Wow, my freestyle stroke technique has fallen apart! :afraid: I didn't realize it had gotten this bad since returning from hip surgery.:blush: Videos shot from on deck don't reveal what this video shot from above shows. Underwater clips don't reveal my flaws as much as this video shows either.
What I see in this video is that the arm on my breathing side (whether I breathe to the left or right) is going wide on recovery and entering wide. Even though I aim to straddle the line on the bottom of the pool and trace the edge with my thumb (right thumb on right edge, left thumb on left edge), I'm not doing what I think I'm doing. My arm is going wide, especially when I breathe right on the second 25. It is going so wide that I end up at the right edge of the lane by the time I hit the wall! (Perhaps my fears of crossing over has caused me to enter too wide...)
When I do the one-arm drill each day as part of my warm-up, it feels like everything is going correctly. Evidently, when I put the stroke together, it's not.
Which drills would you recommend for this? I looked through Cokie's "There's a Drill For That!" for some ideas; however, I couldn't figure out which drill would be best.
Any ideas? THANKS!
www.youtube.com/watch
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!
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!
