OK, several days ago, one of you guys posted a link to a video called "Send it Forward". It was a breaststroke video that demonstrated a common mistake - going too low during the glide and then working hard to get back to the surface. The theme was Send It (momentum) Forward. I wanted to post this in that thread but couldn't find it. Anyway, I have a lot to say about that post - maybe I'm even going to ramble!:)
I tried over the past couple of days to focus on what the video talked about but I wasn't getting anywhere. Today, all of a sudden, it hit me. On the last two strokes of a length, I felt it. I realize that I have been going too deep with my hands/head during the glide of the breaststroke. I was using a lot of the effort of my pull to bring my head/shoulders/back up to the surface. The effectiveness of my pull was waaaay below what it could have been. Not to mention that I wasn't streamlined enough and was losing a lot of the "explosion" from my kick.
Anyway, I continued to work on it today and I feel like I have made one of those breakthroughs that Ande talks about. How do I know?
1. I could feel it. I felt more efficient and I could feel the difference in speed. I'm sure most of you know what I'm talking about. Sometimes you just feel it when you get it right in swimming.
2. The clock never lies. I did 50 SCY a full five seconds faster than I have ever done before.:eek: (Although I must say that I'm disappointed that my stroke was lousy enough prior to today so there was that much room for improvement.:rolleyes: :( ) My 100 was about 7 seconds faster!
3. At "workout pace", I was a full stroke less per length than yesterday!
Anyway, I'm sorry if I sound like I'm gushing, but hey.... I am gushing! Between the adreneline high (I have been out of the pool for less than an hour) and the emotional high of a big improvement I am flying like a kite right now. I'm so happy I could cry! (OK, comments about a previous post can begin now.)
I wanted to share it here because my family (none of them swimmers) would not understand my excitement. That's what I love about this site..... great tips and people who understand! The tips are valuable to an "uncoached" swimmer like me. I want to have a big BBQ and invite everyone over. I just need a year to get the olympic sized pool built (indoor of course)! Or maybe I should have the BBQ now and supply a bunch of shovels....
Anyway, if you posted the link to that video, thanks for the help. And to all of you thanks for listening!
Well Done! I am hoping to make the same strides with uhhh.... all of my strokes! lol.. one at a time though.
Thanks for sharing, It's very inspirational to hear about the victories during practice. :p
I did not read the original post about this, but my daughter spent January-March working on this very thing with a private coach. She was going too deep, and he worked hard to get her up and forward. It was impressive to see the difference when she did it properly, and she definately could feel it. She told me at the end of the timeframe, she felt way faster. Now old habits are hard to break, and 12 year olds do not do the thinking we do when they swim. After her break, she came back and started doing the same mistake. I gently reminded her after watching her practice that her coach would be unhappy with what she was doing. She remembered and fixed it the next practice.
Awesome!
I know exactly how you feel. I had a similar breakthrough last week. Keep at that stroke- being long and streamlined; don't be tempted to go back to that quick turnover that isn't as efficient as what you're doing now.
I'm proud of your accomplishment :)
Congrats! That is awesome! I think about the send it forward idea too. My breaststroke feels a lot better to, I actually feel like the kick gets me somewhere now. Very exciting!
Congrats, keep working at it, I'm sure you'll be flying up and down the pool in no time!
Originally posted by SwiminONandON
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Congrats, keep working at it, I'm sure you'll be flying up and down the pool in no time!
Hey, my "fly" needs lots of work too!:p ;)
Ah, indeed I thought I had breaststroke at one point a couple months ago, then it went away and was gone for so long we had a funneral and everything. A few tears were shed ... Then about two weeks ago it all clicked (and it feels better than it did before) it's like that person on a soap opera that dies and comes back after major reconstructive plastic surgery (you, know when they have to replace an actor/actress but don't want to kill the character off).
Originally posted by hooked-on-swimming
It might have been this video:
www.goswim.tv/drilloftheweek_comments.php
That's the one.
I "felt it" again today and was able to match my time from yesterday in the 100 (didn't time a 50). So that's a good sign. I also worked on a long glide drill to reinforce it. I cut the workout short today though. I had almost no energy - 4 hours of sleep last night.... I almost didn't go to the pool, but was too excited to try it again.:)
Originally posted by Jeff Commings
That's a good video, though I think Dave could keep his knees in more.
Also, I can't believe he did a one-handed touch at the end of the video!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You know, I thought the same thing when I watched it. I always hear about keeping the knees inside the "shadow" of your body. Dave is definately not doing that.
Now, I need a backstroke breakthrough..... Maybe I should focus on committing this breaststroke change to muscle memory first.
