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:
...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.
:afraid: I tried it today; no can do over any distance. And, when I asked my coach/training partner about it, he reminded me of a previous discussion we had about the path of my hands and why I should NOT change it. Based on what he knows about my previous injury/surgery (thoracic outlet syndrome/ first rib resection), he felt that I should keep my pull wide, utilizing more of my upper back muscles, rather than shoulder muscles. When I tried it today, it validated what he had previously told me; it puts the strain on the wrong part of my previously carved-up anatomy. Same goes for fly, however, I feel like I can maintain closer hands on the pull for the relatively small amount I train fly, compared to freestyle.
...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.
:afraid: I tried it today; no can do over any distance. And, when I asked my coach/training partner about it, he reminded me of a previous discussion we had about the path of my hands and why I should NOT change it. Based on what he knows about my previous injury/surgery (thoracic outlet syndrome/ first rib resection), he felt that I should keep my pull wide, utilizing more of my upper back muscles, rather than shoulder muscles. When I tried it today, it validated what he had previously told me; it puts the strain on the wrong part of my previously carved-up anatomy. Same goes for fly, however, I feel like I can maintain closer hands on the pull for the relatively small amount I train fly, compared to freestyle.
