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
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.
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:
