Which drills are best for this freestyle stroke flaw?

To me it just looks like you are over rotating to breathe. If you're still a little less flexible there, then maybe that might be causing it? For breathing/rotation drills, I just kick relaxed with a good pair of fins and practice breathing with one goggle lens under keeping a rotated torso stationary at no more than 60 degrees from horizontal. Just don't overdo it at first like I did trying to breathe low in the water with fly. My neck was sore for 5 weeks The wide entry might be from the rotation too

To me it just looks like you are over rotating to breathe. If you're still a little less flexible there, then maybe that might be causing it? For breathing/rotation drills, I just kick relaxed with a good pair of fins and practice breathing with one goggle lens under keeping a rotated torso stationary at no more than 60 degrees from horizontal. Just don't overdo it at first like I did trying to breathe low in the water with fly. My neck was sore for 5 weeks The wide entry might be from the rotation too Really? Shoot! I didn't have enough rotation in my stroke, and Swimspire encouraged me to work on it. Perhaps I have worked on it too well! :confused: I just reviewed the side view videos from the same day, though, and I do not appear over-rotated. Only one goggle lens is above the water line on every stroke. Flexibility is definitely NOT a shortcoming of mine, because I have been working hard on it each day after I get out of the pool. I do a combination of PT exercises I was prescribed, some yoga poses and other swim stretches I picked up off the USA Swimming site. As an example, I can now bend over with my knees locked and touch the ground with flat hands (placed on each side of my feet) and bent elbows. :banana: One drill you might try is to intentionally lift your head so you are looking forward. Then you can see exactly where your hands are entering. If this is hard to do because it causes your legs to drop you could use a pull buoy. If you have a snorkel this will work even better because you'll be able to look forward uninterrupted by breathing. Thanks for the idea, Kirk!

Fingertip drill? That would allow you to trace the path forward on the water so you are brushing closer to your head and bringing it straight forward. Also, I don't know the name but the one where you rotate to the side, bring the arm straight up into the air let it hand there for a kick or two and then let it bend and fall forward. It's designed to give the sensation of finding the right hole to enter the water. I'm suspicious you're leaning on that side for balance though due to weakness in one side from healing your injuries. You may not be able to fully correct the balance at a moderate to race pace until both sides are up to full strength/flexibility.

Oh, and catch up drill, too- while usually catch up is to help set up for a front end stroke style, I find it's also good for balance and hand placement. You can even combine fingertip drill with catch up drill.

Really? Shoot! I didn't have enough rotation in my stroke, and Swimspire encouraged me to work on it. Perhaps I have worked on it too well! :confused: I just reviewed the side view videos from the same day, though, and I do not appear over-rotated. Only one goggle lens is above the water line on every stroke. Elaine, I can assure you the problem is not with your rotation, it is - as you correctly point out - primarily with your hand placement, which also results in a wider pull outside of your body line. This is an issue that I remember you had even before your surgery. It is now more pronounced because you have lost some of your core strength and kicking ability during your rehabilitation, forcing you to rely more on your upper body and exaggerating bad habits. Two drills I can recommend for you are single arm breathing away from the stroking side (one arm at your side, taking a stroke with the opposite arm and breathing away from the stroking side) and catchup drill (which you can do with a snorkel so you can see where your hand placement is). Both of these drills need to be practiced slowly, used sparingly and ideally with a coaches supervision. The problem with many of these drills is that if they are not practiced properly they can lead to other bad habits, which is not what you want. Also keep in mind that there isn't one specific drill that is going to instantly improve your technique if you practice it continuously. Improving your technique requires a full combination of drills, kicking sets, fullstroke sets and combination sets. Everything is interconnected in terms of technique. You have to also be patient with your progress - take it one step at a time!

Fingertip drill? That would allow you to trace the path forward on the water so you are brushing closer to your head and bringing it straight forward. Also, I don't know the name but the one where you rotate to the side, bring the arm straight up into the air let it hand there for a kick or two and then let it bend and fall forward. It's designed to give the sensation of finding the right hole to enter the water. I'm suspicious you're leaning on that side for balance though due to weakness in one side from healing your injuries. You may not be able to fully correct the balance at a moderate to race pace until both sides are up to full strength/flexibility. Oh, and catch up drill, too- while usually catch up is to help set up for a front end stroke style, I find it's also good for balance and hand placement. You can even combine fingertip drill with catch up drill. Those are good ideas, M'! Thanks for the explanations, because I have never tried that second drill (I don't know the name either). It makes sense! :agree:

Fingertip drill? That would allow you to trace the path forward on the water so you are brushing closer to your head and bringing it straight forward. Also, I don't know the name but the one where you rotate to the side, bring the arm straight up into the air let it hand there for a kick or two and then let it bend and fall forward. It's designed to give the sensation of finding the right hole to enter the water. I'm suspicious you're leaning on that side for balance though due to weakness in one side from healing your injuries. You may not be able to fully correct the balance at a moderate to race pace until both sides are up to full strength/flexibility. Oh, and catch up drill, too- while usually catch up is to help set up for a front end stroke style, I find it's also good for balance and hand placement. You can even combine fingertip drill with catch up drill. Elaine, I can assure you the problem is not with your rotation, it is - as you correctly point out - primarily with your hand placement, which also results in a wider pull outside of your body line. This is an issue that I remember you had even before your surgery. It is now more pronounced because you have lost some of your core strength and kicking ability during your rehabilitation, forcing you to rely more on your upper body and exaggerating bad habits. Two drills I can recommend for you are single arm breathing away from the stroking side (one arm at your side, taking a stroke with the opposite arm and breathing away from the stroking side) and catchup drill (which you can do with a snorkel so you can see where your hand placement is). Both of these drills need to be practiced slowly, used sparingly and ideally with a coaches supervision. The problem with many of these drills is that if they are not practiced properly they can lead to other bad habits, which is not what you want. Also keep in mind that there isn't one specific drill that is going to instantly improve your technique if you practice it continuously. Improving your technique requires a full combination of drills, kicking sets, fullstroke sets and combination sets. Everything is interconnected in terms of technique. You have to also be patient with your progress - take it one step at a time! Well, that's what I thought. Thanks for the confirmation. :) The problem I had previously was having my arm waver through the water as it went forward. It was also aiming a bit down rather than shooting straight forward. From what I could see in those previous underwater side-view videos, my hand also tended to bend at the wrist out to the side at times. What I couldn't see from those videos, however, was how far my shoulder was from my head on recovery. That seems to be what sets me up for a bad hand entry. I am now trying to touch my cheek with it as I bring my arm forward. I don't have a regular coach to keep an eye on my stroke, and I can't even have Bruce help me out like he has in the past, because I am training at another pool while our community pool is undergoing major foundation and crack repairs. The best I can do is have him come out to the pool from time to time to shoot video, so I can check up on how I'm doing. I will also bring my camera to the pool and see if I can trade out video shoots with some of the other swimmers I have gotten to know. ("I'll shoot video of you and post your videos for you on YouTube if you will shoot me...") Thanks for your suggestions, Swim'! :agree: I do mix it up a lot each day in workouts to avoid repetitive stress injuries, so I will make sure to continue doing that.

One drill you might try is to intentionally lift your head so you are looking forward. Then you can see exactly where your hands are entering. If this is hard to do because it causes your legs to drop you could use a pull buoy. If you have a snorkel this will work even better because you'll be able to look forward uninterrupted by breathing.

Elaine, Your shoulders look like they're really tight and causing a lack of extension in your front quadrant. I had some Go Pro taping done this summer and get daily drills from Glen Mills. One piece of advice he gave me was to find a bar to hang from in full extension every day and just do it. I try to do a minute of hanging in a straight body position 3 times a day. I'm feeling better extension in all my strokes and I believe this is helping my rotation a little bit. Simply establish a forward grip on the bar. I have my hands about 5" apart. Step off the stool and hang. Be sure your bar is sturdy. My first one was plastic and I broke the brackets on the second day. I'm a hefty girl.

Elaine, Your shoulders look like they're really tight and causing a lack of extension in your front quadrant. I had some Go Pro taping done this summer and get daily drills from Glen Mills. One piece of advice he gave me was to find a bar to hang from in full extension every day and just do it. I try to do a minute of hanging in a straight body position 3 times a day. I'm feeling better extension in all my strokes and I believe this is helping my rotation a little bit. Simply establish a forward grip on the bar. I have my hands about 5" apart. Step off the stool and hang. Be sure your bar is sturdy. My first one was plastic and I broke the brackets on the second day. I'm a hefty girl. Thanks for the suggestion, Bobinator. Actually, I have very good flexibility throughout my body, because I am diligent about doing my PT exercises (including stretching) on a daily basis. My lack of forward extension isn't due to flexibility issues; it's the result of having a first rib resection for Thoracic Outlet Syndrome back in 2003 (work injury). I had the condition bilaterally; however, I was able through PT rehab to avoid surgery on the right side. Still, I need to be careful with both shoulders. On the left side, when my shoulders are too far forward and close to my head, it becomes painful under my clavicle where the center section of my first rib was removed. On my left side, my first rib is still intact; however, it's a matter of avoiding a recurrence of thoracic outlet syndrome. Having said all that, I used to have a better, more streamlined freestyle, and I was able to maintain that stroke technique without repercussion. I just need to get my old stroke back- the one that was better than it is now, but still not so shoulder driven that I end up with shoulder problems and under the knife again.