I am new to swimming and I am trying to improve my technique. I am having trouble keeping my body in a straight line when I swim.
Although my technique is not great, I am not swimming complely flat. My body is rotating from side to side. I'm not sure I can clearly explain the problem. My body doesn't remain in a straight line when I swim. My hips swivel (while rotating) from side to side. This causes my legs to look like a dog wagging it's tail.
It seems obvious that it's a problem with core strength. Concentrating on keeping my body in a straight line doesn't help. It just causes me to swim flat. Are there any drills that I can use to correct this problem?
Former Member
"Snake-Like Swimming" is often caused by the swimmer's hand crossing the body's centre line(of the body) as it enters the water - the problem can be further exacerbated if the swimmer bends the torso in the direction of the over=reaching entry.
You say you are moving your hips in attempt to manipulate and involve your core body strength which is important but I think you are making a bad situation worse and need to concentrate first on the basics of free style technique - the path of the hand in entry-catch-pull-recovery. Once this is mastered then move on to thinking about other aspects of freestyle - I say this as it is often hard to think about several things at once - build up the corrections until they become habit.
So, make sure your hand is entered inline with the shoulder or towards the centreline, but never passed.
Good Luck
it might help to think about swimming like this........imagine you have a rod/stick running through the top of your head down to your pelvis. when you swim keep your head straight and rotate around that stick, shoulders and hips at the same time in unison. when you breath don't turn your head, but allow your whole body to naturally roll to one side, as a result your face will be exposed to the air and take your breath. also try kicking less, try maybe one kick every stroke or every other stroke. i hope that helps. just remember to keep your head as still as you can when you swim.
I noticed that when I forget I have abs (and relax them too much) I tend to weave more. Seems like I end up leaning my body left and right to reach for the stoke. When i stiffen my abs some to prevent the sideways bend, and pay attention to not cross my arms, I do much better.
I don't know if your case is the same, but maybe it gives you an idea or two about what you may be doing to cause it.
