You’re mid-set, lungs burning, and you hit the wall. You flip, your feet plant, and you launch. But something feels off. You aren't gliding; you're dragging. Most swimmers think their slow times come from a messy catch or a weak kick, but the truth is often hiding right in the transition. Specifically, the palms push off—that awkward, drag-heavy moment where your hands fight the water instead of cutting through it—is the silent killer of your momentum.
It’s a mistake. A big one.
When you watch someone like Katie Ledecky or Caeleb Dressel, they look like they’re being shot out of a cannon. That isn’t just raw power. It’s physics. Most amateur and even intermediate club swimmers make the mistake of leaving their palms flat against the wall or pushing "down" into the water as they leave the turn. This creates a massive amount of surface area. In fluid dynamics, surface area is the enemy. By the time you’ve even started your first underwater dolphin kick, the palms push off has already stripped away 20% of the speed you generated from the wall.
Honestly, it’s frustrating. You work so hard on your aerobic capacity just to give it all back to the pool because of a hand placement error.
The Physics of Why Your Hands Are Dragging You Back
Water is roughly 800 times denser than air. Think about that for a second. Every square inch of your body that faces the direction of travel is essentially a brake. When you initiate a palms push off, you are presenting two flat paddles—your hands—directly into the resistance.
In a proper streamline, your hands should be stacked. One hand over the other, thumb hooked, squeezing your ears. This creates a point, like a needle. But in a sloppy turn, many swimmers keep their hands wide. They use their palms to "push" away from the wall or to stabilize their body rotation. This is what coaches often call "climbing the ladder." You’re essentially trying to use the water as a solid object to pull yourself upright. It doesn't work. It just creates a wake that follows you, sucking you backward.
The palm is a powerful tool for propulsion during the pull phase. It’s a terrible tool for the push-off phase.
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If you look at the research from Dr. Scott McLean or various biomechanics studies focusing on the "Wall Exit Velocity," the numbers are clear. The peak velocity occurs the moment your toes leave the touchpad. From that millisecond onward, you are decelerating. The goal of a great swimmer isn't to "speed up" underwater; it's to slow down as gradually as possible. The palms push off makes that deceleration a cliff instead of a gentle slope.
Common Signs You're Falling Into the Trap
How do you know if you're doing it? Easy.
First, look at your bubbles. If you see a massive cloud of white water around your face the moment you leave the wall, your hands are likely too wide or your palms are facing forward. That turbulence is proof of drag. Second, feel the pressure. You should feel the water rushing past your pinky fingers, not pressing against your palms.
Sometimes it happens because of a late turn. You get too close to the wall, your knees are tucked too tight, and you feel like you're going to get stuck. In a panic, you use your hands to shove yourself away. It’s a natural human reflex. We want to push off things with our hands. But in swimming, the legs are the motor and the arms are the steering and the frame.
Breaking the Habit: Real World Fixes
You can’t just "stop" doing it. You have to replace the sensation.
One of the best ways to fix a bad palms push off is the "pencil" drill. Push off the wall with your arms at your sides. No hands allowed. This forces your core and your legs to do the work of stabilizing your body. Once you realize you don't need your hands to stay balanced, you can start bringing them into a tight streamline earlier in the turn.
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Another trick? Think about "sneaking" through a hole in the water.
Imagine there is a tiny ring floating three feet in front of the wall. Your goal is to get your entire body through that ring without touching the edges. If your palms are out, you’ll hit the ring. You have to be narrow. You have to be sharp.
The Role of the "T" Mark
Look at the bottom of the pool. That black "T" isn't just for knowing when to turn. It's a mental trigger. Many elite swimmers start their hand transition—moving from the end of the stroke into the streamline—the moment their eyes pass that "T." If you wait until you’re on the wall to think about your hands, you’ve already lost. Your hands should be moving into position while your feet are still finding the wall.
It’s about synchronization.
- Feet hit the wall.
- Hands are already passing the head.
- The stack happens.
- The push occurs.
If the "stack" happens after the "push," you’re doing the palms push off. You’re pushing a flat surface through the water before streamlining it. It's like trying to fold an umbrella while you're already running through a windstorm.
Why This Matters for Your Long-Term Progress
Look, if you’re just swimming for general fitness, maybe this feels like "over-technical" nonsense. But think about the cumulative effect. If you’re swimming a 1,000-yard workout in a 25-yard pool, that’s 39 turns. If you lose just half a second on every turn because of a bad palms push off, you’re nearly 20 seconds slower over the course of the workout.
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Over a year? That’s hours of time spent fighting the water instead of moving through it.
Mastering the exit from the wall is the "low hanging fruit" of swimming. You don't need to increase your VO2 max to fix this. You don't need bigger muscles. You just need to be more mindful of where your palms are facing the second your feet leave the concrete.
There’s a reason why the best coaches in the world, from Bob Bowman to Dave Salo, obsess over the "fifth stroke"—the underwater portion. It’s the fastest you will ever move in the water. Don't waste that speed by acting like a parachute.
Moving Beyond the Basics
Once you've cured the palms push off, you can start focusing on the rotation. A lot of people stay on their backs too long. They push off, stay flat, and then struggle to flip over. A clean, palm-hidden streamline allows you to snap onto your side or stomach much faster. This is because a narrow cylinder rotates much more easily than a flat, wide board.
Basically, you're turning yourself from a piece of plywood into a needle.
Specific Actionable Steps to Take Today
The next time you hit the pool, don't worry about your lap count. Don't worry about your heart rate. Just focus on the wall.
- The Touch-and-Go Test: Perform 10 repetitions of just the turn and push-off. Do not swim the full lap. Just turn and glide. See how far you can get on momentum alone. If you're doing a palms push off, you'll stop short. If your streamline is tight and your palms are tucked, you'll glide past the 10-yard mark easily.
- Thumb Lock Awareness: Make it a physical cue to feel your thumb hooking over the back of your other hand before your legs fully extend. If you feel that hook, you know your palms aren't facing the water resistance.
- Video Your Turn: This is the most painful but effective method. Have a friend film you from the side, underwater if possible. You’ll be shocked at how wide your hands stay. What feels "tight" to us often looks like a "Y" shape on camera.
- Dryland Streamline: Stand against a wall at home. Reach up. Try to get your elbows behind your ears. Hide your palms. If you can't do this comfortably on land due to shoulder flexibility, you'll never do it in the water. Work on your thoracic mobility and lat flexibility so that a proper streamline becomes your "rest" position, not a struggle.
Stop fighting the pool. The water isn't something to be shoved; it's something to be pierced. Get those hands in order, hide those palms, and watch your intervals drop without even trying harder. It’s the closest thing to "free speed" you’ll ever find in the sport of swimming.