at a comfortable cruising tempo is optional.
- Round #1 – focus on EC
- Round #2 – focus on RC
- Round #3 – focus on ERC
by Admin Mediterra | Sep 24, 2020 | Synchronization
You’ve worked on building each section of the stroke – the entry, the body rotation, the catch, and the leg press – section by section. They are intended to work together as a harmonious whole, not separately. Eventually, you need to practice connecting these parts and then refining those connections to create a smooth and powerful whole-body propulsive movement.
Why Synchronize?
When these parts are connected and timed well, they do not merely add up, the magnify the power you can utilize in each stroke. When the propulsive movements of the body are coordinated in this way, they provide a thrilling sense of acceleration on each stroke!
When these parts of the stroke are not connected well, it causes what we call ‘power leaks’ in your propulsion. You may be harvesting free force from gravity, you may be generating momentum with the recovery swing and the torso rotation, you may be anchoring your catch hand, but if all these parts are not connected together and timed well, a great portion of the force generated in one part of the body cannot be transferred to another where it would be used – it is burned up as friction or stress inside the body and wasted in moving water around rather than moving your body forward.
Synchronization practice will help tie each piece of the movement together, and plug those power leaks.
Full Time Sync Work Ahead
Synchronization practice is something that may likely occupy most of your training attention in your advanced stages of development. When there is any change in speed, intensity or in the conditions of your swim, there will likely be a need to adjust and refine your synchronizations to fit those precise conditions. There is only a perfect synchronization arrangement for this moment right now. When the conditions change you may feel a need to make fine adjustments to the synchronization to feel smoother and more efficient in that unique set of conditions. That is why it becomes a frequent focus in one’s advanced training. It is infinitely improvable and it is always rewarding to make synchronization a little better so it becomes a perpetual source of interest and pleasure.
Four Propulsive Parts
We divide the body into four main propulsive parts and work on synchronizing all four of them together to create this one smooth, harmonious whole propulsive movement on each stroke.
- E – Entry and Extension
- C – Catch
- R – Rotation
- L – Leg Press
However, it is hard for the brain to focus on all four of those at once. Instead, we work on synchronizing just two of those parts at a time, and work around through each combination over and over again, gradually bringing all of them into better harmony without having to focus on all four together at the start.
Sync Combinations you will practice:
Later on, as the nervous system grows familiar and the synchronization of each combination becomes more autonomous in the brain’s control, you’ll find you can zoom out and hold in attention more parts at one time, like ERC, LRC, and LRE.
by Admin Mediterra | Sep 24, 2020 | Synchronization
How To Work With Combinations
You start with paying attention to the connection of two synchronization points at a time (like EC, or CR), examining and refining them. After working with related pairs for a while, you may ‘zoom out’ to hold attention on hold three points at a time (like ECR), feeling how they all work together. In the end, you intend to have all four working in smooth synchronicity, but it will be easier to arrive at that when you work on these in pairs, rotating through the combinations.
Eventually, all the individual pieces are brought together here in the full stroke to create a smooth, powerful, synchronized, whole-body propulsive movement.
Description Of Synchronization Combinations
In your session or practice time you should examine each of these combinations several times, making observations about how well the parts feel connected and moving smoothly together.
EC – The Entry and Catch Combination
The moment the entry hand (E) pierces the water is the moment your lead arm (C) sets the catch. If that entry happens a little too late or a little too early, then you are not able to connect the rotation power to the catch.
You may read more detail about the The Entry and Catch Combination.
ER – The Entry and the Rotation
One view…
ER: The entry arm (E) is entering and extending underwater and the body rotation follows after it, as if the torso is pulled by an elastic band.
A second view…
RE: The extending arm (E) underwater feels as if it is being pushed forward by the rotation of the body. It is another way of viewing the same connection as ER.
You may read more detail about The Entry and the Rotation.
CR – The Catch and Rotation
The catch arm slides into catch shape (C) but then hesitates for a microsecond as rotation begins, then the catch arm can gradually increase pressure and shift the loading to the back muscles, lightening the load a bit on the smaller shoulder muscles. Imagine an elastic band tied from the hip to the wrist, and as the hip turns it pulls the wrist of the catch hand with it.
You may read more detail about The Catch and Rotation.
LR – The Leg Press and the Rotation
The press of the leg (L) in a downward arc helps rotate (R) the same side of the torso upward.
You may review the previous lesson on the Leg Press.
LC –The Leg Press and the Catch
Being connected through the torso, the press of the leg also assists with the catch – the press of the leg downward (by helping the torso rotate upward) lightens the loading on the catch arm slightly.
You may read more detail about The Leg Press and the Catch.
LE – The Leg Press and the Entry
Being connected through the torso, the press of the leg (L) on one side of the body helps the entering arm (E) extend fully into Streamline Position on the other side of the body.
You may read more detail about The Leg Press and the Entry.
by Admin Mediterra | Aug 6, 2020 | Fundamental Skills
Skills
The main skill is to have the body rotation empower the entry and extension of the arm on one side and empower the catch and hold on the other side at the same time. The well-timed body rotation will smoothly transfer power from the catch side to the streamline side and result in more satisfying sense of acceleration on each stroke.
The entry/extension arm will slide into the water and forward to its target as an expression of the body’s rotation. The catch arm will get a grip on the water and hold it, while the body rotates around that hold point and forward. All together, the catch will hold the water while the body rotation transfers the force it generates into the streamlining body on the other side.
You develop these connections by practicing the connection of one arm to the rotation. Then you some practice the connection of the rotation to the catch and hold. Then you practice connecting all three at once.
Note: we don’t teach the details of the Catch and Hold until Freestyle Advanced. The underwater catch (pulling) action you have currently is likely adequate for your purposes right now. We don’t want you to get distracted by that part of the stroke yet, because there are more important skills to establish first.
Drills
- Balance Position to Streamline (with weighted object in lead hand)
- Streamline to Streamline – 1 switch
- Streamline to Streamline – 2 switches
- One-Arm Drill
- One-Arm Swimming
- 6 whole strokes (no breathing)
- 6 whole strokes with 1 breath
- Whole strokes with breathing
Cues
Cues for Entry
- Weight shift
- Hold the scapula’s forward position
- Keep the armpit open to the deep
- Entry arm responds to the rotation
Cues for Catch
- Gather then rotate
- Hold and rotate
- Hold and slide past that point
- Slide the scapula back
by Admin Mediterra | Jun 1, 2020 | Advanced Skills
Skills for Catch and Hold
In this lesson you will work through a series of drills to help you:
- Build better catch shape to generate more resistant force
- Empower the catch/hold with the torso rotation, so that the torso muscles do more of the work
- Improve the catch pathway – straight back so the body slides straight forward
- Improve the smooth, steady sense of pressure through the whole motion
The cues below will help you create and improve these three features in your catch action.
Drills for Catch and Hold
Cues for Catch and Hold
- Set the catch (or ‘gather inward’)
- Hand stays on track with the shoulder
- Elbow slide out and upward to make shape of arm
- Touch the ball with entire forearm and palm
- Hold the ball and rotate body past it
- Press the ball straight toward the hip – hips rolls out of the way at last moment
- Press the ball straight toward the toes – send the ball of water under hip and leg
- Press the ball steadily
- Catch hand and extending hand move (on their tracks) exactly opposite to each other, at approximately the same rate of speed
- Hesitate ever so slightly after ‘Set The Catch’ in order to Load The Torso
- Pull with hip (not with shoulder)
The entry and extending arm is the main actor, while the catch arm is the supporting actor. Set a good catch and then focus upon transferring force across the body, forward, into your best Streamline Position. The better your Entry, Extension and Streamline, the farther you will slide forward on each stroke!
by Admin Mediterra | Jun 1, 2020 | Advanced Skills
In conventional swimming, the underwater part of the freestyle stroke is called the pull (or pull/push) phase because in that tradition, the emphasis of the whole stroke is about pulling on the water to move the body forward. We prefer to call it the ‘catch and hold’ phase because our orientation is about holding a point in the water and sliding the body forward, past that point. Our emphasis is on the body moving forward, not on pushing water backward. In this view, the main emphasis of the stroke is to Generate Forward Momentum delivered into the Streamline side of the body, while the catch is in a supporting role.
We have waited until the Freestyle Advanced series to present this skill because the Catch and Hold is meant to serve what the body is doing in those fundamental skills. Those skills need to be in place so that the Catch and Hold can have the intended effect.
Explaining the Catch and Hold
As noted above, the Catch and Hold does not work well apart from its coordination with other parts of the stroke. When the catch is connected to the torso rotation, the force of that catch can be transferred into the torso. When the torso is connected to the entry and extension arm, that force can be transferred into that side of the body, producing better forward motion. All three need to be tied together in a smooth choreography, and when they are, you feel a wonderful acceleration in each stroke.
In the Generate Forward Momentum lesson you developed the First Connections, which includes the optimal arm switch timing – this timing is necessary in order to transfer that force from the catch side to the entry/extension side of the body, through the torso rotation. If the timing of the arm switch timing is too late or too early, then less of that force can be transferred from one side to the other.
Three Components
This effective forward propulsion depends on the three components each doing their part and being well-synchronized with the others:
- the Catch generates a wave of force
- the Torso Rotation transfers that wave of force from the catch side to the entry/extension side of the body
- the Entry/Extension into Streamline Position receives and delivers that wave of force into forward motion
In the Catch and Hold lesson you are learning to form a more effective catch to generate more force, then connect that to the torso to transfer that force from one side of the body to the other, and connect that to the entry actions to transform this into forward motion.
Skills for Catch and Hold
The better you perform the catch and hold, the bigger the wave of force you may transmit to the other side of the body.
The quality of this wave depends on:
- The shape of your catch arm in order to get a bigger grip on the water
- Loading the torso muscles, more than shoulder muscles
- The pathway that catch action follows
- The pressure applied – steadily through the motion, not too abrupt, and not too weak but just right
The cues below will help you create and improve these three features in your catch action.
Creating the wave with an arm is not enough – it must be tied into the torso rotation so that the torso is doing most of the work of holding the water, which mean it is transferring that force from the catch side to the streamline side of the body. So, the lesson starts with a focus on only the catch arm and torso, and eventually adds the other side of the body, completing the full choreography.
In this lesson you will work through a series of drills to help you:
- Build better catch shape to generate more resistant force
- Empower the catch/hold with the torso rotation, so that the torso muscles do more of the work
- Improve the catch pathway – straight back so the body slides straight forward
- Improve the smooth, steady sense of pressure through the whole motion
Useful Imagery For Catch and Hold
During the lesson you will likely be given these images/analogies to work with:
- the ‘beach ball’ of water molecules (or ‘swiss ball’, or ‘pilates ball’ if you prefer)
- the underwater aluminum ladder, under your body, parallel to the surface
The Beach Ball
The beach ball of water molecules represents the pressure zone of water you create and direct with each underwater stroke. When you initially form the catch shape, you are gathering water molecules – or more specifically, you are creating a ‘traffic jam’ or ‘pressure zone’ of water molecules against your arm, and this pressure zone which offers resistance to your arm. You form this pressure zone of water, and by pressing on it, you leverage your body forward through the rotation.
Another way of viewing it, is that you press and send this ball of water under your body, and your body rides over the top. More specifically, you create a layer of pressurized water and slide your hip and leg over the top, helping them stay up near the surface.
The Ladder
The ladder gives you a directional grid, it gives you fixed locations in the water, to set the position and trajectory of your movements.
The two rails correspond to your two arm tracks. Your lead arm extends forward on that rail, while your catch hand holds a fixed point – a rung – on the rail. The rungs represent the point ahead where you set your catch (get a grip on the water).
The depth of this imaginary latter is set at the depth of your catch, in the layer of water just below your body. That is where you want to get a grip on the beach ball. That is where you want to create the pressure zone of water that the frame of your body can slide over.
Imagine if there really was a ladder in the water underneath you. Imagine reaching ahead, getting a grip on a rung, and then pulling on it in order to slide your whole body forward past that rung. Your pulling hand would be fixed – it would not slide to the side or up/down. It would stay at the same depth, on the same track, while the body rotated around it, smoothly sliding forward, up the ladder, with your lead arm reaching for the next rung. Likewise, your body would not be sliding to the side or up/down, but stay parallel to the surface and to the ladder, simply sliding forward in the opposite direction of your pull.
