How to Achieve and Practice Good Swim Form

I decided to finally learn to swim properly as a retiree - IE be capable of doing laps without getting totally winded.  It was during the 2016 summer olympics.  I watched the Olympians carefully and tried to copy the freestyle look. That helped a lot.  Move from the hips. Reach long. Cheek to shoulder. Breath bilaterally.  Tilt head down looking somewhat backward when breathing.  Big inhales & full exhales.  Bend at elbow after entry.  (I've been told this distributes the force more evenly between your shoulder and elbow v. all the propulsion force going to the shoulder).  Don't cross arms toward centerline.  Think Fish, Dolphin, Arrow, Submarine shapewise.  Relax.  Focus on form over speed.  Mind the catch - your hand moving water after entry.  So much to think about.  I got a lot of value out of these two books: Total Immersion Revised & Updated (Terry Laughlin 2004), and Swim Speed Secrets (Sheila Taormina 2012).  Total Immersion has some good principles, but is a bit extreme on the glide emphasis over stroke.  SSS is a more scientific approach and is full of great pictures.  SSS is really big on the catch.  I think both glide and catch are important and both books have great insights.    One thing I learned is that there are no two bodies alike and therefore no two exact replicas of swimmers.  You can figure out what advice seems to apply best to your body and stamina level.   Recently I've been using "toys" like paddles flippers buoy snorkel etc...they break things up in the pool and after doing laps with these I feel more streamlined swimming without them.  Good luck!

I decided to finally learn to swim properly as a retiree - IE be capable of doing laps without getting totally winded.  It was during the 2016 summer olympics.  I watched the Olympians carefully and tried to copy the freestyle look. That helped a lot.  Move from the hips. Reach long. Cheek to shoulder. Breath bilaterally.  Tilt head down looking somewhat backward when breathing.  Big inhales & full exhales.  Bend at elbow after entry.  (I've been told this distributes the force more evenly between your shoulder and elbow v. all the propulsion force going to the shoulder).  Don't cross arms toward centerline.  Think Fish, Dolphin, Arrow, Submarine shapewise.  Relax.  Focus on form over speed.  Mind the catch - your hand moving water after entry.  So much to think about.  I got a lot of value out of these two books: Total Immersion Revised & Updated (Terry Laughlin 2004), and Swim Speed Secrets (Sheila Taormina 2012).  Total Immersion has some good principles, but is a bit extreme on the glide emphasis over stroke.  SSS is a more scientific approach and is full of great pictures.  SSS is really big on the catch.  I think both glide and catch are important and both books have great insights.    One thing I learned is that there are no two bodies alike and therefore no two exact replicas of swimmers.  You can figure out what advice seems to apply best to your body and stamina level.   Recently I've been using "toys" like paddles flippers buoy snorkel etc...they break things up in the pool and after doing laps with these I feel more streamlined swimming without them.  Good luck!