Freestyle is EXHAUSTING...videos looking for tips

That's not bad for being a relative beginner. I agree with the two comments above, however, that your hips are too low. Your center of balance is at your shoulders; you want it farther down so you don't have to expend so much energy just trying not to sink feet-first. i.imgur.com/reHp6brl.jpg See how your head is aligned and where you hips are relative to your shoulders? Ideally, you want your head, shoulders, and hips all on the same axis, parallel with the water (green line). Getting your head down more will raise your hips. You almost have to press your chin to your chest at first to get in the habit of keeping your head down. Once mastered, you no longer have to kick so hard just to stay afloat. It also looks like you're dropping your elbows too early on the recovery. I like where your elbow is here, early in the recovery: i.imgur.com/81qzf5el.jpg But a fraction of a second later, in the same stroke, you've dropped your elbow almost all the way to the water surface, even before you've brought it even with your shoulders. Your forearm is already parallel to the water. i.imgur.com/5Fan3gll.jpg This point in the rotation should be the apogee of your elbow on recovery. Once you improve the body alignment, recovery mechanics is the next thing I'd suggest you work on. Here's a video that can help: www.youtube.com/watch

A good drill for you to try is the 6 kick/switch drill. Here's a video: www.youtube.com/watch If your body position is poor this will be a very difficult drill. The better your body position, the easier this drill will be. Also, try to keep the arm extended out front in a good, high-elbow catch position while executing the drill.

Wow thank you all so much! Today I worked on keeping my head down more and I did notice that my feet were boiling the water more when I kicked which means they must have been higher. I was still getting really winded after just 50-100 yards. I did 50 in 55 seconds to give you an idea of speed (not sure if that's fast or slow). I'll practice a few more days then get videoed again to check my progress.

If you're looking for comments...I'll say first "good work." It looks like you're coming along. With regard to the video...to me the thing that pops out...at least from the camera angle...is that it looks like your hips and legs are a bit low. I think that could easily be fixed by angling your head down a bit more. But keep up the good work. The endurance you're looking for will come eventually. Dan

Your're swimming at a 20⁰ angle so you have considerable frontal drag. Your head is up, looking forward, so the hips sink. Keep your head neutral (bottom of pool in view) and let the hips and legs rise to the surface, and narrow the kick. After fixing that, most of the other triathletes will be behind you on the swims

Assuming the role of coach is very difficult, especially when you are already working under a coach's care and hoping to improve specifically for a triathlon. You will need to filter through the advice and resources you find and I would advise caution in choosing what path you pursue in terms of improving your technique. Best of luck.

On a sidebar, I think part of my exhaustion problem is that I appear to be breathing too late. That causes me to stall my recovery which stops momentum and leaves me without enough oxygen. Does it look that way to anyone else? To me it just looks like you aren't 100% comfortable integrating breathing in with the rest of your stroke, so sometimes there's a slight pause. I think the best way to work on this is just to practice it more.

To me it just looks like you aren't 100% comfortable integrating breathing in with the rest of your stroke, so sometimes there's a slight pause. I think the best way to work on this is just to practice it more. All of the above comments by others are right on. I coach many triathletes and your swimming faults are pretty much common as are the corrections being offered by others. The only thing I want to add at this point regards to your breathing. You are correct in saying your breath is a bit late. Also you are over rotating and lifting your head too high. Try to roll your head more but keep the lower goggle in the water. Have all your breath exhaled underwater so you can inhale quicker and get your head back down. Also I noticed you started off taking a breath each four arms stokes or two cycles. Than when you tired you went to one breath per arm cycle. Start off at one breath per arm cycle. This will help put off the oxygen debt a bit longer. You wouldn't hold your breath on the biking or running legs would you?

If your coach has gotten you this far in just 3 lessons, he/she is a skilled instructor! I would recommend continuing with the lessons and having faith in a coach that has clearly taken you a long way in a short amount of time. You will find thousands of online videos or people willing to give swimming advice and that advice - although well-meaning - often conflicts, thus causing a great deal of confusion and frustration for the swimmer. Stick with what is working for you at this point. If you feel like you are not achieving your full potential, then by all means seek a second opinion. But this does not seem to be the case at this point. Good luck - and congrats to your coach!

Yeah my coach is great and really helpful! It helps me to get a second opinion too though and see if there's something I can do to tighten up my form so that my next lesson can bring me to the next level. I just can't afford to pay for more than the 2 lessons I have left so I want to make sure I get as much as humanly possible from them. I appreciate the thought though because it could be overwhelming if everyone is telling me different things, everyone is really on the same page though with what I need to fix so that's what I'll focus on. On a sidebar, I think part of my exhaustion problem is that I appear to be breathing too late. That causes me to stall my recovery which stops momentum and leaves me without enough oxygen. Does it look that way to anyone else?