I posted a question -"Can you still be a real swimmer if you can't swim freestyle?" (crawl). This was taped a year ago. Since then, I've straightened head position so that I am looking down at the bottom of the pool. My kick is still awful, despite being an ex runner for 30 years. I do plenty of kickboard and no kickboard drills to improve my kick, with little results. I think my underwater pull is better, although I still sometimes drop my elbows. I'm so confused--I've done all the TI drills, and others given by swim team swimmers, and have watched countless videos. This stroke eludes me and it makes me crazy.
i105.photobucket.com/.../th_2011-09-16_12-08-38_514.jpg
Thanks for your input!:bow:
It was the orange beta. They have a short life span I believe.
Definitely go by what was suggested by Fresnoid and Kirk, probably in that order too (dropping head down can allow the other suggestions to take place more effectively). They are some of the best swimmers in the world for their age group and know their stuff.
To me it appears that you are not catching the water, your hands\arms look like they are just slipping. Just as Fresnoid said, "pull yourself through the water, not just cycling your arms". Perhaps some sculling drills would help you get a better feel for the water. Found this video that might help.
www.goswim.tv/.../all-strokes---the-ins-and-outs-of-sculling.html
Then after this drill try to get that same propulsive feel for the water when doing freestyle (or any other stroke). You want to grab the water and push it back the entire time your hands are in the water - this includes the time your hand is about the exit the water at your thighs. Keep your hands perpendicular to the direction of flow the entire time.
Renie,
7451
Your rotation with left catch (below) seems good. The right catch rotation (above) is more difficult to do
because your hips have sunk. I wonder if it might be because you've learned to look forward, instead of down, after the breath to the right.
I wonder if it might be because you've learned to look forward, instead of down, after the breath to the right.
This is one of the things I constantly have to work on. While my breathing to the left generally sucks, at least my face automatically goes back to the neutral position. When breathing on my dominant side (where I breath 90% of the time), I often catch myself returning my head to a slight forward-looking position. I doubt it takes a lot for your hips to sink a bit. Looking at your video clip, I would suggest that your head seems to always be elevated. Focus on the lane line right underneath you. A six-kick-switch drill might help, as it will give you plenty of time after each stroke to take stock of your body position and make corrections before taking the next stroke.
Fresnoid, sorry to ask this but, can you explain this in more detail:
Rotate your torso more.
Do I rotate the entire side or just my torso, so that my arms and legs are straight, and only the core rotates?
Way more power if your body is much closer to perpendicular during the front half of a stroke, with the stroking arm down.
I'm not sure what this means. Do you mean that when my stroking arm has entered the water? And what position should my body be in? : )
A six-kick-switch drill might help, as it will give you plenty of time after each stroke to take stock of your body position and make corrections before taking the next stroke.
I was thinking of the same thing. My team does a variant of this drill quite a bit. In ours we take ten kicks per side, then switch to the other side without having both arms out front.
somehow once I put the whole stroke together, I'm thinking . . . "flex wrist"
Stop thinking that. Your forearm from elbow to fingertips should be one long flat paddle.
3) Try to really pull yourself through the water, not just cycling your arms through the motion.
Well said. You don't put much (enough) force into your pull. You just cycling your hand. Afterall the majority of the speed comes from the hand pushing back the water.
Your head is too high out of the water. - try to be as straight as possible in the water, with the least drag you can create.
Also you don't rotate well enough. Especially to your right side (left hand recovery) , making your recovery arm too flat.
