Dropping Elbow at Forward Extension

by CoachStuartMcDougal

A common problem and one not difficult to correct is the dropping elbow as lead arm extends forward. The hand scoops or rises to surface, elbow drops, torso begins to sink – leaving swimmer with no purchase, little leverage and sinking at the catch phase of the stoke. Similar to an airplane losing lift and going into stall, the body is losing buoyancy and sinking. The source of a dropping elbow is often misdiagnosed as “over gliding”. “Over gliding” is an overloaded term identified with swimming at slower tempo or turnover. Coach Todd E wrote an excellent post on the “Over Glider” which best describes this term.

Blaming a slower tempo or “over gliding” as the cause of the dropping elbow and subsequent stall is misleading. One using this diagnosis is mostly unaware of the root cause. I’ve heard a quick remedy is just speed up turnover and the elbow magically stops dropping. The dropping elbow may not be as noticeable at a faster turnover, faster tempo may help a little with sinking, unfortunately the problems are still there and now with greater frequency.

I believe most (but not all) coaches agree, in order to improve, correct, and/or change your stroke – you have to swim slowly correctly. I’m not sure when and where it became taboo to swim more slowly (and correctly), possibly just competing programs that identify something they believe is wrong in one program rather than discuss the merits of their swim program and (or) methods. Terry describes swimming slowly best in a recent post: The Beauty of Effortless. The Skill of Slow, “… swimming more slowly isn’t the object. Rather it’s to improve at swimming with consummate ease and to explore your ability to slow particular aspects of the stroke, while maintaining overall flow and body control” .

The source of the swimmer’s dropping elbow at forward extension is primarily following:

1. Stacking shoulders on recovery Over-rotating 90+ degrees causing imbalance, losing control, body is unstable sinks.

2. Lifting recovery elbow over the body Contributing to #1 stacked shoulders, sinking, lifting the elbow over body causes shoulder impingement (shoulder gets stuck), forearm remains folded and/or recovery arm swings away from body

3. Recovery hand/forearm drifts to center and/or crosses in front of head Momentum of swinging recovery arm causes hand/forearm to drift in narrow or crossover. Hand and forearm scoops toward or lays flat on surface, elbow drops.

Swimmers that over-rotate and drop elbow at forward extension may have bit more or less of 1 – 3 above. Other possible contributing factors such as incorrect kick timing (kicking on the wrong foot) or frantic bicycle kick will magnify the error too.

VIDEO: Select this link or image below to video demonstration of dropping elbow

Swimmer over-rotated, unstable, sinking, elbow dropping at forward extension

THE FIX: Although simple steps, correcting errors will take time and focus, and of course slowing stroke down to imprint corrections:

1. Flatten rotation and swing elbow wide – stabilize balance, maintain buoyancy. Don’t lift elbow over torso.

2. Land recovery arm on wide shoulder width tracks, don’t let recovery arm sweep out and drift inside of tracks or cross in front of head.

3. Enter recovery arm deep spearing to 3 o’clock target, fingertips down, recovery hand remains below elbow throughout stroke cycle.

VIDEO: Select this link or the image below to video demonstration of correct elbow position

Swimmer balanced, stable, good rotation, head-spine aligned, lead arm anchored in front, recovery hand below elbow

For those who struggle with over-rotation, sinking body, and dropping elbow at catch phase of your stroke – you have some tips to get you stable, recovery arm on wide tracks and spearing deep to 3 o’clock target. Just work on one focus at a time and rotate through each frequently (i.e. swing elbow wide, wide tracks, spear to deep target). Initiating the wide swinging elbow focus by shrugging shoulder toward ear will get the recovery arm moving forward and reduce tendency to lift elbow over torso.

Please feel free to ask any questions or drop suggestions in the comments.

Happy Swimming!

Stuart McDougal

MindBodyAndSWIM

August 3rd, 2013 CoachStuartMcDougal. 11

Uncategorized

CoachToddE

Excellent read Stuart. I agree that the dropping elbow is a common problem on forward extension of the lead arm. As you might guess I am also a firm believer in slow swimming when changing stroke technique, which is also changing muscle memory. And as we know this is can be a very slow (in length of time, not tempo) process as well as takes lots of slow swimming and breaking the stroke down into parts that at times seems very mechanical to clients. Just ask anyone who has taken golf lessons that has had to change their golf grip, which almost 90% of the people taking a golf lesson for the first time have to do. This slight change of one or both hands on the golf club grip can take up to months to finally feel natural again (I know from experience). This is the same process as in swimming. And as we know from experience if you try to go immediately back to your old tempo the old muscle memory takes over.

I have found that the majority of my clients have been in source no. 2 above, lifting the recovery elbow up/back towards the back or over the body. This is in my opinion leads to no.3. As the elbow lifts up towards the in the sagittal plane, it forces the humerus to almost dislocate itself, at the acromion, as the elbow and arm continue to be lifted over the body. At a point where the arm back can not travel up and forward anymore without to getting pinched and hurting (what you feel in the rear deltoid area of the shoulder) the humerus rotates and the forearm and hand then assume the leading position going forward. The angle of the forearm and humerus at this moment is approximately 90 degrees. As the recovery arm, mainly the humerus is extended forward this angle does not change and causes no. 3 to happen. As the swimmer then rotates they keep this arm rigid and the elbow ends up pointing towards the bottom of the pool allowing the forearm to then be angled back up so the hand ends up at the surface as shown in the picture.

I agree with all your fixes and no. 2 should fix this, as on extension of the recovery arm they will then straighten out the forearm on the wide track.

Of course your fixes are spot on. We talk about the wide tracks and holding a shape of reaching out over the hood of hood of a VW or exercise ball keeping the elbows high on extension meaning the wrist is below the elbow, which is below the shoulder. I recently saw an interview with Dave Scott, world champion IM competitor, now coach, where he described this in a new analogy for me. He said to think of the pointed part of the elbow (the olecranon process) as an eyeball. This eyeball should be pointed to the side of the pool at all times during the freestyle stroke, entry, catch, propulsion, finish and recovery. Exactly what TI teaches.

Great read.

Keep swimming for Life!

Todd Erickson
- Max
  
  Hi,
  I’m a beginner swimmer struggling with a dropped elbow problem. I have a question regarding the “Spearing to 3 o’clock target”. Are you referring to the target for the elbow pointing to the side of the pool? What about the target for the hand (depth, etc.) Thanks for the advice!
  –Max
CoachStuartMcDougal

Thanks CoachTodd! It was enjoyable to write about since I see this error daily, and more often than not – is misdiagnosed. I do like Dave Scott’s visual of the ‘eyeball’, but it leads the swimmer to focus on wrong part of their body – the elbow. The elbow will be in the right position as a consequence of correct rotation & recovery arm position. I was a little disappointed that Dave’s remedy was also to increase turnover suggesting a slower tempo or “over gliding” was the root cause of a dropping elbow. In his defence I think Dave just missed this one – the source is not so obvious and easy to miss from the deck. And YES – if we just leave the elbow alone, the elbow remains pointed to the side of the pool above the hand throughout the entire stroke cycle as a result of correct recovery arm (above and below surface) and body rotation/position – what we teach in TI.

Happy Swimming!

Stuart
CoachToddE

I didn’t take Dave’s comment as slower tempo or overgliding as the root cause but that the overreaching that is sometimes strived for causes the elbow to drop which it does if you make of reaching with the hands versus through the axillary. The position of the VW Hood puts the elbow (eyeball) at the side of the pool. I just pointed this out as another analogy to use when some can’t get the VW Hood analogy to have in your tool box for teaching.
Carlos

Todd, Can you detail more about the point of reaching with hands versus through axillary? Wasn’t the hands suppose to be fulled extended at the initial stages of entering water? to “lengthen the vessel”?
Carlos

Stuart, this is for you: Somehow when I got my stroke at good form, thus minimizing the three major sources of elbow dropping as you describes I feel that my trapezius and lats are doing a good work. Why is that? Should I focus on this muscles or focus on something else that is causing the form the hit right?
Thanks, Carlos
CoachToddE

Carlos,
Good question. In your question I think you mean “weren’t the arms supposed to be full extended” and the answer is yes. The dropped elbow occurs more often than not in my opinion because of the hand led recovery as previously stated. I’ve also observed that reaching with the hand for full extension of the arm tends to lock out the elbow, rotating the humerus in an abduction action, making the pointy part of the elbow or “eyeball” point downwards. At this position the forearm and hand tend to rise back up towards the surface creating the scoop or stop sign with the hand. The hand does enter and lead the spearing arm to this extension. However, the final extension and reach occurs through extending the shoulder girdle/axillary forward to achieve that length. Try reaching for an object on the back of top shelf by locking out your arm by reaching with the hand and then again by reaching up and then extending the arm through the axillary. You can reach approx 2-4 inches more by extending through the axillary. This does lengthen the vessel but keeps the elbow up in the VW Hood position. The hands are extended and relaxed in a natural cup position where reaching with the hands tends to put tension in the hand through the fingers as well. Hope this answers your question.
Carlos

Todd, I may not be getting the fine details. It may be due to my broken English. I get this way: If the arms are fully extended (even with the fingers pointed downward), the elbow is locked and from there, the tendency (usually)is to drop. When you say that the arms are supposed to be fully extended, you mean all the time or just before place the elbow in the VW position? Your analogy of reaching for an object in the back of the top shelf puts the elbow in a higher position in relation to the hand. So, I go back to my point: should this position be achieved after the entry, when the elbow is fully extended or should the elbow not be fully extended or locked at all?
Thanks again Carlos
CoachStuartMcDougal

Hi Carlos, Great to hear you have minimized the sources of dropping elbow! And good question. Yes, fwd spearing arm wide and deep to 3 o’clock (or as Coach Todd noted sliding hand down VW Bug hood is great visual), you’ve taken pressure off of the smaller shoulder muscles and rotator, and engaged the large muscle groups in the core/back, the lats and traps (mostly lats). I wouldn’t focus too much on muscle groups, although it’s great to feel and validating when the big muscles are engaged. Primarily focus on the three main points to resolve the dropped elbow, flatten rotation swinging recovery elbow wide, land on wide shoulder width tracks, spear deep to 3 o’clock. The large muscle groups will engage as a consequence of correct position. Having said that, if you have shoulder pain while swimming, most likely you’re putting too much pressure on rotator from incorrect body and spearing arm position (scooping toward or laying recovery arm flat on surface). I have a torn rotator cuff shoulder injury 15 years ago or so (not swimming related, but ice hockey), my right shoulder reminds me in an instant when I’m entering in narrow and out of postion :-). Hope that makes sense and answers your question.

Happy Swimming!

Stuart
Carlos

Todd, my misconception about the form came from reading the old TI book which emphasized the streamlining or lengthening the vessel without detailing the elbow angle. My source of TI learning was this book for ling time until I started searching TI web site, new DVDS and attending a workshop. I get this way: there is no really straight line: the hands bend downward, the elbow “bend toward the side of the pool” and they are a consequence of correcting the three issues pointed by coach Stuart.
Summer is still here…
http://www.mediterraswim.com CoachMatHudson

Great discussion. We could (and should) write volumes more on this!

During a workshop or lesson, sometimes I stand on deck and demonstrate the stroke cycle with one arm and have the students keep an eye on my elbow – we can observe that the elbow stays pointed out during the entire stroke cycle – the angle is constant and therefore the shoulder remains stable. The angle of the elbow is controlled at the shoulder joint and held steady. I point out that one of the great risks for shoulder injury is to load the shoulder and then twist it (as in the catch with a dropped elbow), or to whip and twist (as in a straight arm recovery, where the palm changes orientation on its way forward) – only lucky shoulders survive those patterns.

This is the beauty of all the TI drill pieces fitting together – the correct spear entry position has the elbow already facing out. Spear the hand to target with that ‘slide the arm over the VW hood’ (or as I say, to coincide with the Catch concepts ‘hug the top hemisphere of a pilates ball of water molecules’) and the elbow remains pointing outward even as the arm is extended fully and straight (I need to make a short video of this). At the chosen moment, the elbow stays high and slides outward, the hand stays on track and drops down to perfect catch position with forearm and palm gripping the pilates ball of water molecules. All the way through the catch and hold phase (rather than the ‘pull and push’ phase) the elbow remains pointed outward, and at the hip, lifts and quietly pulls the hand out of the water. There is minimal twisting in the shoulder joint in the entire stroke cycle when the elbow is trained to stay pointing outward the entire time.

To a swimmer with old habits it can feel a bit awkward at first, but to a formerly shoulder-injured competitive swimmer (like me and so many others) it is marvelous, injury-free stroke cycle pattern.