Transcript:
Are you experiencing swimme’rs shoulder? If yes, then you might want to try incorporating fist drill into your swim routine. In this article, we’ll discuss why fist drill is important and how it can help alleviate shoulder pain.
How Can It Help?
The real reason why fist drill is a secret weapon for swimmers when they’re injured is that it decreases the lever arm of your stroke. This makes it a little bit easier on the shoulder. When you swim with an open hand, your pull is wider, and your shoulder is placed in a more stressful position. But when you swim with a closed fist, you decrease the lever arm, and your pull becomes narrower. As a result, you put less stress on your shoulder.
Moreover, fist drill can help you self-correct any kind of faulty pull patterns that you may have that may put more stress on the shoulder. If you pull really wide, you cross over your midline, and your body will realize this and self-correct to bring you over a little bit more so you pull right under your body. This can help prevent further shoulder injury.
Let’s Make It Easier to Understand
To understand how fist drill decreases the lever arm, let’s visualize a stick figure holding a box. Imagine that the box weighs the same amount on each hand. On one side of the stick figure, the box is held much closer to the body, while on the other side, the box is held much farther from the body. By holding the box close to your body, the force required to pick it up is five pounds, and it’s trying to pull you down. But if you carry it further away from your body, the box becomes 10 pounds, and it becomes much harder to hold. By using a closed fist while swimming, you’re holding the water closer to your body, reducing the distance between your hand and your shoulder, and decreasing the lever arm.
Fist drill can also serve as a break for when you’re swimming. Let’s say you’re used to pulling ten pounds every time you pull, and then your shoulder can’t handle it. If you cut it down to five by using a fist drill, then that might help you stay in the water for longer. Therefore, starting with fist drill as you get back in the water is super important. It can make your freestyle stroke more light on the side where you have an open hand. Even a slight difference in the pull can add up over thousands of pulls every practice.
Fist Drill Can Make a BIG Difference
If you have similar shoulder issues, use fist drill to your advantage. It can help reduce the stress on your shoulder and make a difference. A lot of swimmers use fist drill when they get back into the water after a couple of weeks off because of injury. In fact, I have had swimmers do 50% of their yards as fist drill when you’re first getting back into the water.
The Wrap Up:
In conclusion, fist drill is an excellent tool to use if you’re experiencing shoulder pain while swimming. It can help decrease the lever arm of your stroke, which in turn reduces the stress on your shoulder. Fist drill can also help self-correct any faulty pull patterns, which may cause further injury to your shoulder. By using fist drill, you can help your shoulder recover, and you can also get back to swimming sooner. If you have any questions or have a friend who could benefit from this information, please share it.
Happy swimming!
Alex Ewart
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