Technique Recommendations?

Hello my fellow swimmers I really enjoy the forums and all the valuable information it provides for all kinds of swimmers. Thank you all for providing this resource. I just wanna know what suggestions you might have for me to improve my technique. I am not really a speed swimmer. Mostly prefer swimming for long distances and using it to relax and mediate about life. Any Tips or workout suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Suggestion: Keep the elbows high, vertical forearm, push the water back, rather than dropping the elbow and having your arm slip through the water. IMHO Ian Thorpe is a good example: www.youtube.com/watch You can still meditate while doing this :)

Here's the Thorpe video: www.youtube.com/watch

I should add, you do not have to swim fast to do this.

10575Thanks man. I sort of understand you. But do you have any diagram or vid?See your right elbow has dropped, and is leading the catch. The finger tips should lead, then hands, then forearm, and elbow should be last. Here, what I was talking about at 1:00 www.youtube.com/watch

Hi welcome You have good position in water. You can swim at ease so much more simply by rotating your upper arms the other way during entry, catch, and early pull. Place your arm out in front of you now with palm down. Look at where your elbow is pointed. Elbows need to point up just after, and during, the hand(s) enter the water. This is many times more effective and an easy change to make, but it does require optimal rotation, and upper body flexibility, so make it gradual. The rest looks good Thanks man. I sort of understand you. But do you have any diagram or vid?

You should absolutely work on developing an early vertical forearm - it's a key phase of the pull. Below I've linked to a video with a drill that will be useful for you in developing this. Just a general note of caution, however - I would be more concerned with ensuring that your overall technique is sound as opposed to focusing only on one area of the stroke. For example, you also need to work on your hand placement and avoid the crossing over tendency. You should always place the hand in front of the shoulder instead of allowing it to cross over towards the other side of your body. You can try the single arm drill to work on all aspects of your stroke while isolating each side of the body. This way you can work on fine-tuning your stroke as a whole. Good luck! https://vimeo.com/82897160

Hi welcome You have good position in water. You can swim at ease so much more simply by rotating your upper arms the other way during entry, catch, and early pull. Place your arm out in front of you now with palm down. Look at where your elbow is pointed. Elbows need to point up just after, and during, the hand(s) enter the water. This is many times more effective and an easy change to make, but it does require optimal rotation, and upper body flexibility, so make it gradual. The rest looks good

Here's the Thorpe video: www.youtube.com/watch nice he's a beast. especially on those kicks thanks

10575See your right elbow has dropped, and is leading the catch. The finger tips should lead, then hands, then forearm, and elbow should be last. Here, what I was talking about at 1:00 www.youtube.com/watch very helpful man thanks. That workout on the edge of the pool seems like something i gotta add to my warmup.

You should absolutely work on developing an early vertical forearm - it's a key phase of the pull. Below I've linked to a video with a drill that will be useful for you in developing this. Just a general note of caution, however - I would be more concerned with ensuring that your overall technique is sound as opposed to focusing only on one area of the stroke. For example, you also need to work on your hand placement and avoid the crossing over tendency. You should always place the hand in front of the shoulder instead of allowing it to cross over towards the other side of your body. You can try the single arm drill to work on all aspects of your stroke while isolating each side of the body. This way you can work on fine-tuning your stroke as a whole. Good luck! https://vimeo.com/82897160 thank you!!! very helpful video. I noticed also that i have that crossing over tendency.