Learning how to do a flip turn

Have you thought of joining a team & having a coach ?

You might be rushing through it, too. Pause when your feet touch the wall and give yourself time to straighten out before pushing off. Eventually you will get a feel for what is supposed to happen, and you can go faster.

You are probably trying to turn over while you flip.It is easier to flip,push off and then turn over(and in backstroke you don't need to turn over at all of course.)

Thanks for the advice! Have you thought of joining a team & having a coach ? Yeah, I tried a workout but I don't think I was a good fit. I think I am still way too slow.

You are probably trying to turn over while you flip.It is easier to flip,push off and then turn over(and in backstroke you don't need to turn over at all of course.) I agree with Allen. When your feet touch the wall, you should be mostly on your back. Don't move your feet around or try to redirect yourself. Just streamline your arms and push off. In backstroke, the rules require you to be more toward your back than your front, but they don't require you to be flat on your back. So if you aren't already flat on your back when you push off, you can get there during the post-push streamline. In freestyle, the rules don't require anything about your position when you push off. If you're mostly to your back you just finish twirling to the front as you glide away from the wall. Also, just in case this tip is useful to you: It is a flip, not a tumble or a layout. You have to bend at the waist and bring your head to your knees, not ball yourself up or try to turn over with your entire torso rigid.

Like others have said, learn to push off on your back (i.e. a backstroke pushoff), then roll over (roll to your left so you are looking at the lane line that you will be swimming closest to when you circle swim). I roll the other way and it makes circle swimming a bit more difficult for me. Don't pause when you feet touch the wall. Your quads should already be contracting forcefully just before your feet touch so you spend very little time on the wall. Trick is to already have your arms in the streamline position just before your feet touch. Your arms should stay straight at your sides and stationary during your flip. When your body flips over all of a sudden your arms are outstretched over your head so all you need to do is join your hands into the streamline for the push off. Once you master flipping and pushing off on your back, you will slowly integrate a bit more roll during your flip.

If you google it, you will find lots of info. I agree that it would help a lot if you can get some coaching... even if only an occasional private session. Most USMS clubs will not care about your speed... and nearly everyone who has been in your situation would probably agree that swimming in a coached group session helps a LOT. There will nearly always be a lane suitable to you, and I'm betting you will get a lot of respect and encouragement too. If you are a USMS member, it is always best to attach to a team/club... that way you can swim in relays (which are a hoot!). I like to practice alone too, now, but I've always enjoyed the times I spend with a team too... especially at meets. I think it is very coolbeans that you participated in a meet. I remember my first few USMS meets very well... it was so much fun. (My first real swim meet was as an adult, in my 30's.) One was a return to USMS (in my 40's) that circumstances made it seem like my first meet ever. I was "unattached", and was approached by more than one team during the meet to join with them. It was all pretty funny (the recruitment process), and a fond memory. Once I saw the relays at that meet, I was hooked. I've always registered with a team since then... and they all have been happy to get my points and add me to relays! It has offered a lot more social and educational opportunities too. :)

I will continue to work on my flip turn....I think the first meet I will do this season will be the Patriot Masters Sprint Classic in Fairfax, VA. More than two months away. Most USMS clubs will not care about your speed... and nearly everyone who has been in your situation would probably agree that swimming in a coached group session helps a LOT. There will nearly always be a lane suitable to you, and I'm betting you will get a lot of respect and encouragement too. If you are a USMS member, it is always best to attach to a team/club... that way you can swim in relays (which are a hoot!). I like to practice alone too, now, but I've always enjoyed the times I spend with a team too... especially at meets. I think it is very coolbeans that you participated in a meet. I remember my first few USMS meets very well... it was so much fun. (My first real swim meet was as an adult, in my 30's.) One was a return to USMS (in my 40's) that circumstances made it seem like my first meet ever. I was "unattached", and was approached by more than one team during the meet to join with them. It was all pretty funny (the recruitment process), and a fond memory. Once I saw the relays at that meet, I was hooked. I've always registered with a team since then... and they all have been happy to get my points and add me to relays! It has offered a lot more social and educational opportunities too. :) I was surprised when I was at Colonies how little people cared how slow my times were....or that my team (VMST) wanted to stick me on a relay. Even if you finish last, the team still got points and I think they knew they weren't going to win the team title anyway. Now the other thing I need to get used to is diving off the boards. When I did my part of the 200m relay, my entry was more like a flop. Yikes!

Doing a flip turn is lot easier with speed as you are converting your forward momentum into your rotation. Try to go fast into the wall. Practice wearing flippers to give you extra speed.

www.GoSwim.tv has an excellent video series broken into steps to learn flip turns!