[schnodo]

Der Vollständigkeit halber hier meine aktuelle Vorlage fürs den gesprochenen Begleitkommentar:

INTRODUCTION
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After twelve years of learning how to swim freestyle, Sheila Taormina's wonderful book "Swim Speed Secrets" has inspired me to create this video. It contains everything I have learned about the part that is the most important, yet the hardest to teach and implement: Arm movement.

OVERVIEW
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Arm movement consists of extension, catch, power phase, finish, overwater recovery, and hand entry. Catch, power phase, and finish are the propulsive phases. Recovery, hand entry, and extension are the non-propulsive phases. The non-propulsive phases are more forgiving towards flaws in the stroke than the propulsive phases.

EXTENSION
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EXTENSION PART 1
Extension is achieved by reaching out your hand as far as possible. That goes beyond lengthening the arm. The arm is pushed out even further by shifting the shoulder blade, the scapula, forward and bringing the shoulder next to your jaw. This is a movement like shrugging your shoulders.

Imagine picking a fruit that is just out of reach. When you've extended enough, you'll feel how the hip is pulled forward and the body naturally rotates. You are doing the same thing in freestyle. You should feel the muscles on your back elongating, getting ready for the task ahead.

EXTENSION PART 2
Extend straight forward in front of your shoulder, either horizontally or with a slight down-angle, keeping the shoulder above the elbow and the elbow above the wrist. This is the foundation for a smooth transition to the catch. The following position is not easy to achieve but also tremendously helps with the catch: Make the tip of the elbow point up.

EXTENSION PART 3
Ideally, the fingers are slightly apart. The thumb points forward. The hand remains in line with the forearm. That position is kept throughout the underwater phase.

It is true that the catch sets up the stroke, but it is important to remember that the extension sets up the catch. Incomplete extension limits what the catch can achieve. Aborting the extension also reduces the effective stroke length.

EXTENSION PART 4
Avoid crossing over the midline of the body. Crossing over results in snaking from side to side. In many cases, crossing over occurs when moving the head to breathe on the opposite side. Focus on keeping the arm in front of the shoulder.

Don't lean on the arm to support yourself; this puts you in a disadvantegeous position for transitioning to the catch. This also commonly occurs when moving the head to breathe. Focus on maintaining the desired orientation.

Don't pause the stroke. Freestyle is most effective when there are no dead spots in the stroke and the body moves at a fairly constant velocity.

CATCH
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CATCH PART 1
The purpose of the catch is creating a solid arm paddle, a platform for the power phase.

To prevent shoulder injury, the catch is performed with very little force; it also is the slowest part of the stroke. But do not mistake this for gliding. The catch starts immediately when full extension is achieved. When you're not extending, you're catching.

CATCH PART 2
Imagine, that after extension you wrap your arm around a log. This position is often called early vertical forearm or EVF. You explore the shape of that log during the catch and press yourself beyond it during the power phase. Johnny Weismueller talked about "grabbing an armful of water". That's what the catch is about.

According to Sheila, during the catch you are "finding width and depth". You start the catch by slightly shifting your hand outward so that the arm goes wide. The goal is one or two hand widths outside the shoulder line. Then rotate the upper arm internally, that is, in the direction that brings your thumb inward and down. This opens up the armpit and activates the lat muscles that you should have felt elongating during the extension.

CATCH PART 3
Keep the scapula shifted forward, so that the shoulder remains connected to the jaw. At the same time, bend the elbow to find depth, bringing the fingertips down. The elbow remains high during this movement. The upper arm keeps pointing forward.

How deep you hold your elbow is not crucial. The rotation of the upper arm is. The term "high elbow" indicates the orientation of the elbow, not its absolute depth. Sheila says to "find the depth where you can function without rigidity".

During the catch, let your palm be seen from the outside.

CATCH PART 4
At the end of the catch, the elbow is almost in the same vertical plane as the hand. The elbow points up, while the fingers point down -- either directly or with an inward angle. That largely is a matter of personal preference.

Completing the catch feels like going over a hump. Do not try to force yourself over it. Just maintain the pressure and when you feel you are past it, this is the right time to start accelerating the hand towards the hip.

CATCH PART 5
Don't rush the catch; you'll lose the grip on the water. Focus on the quality of the movement.

Don't drop your elbow and don't lead with your elbow.

Imagine a line between the shoulder and the wrist. If the elbow is above the line, this is called a high elbow, exactly what we want. Below the line, it becomes a dropped elbow. Leading with your elbow means that your hand and your elbow are no longer in the same vertical plane.

Among swimmers who pick up the sport as adults, dropping the elbow and leading with the elbow probably are the most common and most severe stroke defects. Keep the elbow high and keep it forward.

Don't break the paddle by bending your wrist. It is tempting to set up the hand first but that makes it more likely that the elbow drops. Keep hand and forearm in line.

POWER PHASE
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POWER PHASE PART 1
The power phase is where acceleration starts. Sheila Taormina calls the power phase the diagonal phase because the hand is directed from a position just outside the shoulder line towards the hip in a diagonal motion. Sheila quotes Ernest Maglischo: "Swimmers should push predominantly back on the water as they stroke diagonally through it." You'll probably get a good result if you think of leading your hand along the shoulder line to the hip. Directing your stroke close to the bellybutton is fine. Just don't cross over the midline.

POWER PHASE PART 2
The power is generated by the strong muscles of the back. The shoulder muscles provide stabilization, not propulsion. The scapula remains forward during the power phase. Sheila calls this position "oarlocks" because it keeps the arm firmly connected to the core but able to operate independently. To keep the hand in line with the forearm, concentrate on the wrist, not the fingers for power.

POWER PHASE PART 3
Begin the power phase by un-rotating the upper arm but keep the angle between the upper arm and the forearm constant. The tip of the elbow no longer points forward but outward.

Then imagine, you're squeezing a baloon in your armpit, trying to make it pop. The motion deepens the upper arm as you press back on the water, propelling the body forward, like a rowboat. This brings the hand under the body without changing the angle between upper arm and forearm.

During the entire power phase, the elbow remains in one vertical plane with the hand. The power phase is complete when the upper arm is at the torso.

POWER PHASE PART 4
Don't rip through the water. Instead of avoiding the resistance of the water, find it and accelerate by pressing against it.

Don't lead with your elbow. Keep hand and elbow in the desired vertical plane.

Don't let the wrist collapse. Hand and forearm remain in line.

Don't stroke outside the shoulder line; you're risking shoulder injury. Guide the hand under the body.

FINISH
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FINISH PART 1
The stroke is fastest at the finish. This is where you reap the rewards of a good catch and a strong power phase. Sheila describes the finish as "throwing a mass of water". The finish is initiated by lifting the upper arm out of the water with a bent elbow. That means that the arm is not fully extended, the elbow does not become locked.

The shrug is released. The hand is kept in line with the forearm and becomes pitched towards the hip. The chest and shoulder open up. The thigh is where you want to finish by pushing the hand out of the water.

FINISH PART 2
Don't lock your elbow. Keep it slightly bent.

Don't finish early, that is, next to your hip. Push the hand past the hip.

Don't stall after the power phase. Keep accelerating.

RECOVERY
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RECOVERY PART 1
Throwing the water during the finish, catapults the hand out of the water. The resulting circular motion is lead by the elbow. Once the upper arm is in a vertical position, the shoulder picks up the movement and carries it to the front. This also serves the purpose of setting up the shoulder for extension.

The shoulder is tucked behind the head. The scapula is pulled towards the spine. The recovery is a movement, that is initially slow. It accelerates towards the entry, just like the underwater arm movement accelerates towards the finish.

RECOVERY PART 2
The hand is relaxed. Bringing the arm forward should feel easy, effortless, and without strain or pain.

If you are doing everything right with the shoulder and the upper arm, the orientation of the lower arm does not matter. Anything between the classic bent arm recovery with fingers down to fully stretched straight arm recovery is acceptable.

RECOVERY PART 3
Don't pause the movement of the arm during the recovery. Imagine the stroke as one uninterrupted motion that is only complete when the hand enters the water.

Don't lead with your hand. The hand should not overtake the elbow before the elbow passes the shoulder.

Don't swing horizontally; that results in crossing over and snaking. Guide your arm along the shoulder line.

HAND ENTRY
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HAND ENTRY PART 1
Hand entry is an accelerated motion. The fingers slide into the water first, the elbow follows. Think of inserting your arm deep into a mail slot.

The entry point is well beyond your head but the arm is not fully extended so that there remains some length to gain underwater. The hand is in line with your shoulder as you pierce the water. The hand should enter cleanly, drawing few bubbles.

HAND ENTRY PART 2
Don't slow down for hand entry. Accelerate instead.

Don't touch the water with the elbow first. The fingers enter first, the elbow follows.

Don't overextend the arm; this requires holding it. The overwater phase is supposed to relieve tension in the arm, not work the muscles.

TIMING
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TIMING PART 1
The arms do not operate independently; their movement is connected across the body. Within that connection, acceleration and deceleration complement each other; the core and the attached arms swing like a pendulum. The arms accelerate and decelrate almost simultaneously even though they are in different phases of the stroke.

The stroke changes from relaxed to forceful, from slow to fast. The hands enter and exit the water with speed, and perform catch and recovery slowly. Sheila calls the sequence of one hand entering and one hand exiting "the 1-2 dance". On "one", the front hand enters, on "two", the other hand exits. The fast "1-2 dance" is followed by what she calls "finish-feel": Recovery begins and the extended arm commences the catch; this is not a sequence but happens at the same time. "Finish-feel" is deliberately unhurried.

TIMING PART 2

Earlier, I talked about "throwing water" at the finish of the stroke. Actually, you can think of two throws: one throw corresponds to the power phase and the other throw corresponds to the finish. This can be observed in the power curve of elite swimmers.

The arms pass each other in front of the head. This is often called front-quadrant timing.

ENDING
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I hope you've enjoyed this video. Did I miss anything important? Let me know, what you think. In any case, remember: You're only one swim away from a good mood!