Hi guys. I'm an intermediate swimmer. . I have recorded my freestyle swimming to see what I'm doing wrong. I would like to get your opinions about it.
My first video was on 04-May-2013. Well here I'm barely swimming. Well I guess you can say I'm struggling not to sink. :)
My second video was on 03-January-2013. Well the way I see it here I have fixed my sinking legs a lot but my arms are not that perfect.http://youtu.be/Q95nLWmgNCw
At this moment I'm able to swim 80 laps within 55 mins in a 250m pool with swim fins.
So what do you guys think? What should I do to improve my style and speed.
One more thing. My buoyancy is not that great. When I let myself float vertically in water the water level settles just under my eyes. I have read the normal level is just below the mouth.
Thanks in advance.
First of all, I am impressed that you have managed to come so far, so fast in terms of improving your stroke on your own. In the video, you take a calm, methodical approach to the stroke and it is only towards the end of the swim that you begin to get fatigued and the stroke begins to fall apart, particularly your kick.
I would suggest working on developing proper stroke mechanics. Learning how to do bilateral breathing, for example, will provide you with more balance and symmetry in your swim. Working on the single arm drill will allow you to develop such bilateral breathing, and will also allow you to breathe closer to the water line, as opposed to over-rotating and breathing while your face is looking towards the ceiling. The recovery on your left arm is a straight-arm recovery, which could lead to shoulder injuries. The single arm will allow you to isolate both sides of your body to develop the balance that you need. You also need to work on improving your kick. There are many drills designed specifically for strengthening this area of your stroke.
We offer instructional videos on Swimspire that you might want to check out: www.swimspire.com/.../
Good luck!
Tyring to help first depends on what type of learner you are. I am a visual learner and thus I like to actually see things. I can tell you that speedo has some great swim videos, you can find them on youtube. One thing I see that I am working on my adult swimmers with right now is your head postion. You tend to lift you head out of the water. What ever your head does the body will do the opposite. If the head rises then the body must sink. If I were you I would start at the beginning and break the stroke down. Find some drills that incorporate different parts of the stroke and practice those. Sometimes trying to fix everything at once or all in the same stroke movement gets overwhelming. Even when I practice daily I do mainly drills. Are you doing any dryland? Working on the core? NC State has a really good dryland evercise, once again can be found on youtube. Maybe look at yoga or pilates as well. Part of swimming is what you do with your body. Do you pull your belly button towards the ceiling, do feel extensions, are breathing with the abdomen or chest? There are many components to the strokes. Break them down. My best advice is to reveiw videos like those on speedo to see each and every move and drills that you can do to practice them. Reguardless, you are in the water. I commend anyone who is willing to step into the water, no matter their skill level. Great job and hope you reach your goals! I know there are enough masters here who will give great advice and encourage you.
