These last couple weeks I received a some inquiries about my perspective on what is known as the High Elbow Catch so I will share some of the comments I gave.
Appearance Or Function?
The label ‘high elbow catch’ is a descriptive term of an external appearance – and this may be misleading as to why/how we should develop this skill. Our goal is not to achieve a catch that looks a certain way, but a catch that accomplishes a certain thing. It might be more appropriately labeled “Firm Grip Catch”.
Coach Mat setting the Catch in One-Arm Drill.
The purpose of the catch is to get a ‘firm grip’ on the water so we can use the rotation of the torso’s mass to leverage our body forward – rotation is the human’s most effective means of generating bigger, long-lasting power. It is not the appearance or shape of an elbow and forearm in a certain position that we are aiming for but that effective grip itself. Ideally, we are aiming to get a grip on a point in the water, hold that point, and slide the body past that point using the rotation of the body. Some of greatest swimmers (with superior control over stroke length) actually accomplish this feat. One determines his success in achieving a ‘firm grip’ by:
- how he feels inside the body (better, more comfortable leverage, and less stress on shoulder joint),
- how his arm feels against the high pressure zone of water (holding more water),
- lower heart rate (transferring load to more suitable, long-lasting muscle groups, sliding forward easier) and
- by creating a longer stroke length (getting more distance per unit of power).
Build From Inside Out
This is how we should measure a satisfactory or correct catch. By working inside-to-out, by achieving the internal conditions and then by measuring those objectively one will, by default, produce the catch appearance known as ‘high elbow catch’.
But one who tries to work outside-to-in, trying to achieve the appearance without understanding its internal nature may achieve the form but without the effect it is suppose to provide, or worse, acquire an injury. This may be likened to a person who practices the external appearance of a martial art, without first practicing the internal centering/grounding that gives it power. Put him in a real-fight scenario and he will get annihilated. True form (fashion, appearance) emerges from true function.
Paddles Versus Fist
One tip for you: using hand-paddles can actually make it harder for you to develop the best internal conditions for the catch, unless you have already got it, and know how to use those paddles to train the proper sequence of muscle-firing.
Most people I see using paddles are training inferior timing and grip which is setting up higher risk of damage to the shoulder. Until you are a master of catch timing I highly recommend you use fist-swimming instead – make the hands smaller rather than larger, and your brain will be forced to find a better grip on the water using the entire forearm, which will require you to lift the elbow and keep the hand under it – since the small area the fist by itself can no longer do all the work for you.
After all, you are preparing to do what? To swim a race with paddles on? (Granted, you can in the Ötillö, and that is a pretty cool race!) Or must you use what your body naturally comes with to get the job done?
Learn to use what you’ve got better, and continually train the brain to use all the piece working together.
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Hello Mat,
some months ago I started a FS-Forum-thread “Fixing the grip”. So once more your blog fits my needs. Thank you! Still have in mind to put all hints together into a small training program and give it a try when helathy enough. And now I’ll pass my main question to your blog…
With my normal slow SRs (1.36s-1.56s) I’m satisfied with my grip (more or less) resluting in 14SPL-18SPL. Decision what’s easiest is day form dependent but (mostly) adjustable in this sectors. But when changing to higher SRs (below 1.3s I call it “higher”). The grip looses and the SPL jumps up more and more (out of my green zone). Think there are three possible reasons (and you’ll find some more…)
– I’m too weak to hold the SPL. When adding more force into the strokes I can hold SPL a little longer. Somtimes down to 1.26s. But it’s very uncomfortable and only possible for short time (2-4 laps). That are the SRs when it becomes difficult to focus on something other than following the TT.
– The internal stroke (chain-)timing has to change in any way. But in which? No idea for myself where to work. (Hoped it could just be a new kind for acceleration of the stroking arm, when started the thread…Yes, yes “only a…” in swim technique. Should be long enough in TI to avoid such thoughts… but not hopes…)
– My grip is loosy over all and gerneral but this is revealed (for me) at “higher” SRs.
Any hints still wellcome!
Best regard,
Werner
–
Hi Werner,
You’ve done a good job identifying three possible causes for losing SPL as you increase tempo.
You will need to test your three ideas by using interval training.
If you try to swim continuously for 2 to 4 laps you reach a limit – heart rate, breathing or energy level gets uncomfortable (they are all pointing to the same thing).
So you can use 25 and 50m intervals with rest in between (you may start with 10-20 seconds). Maybe 4 rounds of (4x 25m) or 4 rounds of [2x (25m + 50m)]. Round #1 at 1.38 tempo. Round #2 at 1.36. Round #3 at 1.34. Round #4 at 1.32. Your goal is to hold SPL and tempo. Do not increase tempo if you fail on either one, but stay at that combination to give your brain time to adapt. You will be concentrating on the catch using focal points for A) position of catch, B) timing of catch, and C) pressure of catch. You will be increasing your effort, and therefore your heart rate, but then you will use the rest in between to recover your heart rate and your attention. And while you are concentrating on the quality of your catch, you will be also challenging and strengthening your muscle and metabolic system (without thinking about it).
Start at a comfortable tempo like 1.38. Start there for 1 to 3 practices and measure your improvement in terms of how much easier it feels to hold those SPL and Tempo combination – a results of both technical and muscular improvement. Then on your next set of practices you increase the starting tempo slightly – like at 1.36 and go through the series of practices again.
It is possible that you need to increase the challenge on your muscles and metabolic system. Perfect technique will take you as far as the ‘Easy Speed’ threshold, but then you do need to add more power to move farther than this point. So, you can test and improve both by using sets like these to challenge your system a bit more on short distance, but give yourself more rest too.
Hey Matt, what’a up! Left you some comments afterm I had signed up on your old blog in November. Never got a response via email. Something was wrong because when I checked today, saw you had responded the very next day.
Anyway when you say EVF provides leverage so the body can move forward by rotation, I am a little lost. Indeed I read something similar in the Mastering Swimming book excerpt.Do you mean rotation as in propelling like airplanes do?
Hi Lloyd! I don’t think a propeller would be the right image or analogy. On each stroke in freestyle we have more of a quarter turn of a kind of ‘corkscrew’ motion on each stroke, reversing for each new stroke. The pivot point is the shoulder. The arm provides a ‘grip’ on the water and then we use the mass of the torso to empower the pull. The smaller shoulder and arm muscles are holding the shape of the catch/pull arm while the large back and core muscles are doing the main work of pulling.
Imagine standing in front of someone, with your left foot closer to that person (more like positioning to punch them with your right arm). Turn your right shoulder/hip toward that person, reach with your right arm to grab his left arm – then instead of pulling him toward you with just the arm, rotate your right shoulder/hip backward and pull that person toward you with your torso rotation. You pull this person toward your right hip as that same hip rotates backward. With your feet fixed to the ground, your spine becomes the pivot axis and you have used your rotation to empower the pull. If this exercise makes sense to you, you can then see the relationship between the catch/pull and the rotation.
Now you can stand vertical and image you are swimming position. Raise the left arm into catch position. That left shoulder will be deeper (in the water, as it were). Imagine now that you have a pilates ball under your palm and forearm. You are going to smoothly, steadily press that ball directing downwards (not to the left, or right or away from your body) toward your toes. While you press on that ball, you are going to rotate that left shoulder/hip backwards. As your hand gets near the hip you will stop pressing and begin swinging the elbow up (forward on recovery) again.
What most swimmers do – those without a front-quadrant stroke overlap – is start pulling with shoulders before they have started rotation. This is a bit complicated to explain in text, but it would be painfully obvious in a video clip. You use the front arm to hold a point in the water, then slide the body past that point. If rotation is not sync’d to this catch moment (which for most underdeveloped swimmers it is not) then these instructions do not make sense. In Level 1 TI lessons we set up the timing for this catch without actually talking directly about it – we put all the supporting pieces in place, without which the catch doesn’t work well. Then in Level 2 we teach the catch, now that the pieces are in place for timing and power.
Have you had a live TI training experience before?
This is a hard thing to teach in a book, I admit.
Hey Matt! No I have not but I am getting your point.
Matt, is this like climbing with two ropes? Grab onto one, when you are secure jump onto a higher point on the other rope from this position. Vice versa.
Our thinking may be getting closer to one another’s but it would be easier to tell in person, with a demonstration. The idea is that we have one engine – the torso rotation – and this needs to supply power to both the catch/hold pressing backward and the entry/extension sending force forward. They are synchronized together in order to tap into the rotation power. Otherwise, one or the other (usually the catch) has to rely on an alternative (inferior) muscle group to get the job done.
Matt, I have not had a live demo yet. I do get the aspect of the hip rotation being providing fuel for the the catch/ spear.
Some TI students have difficulty comprehending how a perpendicular rotation can do this. But coming from an engineering background, I actually understand the physics of it really. A little secret that might be lost to even some TI coaches (I dare say), is that not the forward propulsion is not 100% hip drive. Just the vertical component.
It is the term “pressing backwards” that loses me.
By the way I sent you the Terry’s article on the wrist to wrist wingspan inquiry. Did you get it?
Thanks, Mat. Glad I found this. Answers my question on the Fast Forward #3 pool practice thread! I would like to post a link to this explanation regarding the catch. This is what I was thinking, and you explain the elements for the set up so smoothly.
Deb
Hi Deb,
Sure, link away! These explanatory posts come after trying to explain this a hundred times in private conversations.