Hi all,
I finally got a short video made of me swimming freestyle, and it is a major disappointment with a multitude of issues :( I am in my late 30s and usually swim alone at least 2 - 3 times a week, sometimes more. My breaststroke has improved, so the last 9 months or so I have been trying to learn freestyle on my own.
The thing is, I have been really focusing on drills and making sure that I keep my head low with one goggle in the water when breathing. The drill I use the most is kicking on the side with one arm in front. I have to use short fins, since without, I find it quite difficult. When doing this drill, it all feels easy. It feels like I always manage to go straight, keep the head low and one goggle in the water. But then again maybe you can still rotate quite much and believe that one goggle stays in the water. It is of course more difficult without fins, but I thought I had at least some proper head rotation in line with the spine. Another drill I use is single arm freestyle.
Now that I look at the video, it all falls apart :( It seems that I both over-rotate and possibly move the head to the side when breathing. I think I am lifting my head too? I thought I had a bit better rotation to my left side, but it seems as crappy as to the right. Not sure if my arm entry is wide enough either, might be slight cross over there too.
Yes, my posture is not perfect either. I work a lot in front of a computer, but swimming has done wonders for me.
From lurking around, I know people here are very knowledgeable. Thought I would take a chance and ask for some advice on how to improve. I do have plans on doing some one on one sessions with a coach later on. My main focus is technique first, since improvement is my primary passion and it really feels great! My goal is to achieve good swimming technique with some time, even if it requires a lot of work.
Here is a link to the somewhat embarrasing video:
www.youtube.com/watch
I'm not as experience as others, but the two things I would suggest you try:
1. REACH more. Looks almost like your shoulders are staying square. Reach further forward, it will help make your stroke more efficient, and it will engage more of your body (core!). You'll use your kick to drive your body forward as you reach. Here's one thing I noticed when I started learning to reach properly. Your whiskers will chafe your shoulders unless you are pretty cleanly shaven. That's a good way to know you are doiing it correctly.
2. When you breathe, looks like you losing your head positioning, and rotating your head more to the side. Try looking to the rear, not the side. FOlks have said to look for your elbow, which I think is a good idea. Reaching more (point 1) should also hep your breathing become more synched wiht the rest of your stroke.
Again, there are others here smarter than me, so I hope if someone takes issue with the way I tried to explain it they'll speak up.
I'm not as experience as others, but the two things I would suggest you try:
1. REACH more. Looks almost like your shoulders are staying square. Reach further forward, it will help make your stroke more efficient, and it will engage more of your body (core!). You'll use your kick to drive your body forward as you reach. Here's one thing I noticed when I started learning to reach properly. Your whiskers will chafe your shoulders unless you are pretty cleanly shaven. That's a good way to know you are doiing it correctly.
2. When you breathe, looks like you losing your head positioning, and rotating your head more to the side. Try looking to the rear, not the side. FOlks have said to look for your elbow, which I think is a good idea. Reaching more (point 1) should also hep your breathing become more synched wiht the rest of your stroke.
Again, there are others here smarter than me, so I hope if someone takes issue with the way I tried to explain it they'll speak up.
