30 now, I've mostly been rowing, running, and biking all my life. That changed quite a bit when I moved to South Korea from Canada, though(no place to row, crowded cities, and all). I luckily found a swimming pool in my neighborhood last July, and I have been swimming ever since, except for a few months in between.
Although I found my instructor in the beginning quite knowledgeable, the intermediate class I am in at the moment has a different instructor that unfortunately isn't very... thrilled to teach at the venue lol. Mostly gives us drills to do and nothing much else.
Yesterday, I got a discount ticket to a spa with a swimming pool and my friend and we filmed each other swimming, so, could anyone give me pointers on what to improve on and etc?
It's a shame the weather was pretty chilly, making my friend pretty reluctant to film... so the angle isn't very good, plus it was dark out. I intend to do this again with a more cooperative friend soon haha.
I uploaded the videos to Youtube so there wouldn't be any sketchy downloading work, so please check them out?
Thank you!
www.youtube.com/watch - Freestyle
www.youtube.com/watch - Butterfly
Lol at the unmotivated swim coach. It seems endemic in adult swimming.
Both of your strokes look pretty good but I’ll just suggest that for your freestyle, it looks like a lot of your propulsion is coming from kicking instead of your pull. Overkicking will drain your energy. Focus on achieving propulsion from your upper body.
This is video with Natalie Coughlin is awesome. m.youtube.com/watch
her statement on planting your arm in the water and swinging your body around totally changed my freestyle
with your butterfly I think your hips need to come more to the surface when your arms enter the water, like a see saw. You’ll get more undulation that way which will allow more of the propulsion to come from your hips instead of kicking at the knee.
Wow I think you're absolutely right. My lack of upper body strength is one thing, but... I would still have to work on the efficiency.
I will try getting the hips up towards the surface on the butterfly entry too. Thanks a bunch!
Re: upper body strength you don’t need much to execute a good freestyle, if you focus on the ‘arm plant and swing body around’ technique suggested in the video. Instead of using just your arms to pull you forward, you’ll use your core to help throw your body forward over your hand planted in the water.
In contrast, focusing on the pull in freestyle requires a lot more physical strength to pull and push back water and is very tiring and inefficient, but that is just my opinion.
I think your freestyle looks really good. One thing I did notice is your head seems to be bobbing up and down slightly. I'm not sure what's causing this, but it could mean you are pushing down initially on your pull, rather than getting into an elbow high position that will enable you to push water backward.
I think your freestyle looks really good. One thing I did notice is your head seems to be bobbing up and down slightly. I'm not sure what's causing this, but it could mean you are pushing down initially on your pull, rather than getting into an elbow high position that will enable you to push water backward.
I'm seeing the same kind of thing with the butterfly too. I'm wondering if burger's kick is imbalanced - it's very easy to overemphasize the downbeat and underemphasize the upbeat.
I was a life-long runner too. 40+ years, 40K miles. I never got serious about swimming until age 67 because arthritis put a stop to the running. The problem by then was that my ankles would not flex. They still won't, so my kick is completely ineffective. If your foot is at a 45 degree angle, the downward kick is pushing backwards against the water. I can take a kickboard and remain absolutely stationary in the water while kicking for all I'm worth. It's still necessary to work on the kick though since it maintains proper body position. No kick makes the legs sink and you are just dragging along dead weight.
...One thing I did notice is your head seems to be bobbing up and down slightly. I'm not sure what's causing this, but it could mean you are pushing down initially on your pull, rather than getting into an elbow high position that will enable you to push water backward.
Agreed. Can you get some underwater footage? From the side and swimming straight toward the camera.
Hi burger1113, it's nice to see someone who has transitioned to swimming being so willing to share their stroke technique with the forum! I think you are doing great for having been swimming only a little over a year.
You've already received a lot of great tips from fellow forumites. I can see an asymmetry especially in your freestyle, and I noticed you are breathing only to one side. You might want to work on developing bilateral breathing, which will allow you to achieve more symmetry on both sides of the body. In terms of the butterfly, I think timing is one of the main issues you need to focus on - making sure your upper and lower body are in sync.
Keep in mind that knowing what you need to work on is only one step in the process - it is difficult to implement a new style of stroke technique without practicing drills that are geared specifically towards the aspect of your stroke that you would like to work on. Work with a coach to help you determine the drills that you need and how to incorporate them into your workouts.
Good luck with your continued swimming progress!
