Arm Recovery Techniques

This should give us something to chew over.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYmbyBdt0SQ

I am rather uncertain about which style is best, other than that I have more trouble with straight arm.


A nice little routine is at the end of the video.

Its comparing apples with pears.
A compact high elbow recovery and a ballistic stright arm recovery are 2 differnt techniques that belong to differnt strokes.
The recovery has an impact on the rest of the stroke in a way you like or not.
People who do inline skating might understand the similarity with the double push techinique and an energetic straight arm recovery.
The recovery is used to help the propulsion, to spread the propulsion load over time and over more bodyparts, more muscles.
Old story, but since its summer and skating time again the analogy popped up again while skating.

double push (= like high energy straight arm  swim recovery)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmFZxNEuJH8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBhp0D8EpTU
wish I had his engine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqX2YdwCQio

classic (= like high elbow swim) style
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcAeyxfZ5ys

Double push is an inline speed skating technique. Its major advantage over the previously practised "classic" technique is that it allows the skater to do useful work during the part of the stride that was "wasted", and therefore to go faster. Opinions differ on its usefulness for non-elite skaters as it requires much practice before a skater is faster using doublepush than without.

The classic high elbow is all relaxation during the recovery and a bigger push under the water.
Just like skating normally and only pushing hard outwards and recovering the leg slowly with little energy.
The straight arm throwing style recovery costs effort, but you get some propulsion back.
I agree that too wide and low gives a lot of  side movement.

Nowadays I am working on Florent Manaudou's and Nathan Adrian's recovery techniques. Both of them are doing straingt arm recovery.

As far as I observed straight arm recovery creates different catch and pull mechanics when compared with high elbow recovery. But unfortunately both straight arm and high elbow recoveries makes no difference in my pace.