Freestyle Swimming – Finding Your Catch!
Catch, catch, catch. It’s the swimming buzzword of the season. Often described as “the most important part of your stroke” swimmers are told to pop the elbow, point your fingers to the ground, reach over the barrel.
Exactly what does this all mean, and exactly what IS the catch?
The catch in swimming is the next thing that happens after your hand enters the water in front of you. Some define the catch as the point that swimmers apply pressure to the water to help them move forward. Others will say that it’s grabbing onto the water and throwing it behind you; it’s actually a bit of both.
In my opinion, no one does it better than Karlyn Pipes Nilsen (Word renowned Masters swimmer, owner of The Aquatic Edge in Kona). In the picture below you will notice three things that make Karlyn’s catch a good one.
1. Her initial extension: She reaches her hand “to the opposite wall” the longer your reach, the more water you can grab.
2. Early Vertical Forearm & popping the elbow: Early Vertical Forearm is a term Karen coined and often refers to as “EVF”, and it is what it says, her forearm gets vertical in the water. This is done by popping the elbow. To understand what it feels like to pop your elbow, place your hand on the desk in front of you. Simply rotate from your shoulder until your elbow is on the top, then rotate again until your elbow is pointing toward the floor. Rotate again until it is pointing toward the ceiling, lift your arm, and there you have it, early vertical forearm. This allows for “a great big armful of water” which then, we push behind.
3. Maintaining the high elbow. Notice how close to the surface her elbows are. When swimmers drop their elbows they tend to attempt to pull with a straight arm, which then drops the elbow. Karlyn’s elbows almost skim the surface of the water through her stroke.
Click here for the full video of Karlyn’s stroke.
Improving your catch takes time and patience, and often involves setting a new muscle memory pattern. When making big changes to one’s stroke I recommend frequent short swims of 30-40 minutes (4-5 times a week) rather than 3 X 4,000 yard sessions. This way you can keep fresh and biomechanics won’t suffer due to fatigue (even the best swimmers become fatigued!)
A few tools that I like to use when working with athletes on their catch are:
1. PT Paddles: Essentially these simulate fist swimming, but keep you honest. If you are looking for a paddle that will help you go faster, this is not for you. While swimming with these expect a slowdown of 15-20 seconds per 100. When wearing these you will feel like you have no hands. They force you to slow down and really grab the water with your forearm.
2. The EVF drill: (Click here for the drill. ) This is a sculling drill, which helps you gain the feel of the early vertical forearm. This drill takes patience; it is not about going fast. This is my number one drill for athletes to improve their catch.
3. Practice the catch drill: (click here for the drill): This is a simple drill that requires mental concentration. If swimmers take the time to slow down and feel the pieces of the stroke that they need to change,
Before you go changing your stoke because of what you assume you are doing under the water, have someone experienced look at your stroke. Preferably, have them video your stroke under the water. This way you have a clear objective look at what you are truly doing. Many triathlon and swim coaches will do this for you for a consultation fee. Check around in your area to see what is available.
Improving your catch is one of the most important things you can do for your swimming. It’s where some argue that propulsion begins. In my opinion propulsion is continuous and not dependant on any one thing, but the small changes that you make to help that process, the faster you will move through the water with less effort!
Happy swimming!
Mary Eggers is a USAT triathlon Coach and owner of Train-This Multisport Coaching. You can follow her on her blog at www.ironmomma.com.
Category: Coaches' Tips
