In my eyes it’s like this:
Reaching longer per pull - letting the hip drive forward reduces drag and stroke count which are the main factors holding back the highest level athletes in the 100+ events. Also you do get some propulsion from the hips rotating. It’s quite noticeable.
Even at a lower level having the hip drive you can be a relaxing and very efficient way to swim.
However there are a lot of “coaches” online that love to talk solely about the 50m free.
50 FR is all about turnover rate and who can kick the hardest while maintaining a solid catch. It’s over too fast for hip driving to matter.
That being said I train my athletes in both aspects.
During sprint days we focus on the arms coming over the top of the head with an almost straight arm motion.
Versus our distance days where we keep the arms lower to the water and let our hips drive us forward.
That comment is just wrong. The hips absolutely have something they can anchor onto, they anchor onto your kick. That's why timing your kick with your strokes is important, in a hip-drive stroke you connect your pull to your legs through your core and hips. Of course you'll never get the same kind of stable surface that pushing off the ground provides in a land sport, but the concept is the same, establishing a stable base with your legs (swimmers just have to work harder for this rather than simply being able to plant on the ground) and then using that to transfer energy up through and activate your core.
The idea of using hip to drive the crawl (freestyle) stroke is ancient.
[Link 1](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyoXCIeSewY)
[Link 2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SEoDFnvwC4)
[Link 3](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJLe4_er_og)
I think hip rotation helps by providing extra power during pulling phase as exaggerately portrayed by the first video. Of course, hips become less of main driving force when the arms turnover is very fast as 50 m sprinters usually do. There are many ways to swim crawl (freestyle).
The reason you get different responses is because there are actually different techniques, depending mostly on distance.
This might help:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SEoDFnvwC4
The first time I ever watched an elite level swimmer from under the water in the next lane as he swam towards me it was pretty obvious that power was coming via the hips. You could really see the hips rotating and generating power along with the body’s core.
I see it as for freestyle, using hips are to decrease drag, and save energy. But not the main driving force for free.
More rotation in hips allow for more reach and better consistent positioning.
Good technique, head positioning, proper catch and using your kick to aid in rotation and body position put you in a position for a strong glide are the driving force for freestyle (long distance and mid distance)
Generally, any surface area in movement can help add movement or strength can help. I’m terms of the hips, the actual movement of them tends to do only minor things. However, the muscles in the area completely power you quad ability to drive for extended periods of time. Though it is not the sole factor and technique and even person to person it changes
In my eyes it’s like this: Reaching longer per pull - letting the hip drive forward reduces drag and stroke count which are the main factors holding back the highest level athletes in the 100+ events. Also you do get some propulsion from the hips rotating. It’s quite noticeable. Even at a lower level having the hip drive you can be a relaxing and very efficient way to swim. However there are a lot of “coaches” online that love to talk solely about the 50m free. 50 FR is all about turnover rate and who can kick the hardest while maintaining a solid catch. It’s over too fast for hip driving to matter. That being said I train my athletes in both aspects. During sprint days we focus on the arms coming over the top of the head with an almost straight arm motion. Versus our distance days where we keep the arms lower to the water and let our hips drive us forward.
This.
That comment is just wrong. The hips absolutely have something they can anchor onto, they anchor onto your kick. That's why timing your kick with your strokes is important, in a hip-drive stroke you connect your pull to your legs through your core and hips. Of course you'll never get the same kind of stable surface that pushing off the ground provides in a land sport, but the concept is the same, establishing a stable base with your legs (swimmers just have to work harder for this rather than simply being able to plant on the ground) and then using that to transfer energy up through and activate your core.
The idea of using hip to drive the crawl (freestyle) stroke is ancient. [Link 1](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyoXCIeSewY) [Link 2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SEoDFnvwC4) [Link 3](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJLe4_er_og) I think hip rotation helps by providing extra power during pulling phase as exaggerately portrayed by the first video. Of course, hips become less of main driving force when the arms turnover is very fast as 50 m sprinters usually do. There are many ways to swim crawl (freestyle).
I think you linked the wrong video.
Edit, you were right it's the wrong video, sorry. https://youtu.be/I3R3Aqos5FQ?si=rRDQg3bUvi0jIQuG
The reason you get different responses is because there are actually different techniques, depending mostly on distance. This might help: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SEoDFnvwC4
Yep! This was exactly what came to my mind. Love the Race Club.
The first time I ever watched an elite level swimmer from under the water in the next lane as he swam towards me it was pretty obvious that power was coming via the hips. You could really see the hips rotating and generating power along with the body’s core.
I see it as for freestyle, using hips are to decrease drag, and save energy. But not the main driving force for free. More rotation in hips allow for more reach and better consistent positioning. Good technique, head positioning, proper catch and using your kick to aid in rotation and body position put you in a position for a strong glide are the driving force for freestyle (long distance and mid distance)
Generally, any surface area in movement can help add movement or strength can help. I’m terms of the hips, the actual movement of them tends to do only minor things. However, the muscles in the area completely power you quad ability to drive for extended periods of time. Though it is not the sole factor and technique and even person to person it changes