Re: How much to roll while backstroking?

"Pat" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> It seems to me that some slight roll of the upper body in the backstroke
> would be beneficial to lift the rising arm and shoulder out of the water
> while doing the backstroke.  However, when I watch the swim videos, I
don't
> see the Olympic swimmers rolling at all.  Am I doing it wrong?  I also
just
> look at the ceiling pretty much, but I see the competitive swimmers
looking
> toward their toes with their chin on their chests.
>
> Can somebody tell me the proper way to do the back crawl?

Start by forgetting the idea that there is one proper way to do any stroke.

One way that many elites use works like this. As the hand enter for the
catch, the
shoulder on that side rotates downward, twisting at the trunk. This allows a
deep
catch and effective leverage for the first part of the pull. As the first
half of the
pull proceeds, the shoulders forcefully return to the flat position. This
augments the
power of the pull. In the back half of the pull (which is more of a push),
the hips
get into the act by rotating away to the other side.

The main point is that the hip and shoulder rotations are not coordinated,
i.e., the
body does not roll as a single unit. It appears to me that the shoulder
rotation is the
primary augmentor of force application in the stroke.

Don