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:
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.
Hmm, look for your elbow. Like looking at it when it is passing by underwater and during the recovery? Or just to emphasize to look a bit behind, since the elbow is there just when the mouth breaks the surface?
You are holding your breath. By doing so, you increase the time necessary to complete an entire breath cycle rather than just inhale. Exhale while your face is in the water. Try blowing your breath out. Fix this one thing and lots of problems evaporate. Keep with it.
Now, this is interesting. I really try to exhale constantly through my nose (and a bit through my mouth) underwater, and try to force it more during the head turn, but maybe not enough? I must admit that breathing out underwater has been an issue. I was able to get quite better at it when improving my breaststroke, but with freestyle and issues with the head position it was more difficult. Only recently it is falling more into place.
I'm not as experience as others, but the two things I would suggest you try:
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.
Hmm, look for your elbow. Like looking at it when it is passing by underwater and during the recovery? Or just to emphasize to look a bit behind, since the elbow is there just when the mouth breaks the surface?
You are holding your breath. By doing so, you increase the time necessary to complete an entire breath cycle rather than just inhale. Exhale while your face is in the water. Try blowing your breath out. Fix this one thing and lots of problems evaporate. Keep with it.
Now, this is interesting. I really try to exhale constantly through my nose (and a bit through my mouth) underwater, and try to force it more during the head turn, but maybe not enough? I must admit that breathing out underwater has been an issue. I was able to get quite better at it when improving my breaststroke, but with freestyle and issues with the head position it was more difficult. Only recently it is falling more into place.
