I know this is an old issue, but here goes. I am definitely overgliding - I am almost waiting for the recovering hand to enter the water before starting new stroke, much like the catch-up drill. My freestyle is slower than my breaststroke!
How can I stop? It feels like a lose balance if I don't have a hand stretched out in front of me.
Are there any simple things to concentrate on while swimming? (I don't feel confident in spending the money on the swimsmooth videos for overgliders.)
Any tips?
Thanks in anticipation
I do know that head-up free drill forces an immediate catch, especially when with a dolphin kick. But the best route might be to have a coach analyze what's up.
I do know that head-up free drill forces an immediate catch, especially when with a dolphin kick. But the best route might be to have a coach analyze what's up.
I agree with Steve. The heads up (Tarzan) drill forces you to do a shoulder driven stroke that all but eliminates any gliding. It is not easy to do. You've got to kick hard and keep your head very still, looking forward. Do alternating lengths of drill and free (with lots of rest) to get the feel down. The suggestion to use a snorkel also makes lots of sense.
I find it difficult to rotate hips beyond half my normal freestyle rotation. Shoulder flexibility will take the bulk of this restriction (so it is important to keep them relaxed at recovery). Also try to only pull back, and expect speeds close to sprints.
I can't breathe with this drill without loosing my rhythm so I either go 25 hypoxic or use noseclip and (as Rich mentioned) snorkel
How can I stop?
Are there any simple things to concentrate on while swimming?
Any tips?
Thanks in anticipation
The only way to eliminate a habit is to replace it with another habit.
You're doing catch up stroke when you swim freestyle. Your hand enters and you glide it out front while your other arm pulls.
The replacement habit is to go right into your catch when your hand / arm enters the water.
It will feel funny. It's easier to do when you're sprinting.
Aqua Mayim, when I had one of my coaches tweaking my stroke a bit, I had to concentrate on one arm first until that feeling stuck, then worked on the other. Focusing on just the one helped, even if it made it a bit lop-sided for a few days. Now they're both in much better synch and improved. Good luck.
Right, so I went for a swim tonight and it was nice to get those arms moving fast when doing the Tarzan.
Firstly; does it put strain on the back? Certainly felt that way.
Secondly; it is so different from my stroke that I can't see myself automatically incorporating it in to my stroke.
To oversimplify it: do not ever stop moving the hand. It will move slower as you extend, just don't let any passive/motionless times into your stroke.
I'm a big believer that breath timing is the ultimate stroke wrecker, specifically breathing late. It can and often does lead to people leaning hard on the non-breathing arm, leaving it there motionless as a crutch to get air. Don't feel bad everyone here has experienced some level of it! As an experiment if you can grab a center mount snokel go swim and see if your pauses disappear magically? Of course there is over gliding no matter what the breathing pattern happens to be as well. I think one simple thought is don't let the arms sit around passively!
