Hi, I´ve been for some weeks recording myself cause i knew i had some issues which made me slow down. I have sorted them out except this wooden leg (right leg) which i dont know how to get rid of. Any tips are very appreciated. Thanks.
I edited the video, slow motion, and pointed out the issue from different angles (480p for better quality): www.youtube.com/watch
acct - Like lots of others said, breathing every 3 might correct this problem since it’s a balance issue. Your leg comes out to compensate for breathing to one side. When I get tired or am being lazy, I notices a kick to the side as well. It gets worse in open water the longer I go so I have to force myself to breath left to over compensate to fix it. I can breathe both left and right, but I prefer right and I usually only breath right. If you don't want to breathe to the left, think about driving your right hip down after you breathe. If you notice in first few videos, your left side gets great rotation, almost 90 degrees, but on your right side, when you breathe, your leg is coming over to balance out your stroke and your hip stops at say 70 degrees or so, maybe more but you can see the difference. Try driving that hip down more, think about it just after you put your face back in after breathing, drive with the hip, push your right hand out in front of you more and your funny kick should go away. You could try leaving the right hand out in front for a short pause, swimming with a bit of a catch up and see if that gives you time to get your right hip down.
Also noticed you are entering the water at the centerline of your body, this causing your hips to “wiggle” back and forth, try putting your hands in the water a bit wider, like shoulder width apart. This will help correct your wiggle and fix your balance as well. Two drills that might help, “Superman Catch-Up” – swim with your hands very wide, wider than your shoulders while doing a catch-up stroke. You really have to kick to make this work. The other would be swimming with a kick board out in front of you doing a catch up stroke as well. Put the kickboard out in front, put your head down in a stream line position with each hand holding the sides of the kickboard and swim a catch-up drill, one arm at a time. Fins will help with both these drills. There is a Go Swim video of the kickboard catch-up drill that also does the superman catch-up at the end. Hope that helps. I know others have this issue as well, the key is to think about the hips. Drive evenly to both sides and it will help you to stay balanced.
acct - Like lots of others said, breathing every 3 might correct this problem since it’s a balance issue. Your leg comes out to compensate for breathing to one side. When I get tired or am being lazy, I notices a kick to the side as well. It gets worse in open water the longer I go so I have to force myself to breath left to over compensate to fix it. I can breathe both left and right, but I prefer right and I usually only breath right. If you don't want to breathe to the left, think about driving your right hip down after you breathe. If you notice in first few videos, your left side gets great rotation, almost 90 degrees, but on your right side, when you breathe, your leg is coming over to balance out your stroke and your hip stops at say 70 degrees or so, maybe more but you can see the difference. Try driving that hip down more, think about it just after you put your face back in after breathing, drive with the hip, push your right hand out in front of you more and your funny kick should go away. You could try leaving the right hand out in front for a short pause, swimming with a bit of a catch up and see if that gives you time to get your right hip down.
Also noticed you are entering the water at the centerline of your body, this causing your hips to “wiggle” back and forth, try putting your hands in the water a bit wider, like shoulder width apart. This will help correct your wiggle and fix your balance as well. Two drills that might help, “Superman Catch-Up” – swim with your hands very wide, wider than your shoulders while doing a catch-up stroke. You really have to kick to make this work. The other would be swimming with a kick board out in front of you doing a catch up stroke as well. Put the kickboard out in front, put your head down in a stream line position with each hand holding the sides of the kickboard and swim a catch-up drill, one arm at a time. Fins will help with both these drills. There is a Go Swim video of the kickboard catch-up drill that also does the superman catch-up at the end. Hope that helps. I know others have this issue as well, the key is to think about the hips. Drive evenly to both sides and it will help you to stay balanced.
