HAPPY NEW YEAR, FORUMITES! :party2: :chug:
One of my goals for the new year (as it is for every year) is to improve all four of my strokes. I have posted videos on The Breaststroke Lane, The Backstroke Lane, and The Butterfly Lane, in hopes of receiving some feedback on those strokes. Please feel free to check those out and offer any constructive criticism you may have.
Here are three freestyle videos of my current stroke. I have been working to eliminate flaws that were previously pointed out: Head bounce on the non-breathing stroke, a lazy right hand exit at the end of the stroke, and splashy hands on entry. Whether I succeeded or not is open for discussion. And, in the process, I hope I didn't pick up any other bad habits! :afraid:
http://youtu.be/DYFlTJ6nSJMhttp://youtu.be/KIFtgXBH5rUhttp://youtu.be/gw4QBsV0r0U
Thanks!
:agree:
Hey Elaine, don't have time to do a detailed critique, but I've noticed something that knelson didn't mention--you pull your hands pretty wide out to the sides when you pull back. If you pull closer to your body, you should be able to engage your core muscles more and get a more powerful pull. With your hands pulling that far out to your sides, you're not engaging all the muscles you can, or engaging them in the optimal fashion. As far as I'm concerned, you generally want your hands in the general vicinity of an imaginary line that goes through your shoulders and goes down towards your feet at the catch and start of the pull, then sweep in towards your center line. That will engage a lot of the muscles from your abs up to the little muscles in your arms and shoulders and also help you develop a healthy roll. Take a look at where Phelps initiates his pull in that video--pretty much in line with his shoulders, then he sweeps in under his chest and stomach. You're starting your pull much further out to the sides than he is.Thanks for the suggestion, habu! I had my husband shoot some underwater video of my freestyle today, so I'll check it out (and post it on this thread), to see how bad it is... :afraid:
Hey Elaine, don't have time to do a detailed critique, but I've noticed something that knelson didn't mention--you pull your hands pretty wide out to the sides when you pull back. If you pull closer to your body, you should be able to engage your core muscles more and get a more powerful pull. With your hands pulling that far out to your sides, you're not engaging all the muscles you can, or engaging them in the optimal fashion. As far as I'm concerned, you generally want your hands in the general vicinity of an imaginary line that goes through your shoulders and goes down towards your feet at the catch and start of the pull, then sweep in towards your center line. That will engage a lot of the muscles from your abs up to the little muscles in your arms and shoulders and also help you develop a healthy roll. Take a look at where Phelps initiates his pull in that video--pretty much in line with his shoulders, then he sweeps in under his chest and stomach. You're starting your pull much further out to the sides than he is.Thanks for the suggestion, habu! I had my husband shoot some underwater video of my freestyle today, so I'll check it out (and post it on this thread), to see how bad it is... :afraid:
