Freestyle Technique: Why the hybrid freestyle works for middle distance swims
The hybrid freestyle technique (or galloping freestyle, as some call it) is a technique commonly seen in the middle-distance swims from 100 to 400 meters, particularly among men. It is also used by some swimmers in the longer events up to 1500 meters.
The hybrid freestyle is characterized by a faster recovering arm on the swimmer’s breathing side, leading to the appearance of an asymmetrical or galloping stroke. It is also characterized by a slower stroke rate than seen in the shoulder-driven freestyle technique, and a faster stroke rate than used in the hip-driven freestyle technique. There is some overlap of stroke rates in all three techniques. Shoulder-driven and hip-driven techniques are symmetrical. The hybrid technique is not.
Underwater, in this technique, one finds that when the recovering arms strike the water at the highest kinetic energy, the pulling hands are in two very different positions. If, for example, the swimmer breathes to the right, when the right arm strikes the water at entry, the left pulling hand is in front of the shoulder (front quadrant). When the left arm strikes the water at entry, the right pulling hand is past the shoulder (back quadrant). How far the hand is in front or behind the swimmer’s shoulder depends on the degree of the asymmetry used by the swimmer.
The peak propulsion from the pulling hand normally occurs near the swimmer’s shoulder, as that is where the arm is biomechanically the strongest. Typically, the peak energy of the shoulder rotation and the peak energy from the arm recovery occur at nearly the exact same time, which is precisely as the recovering arm strikes the water. In hybrid freestyle technique, the timing of these two motions is not ideal, as the pulling hand is either in front of or behind the shoulder, depending on which arm is pulling, not in peak propulsion.
Since the two cycle times of the arms must be the same, having a faster recovering arm on the swimmer’s breathing side requires that the swimmer hold that hand in the front quadrant slightly longer than the other hand before initiating the catch. Otherwise, the two arms would not synch together. When we examine the propulsion curves of the hybrid freestyle technique, there is a small overlap of propulsion on one pulling side and some down time on the other side, when neither hand is generating propulsion.
As an example, Race Club Associate Head Coach, Michael Eastman, who swam a 1:31+ 200 yard freestyle at U of Louisville, using a hybrid technique breathing to his right, takes .306 seconds to recover his left arm and .288 seconds to recover his right arm. At his stroke rate of 81/min, he has .264 seconds between the end of the right propulsion and the start of his left propulsion, when neither hand is generating propulsion.
Given this amount of down time with the hybrid freestyle and the fact that the coupling timing of the shoulder rotation and arm recovery are not ideal, how does the hybrid freestyler manage to hold his speed and go so fast? Two ways: 1) sustaining a strong kick and 2) using hip rotation.
Of the two primary coupling motions, arm recovery and body rotation, the latter is arguably more powerful, based on the amount of mass in the upper body compared to the mass of the arm. However, there are two different body rotations, shoulder and hip, that occur about .1 to .2 seconds apart (depending on the stroke rate).
With the hybrid technique, the peak shoulder rotation during the pull from the breathing arm side catches the pulling propulsion just after the peak, but often when a strong propulsion is still in place. While late, the coupling timing is still effective.
Using the hybrid technique, breathing to his right side, Mike Eastman is past his peak propulsion with his R hand (red solid curve), but still has some nice propulsion when his shoulder rotation peaks out (purple curve). Notice the down time between the finish of the R pull and the start of the next L pull.
With the other pulling hand, the hand has just started generating propulsion when the recovering arm hits the water, not ideal timing. Yet, the peak hip rotation on the same side, occurring later, is often greater than the shoulder rotation and occurs when the hand is still generating a lot of propulsion.
At his peak shoulder rotation (187 degrees/sec), Mike’s propulsion from his L hand (red dotted curve) is just starting to climb, but is still low.
.255 seconds later, Mike turns his hip aggressively (181 degrees/second), almost as fast as his peak shoulder rotation, to couple with his L hand propulsion, now near its peak. The result is holding his speed in the water (2.2 m/sec)
In other words, the hybrid freestyler uses the strong shoulder rotation on one side and a strong hip rotation on the other side to help sustain his speed. For that reason, we call this technique a hybrid, using tactics from both shoulder-driven and hip-driven freestyle.
To summarize, using strong coupling motions from the shoulder and hip on opposite sides, complemented with a strong kick, the hybrid freestyle technique enables the swimmer to conserve energy (using a slower stroke rate), yet still maintain speed. The hybrid freestyle is not a good technique for a 50 sprint because the stroke rate is too slow. It seems to be best suited for the 100 – 400 meter swims.
Now you know why the hybrid freestyle technique is so popular.
BTW, these images were taken directly from our Race Club app which will be available (with the sensors to measure) next Summer. Can’t wait!
Yours in Swimming,
Gary Sr.