About to give up on my freestyle strokes-

Originally posted by fayewolf but do you think it's weird to do that during lap swimming time? Who cares. My advice is really try to break the stroke down. Don't try to do everything at once. Start by just floating in the proper position, then add a kick, then start adding in the pull, etc. It's just too complex to try everything at once. Basically that's what drills try to do: get you focused on just one element of the stroke.

I can totally see myself being in the slow lane for ever, I'm not embarassed about being in the slow lane, but i'm just embarassed that I can never finish the drill because they are all timed. :( I'm dragging myself to the pool today to try those drills in Fitness Swimming. I read total immersion, but as a newbie, i am not understanding how it is different from the conventional swimming lessons/books. Almost everybook ask us to try to streamline ourself, swim on your side. This was also taught in the DVD that i watched by Tom Jager (becoming a faster swimmer). Is there a difference? What is it? thanks!

I think there is a potential problem with too much advice. Swim on your sides, keep your elbows high, roll with the hips, etc.. TI is one way. People I know who chose it made a commitment to do TI with a TI-certified coach. And they spent many weeks doing the drills (with a coach) to get it right. I think every tip in this thread has merit and is worth considering. But at an early stage of learning freestyle - I think it is best to focus on basic elements of the stroke. I think your workouts with intervals you can't make (etc.), aren't helping you. You're trying to go fast to keep up, but that limits your ability to truly focus on your stroke. Not making the intervals is frustrating and demoralizating. One thing that might help you since you have instructional videos to watch - get someone to videotape you swimming freestyle. Have them shoot you from the side, from the front, and from the rear. The front shots should try to show as much of your underwater pull as possible. Pick one set of advice to rely on for a while. If TI confuses you, don't use it now. Stick to it, avoid the pressure to make intervals you can't make. Get your coach to ease up on you. When you get too tired, your stroke will go to pieces.

I was already swimming somewhat proficiently when I got it but the GoSwim DVD with Erik Vendt and Kaitlin Sandeno helped me out a lot. Aside from the commentary provided on the DVD just watching these two swim from underwater is an awesome sight and it would be difficult NOT to glean some sort of beneficial information from the viewing. I think the disc is prepared as an IM training tool, no IM's for me, but each stroke is broken down so you can take from it what you want and leave behind what you don't. Speaking of Vendt and Sandeno, both are now training with Bob Bowman at Club Wolverine in Michigan. That has to be THE powerhouse of swimming in the US right now. They've got Michael Phelps, Klete Keller, Peter Vanderkaay, Davis Tarwater, Kaitlin Sandeno, Erik Vendt, and a bunch of other up and comers on the University team. The 2008 Olympics are shaping up to be quite an event. With the above athletes sure to shine we also have Josh Davis looking to return to the Olympic team as a thirty something. That would be a feat and I wish him the best. He would truly be an inspiration to this country and to the sport...moreso than the domination of the pool by Phelps in 2004 I think (In a different way perhaps). I guess I went a little off topic there...oops. :p

So far, i've tried out 3 master groups. Two was extremely good in giving each lane different sets to do. One was actually really really cool coz he knows that i'm stupid and explains everything to me and instead of 8x100 (which for the life of me cannot do), he'll say do 5x100. The last one that I tried out was an assistant coach, I honestly think she is not that good. I told her at the beginning that I'm very slow and I know breaststroke and can barely swim freestyle. My first drill set was 4x100 in 6 minutes, i was like, wtf? So i swam my 6 min, however many meters i did. Then she said 200 meters IM, okay, dude, i just told you i don't know how to do 1/2 of those strokes. Very discouraging and demoralizing to not be able to finish the sets, you are absolutely right. However, the head coach was on vacation, and he'll be back next week, and he has stroke clinic 3 x a week, I'll try to go to those and see what I can gain.

I went the DVD route myself. I think when it comes to things like stroke technique you can learn much more quickly by emulating another swimmer rather than reading about how to emulate another swimmer. Books are great but for something like this I think the DVD is the hands down winner.

Go where you feel comfortable, even if it is just the lap pool. By just swimming your stroke will improve as long as you do the basics. Don't slap the water keep streamlined, finsh your stroke. If doing breaststroke you can cheat and even use illegal kicks to keep your speed up. When they ask you to kick cheat at first use your arms underwater to keep up. If they give you 100 repeats and if you can't keep up stop at 50 and keep out of the way while the others finish their 100. Don't be embarressed many of these masters were probably worse than you when they started.

I had been a good swimmer for 20 years when, due to health issues, I had to literally relearn to swim beginning in the Fall of 1995. It took me 1.5 years to consistently do 25yds of freestyle. About 2001 I started doing fly. Now I can easily do several 100yds of fly per practice, and do equal amounts of the other three strokes for a total of 1600+yds (avg. 4x/wk). My times are not stellar, but I know I’m a lot faster than most folks with my condition (a debilitating joint disorder). I’ve always focused mostly on technique and let the speed take care of itself. A good coach will tailor the workout to fit the level of each lane/group (as other posts here have mentioned). Try and find a coach who does this. If you consistently swim within your ability and don’t beat yourself up you will improve. Set realistic goals for yourself. Trying to do it all at once is totally unrealistic. Try and make it fun, that makes it way easier to motivate yourself to go to practice.

Hi, There are three other key things that will help a lot: 1) individual consulataion: Doing an individual stroke clinic with a qualified coach is beneficial because the coach is focused on you and only you. When a coach is trying to deal with a lot of swimmers during group practices, it's difficult for the coach to give you all the atention you may need. 2) underwater video footage of your stroke: If you can get underwater video footage of your stroke (and compare it with some of the more refined examples you will find on swimming videos), you will learn a lot by seeing how you do it vs. how more experienced swimmers do it. 3) fins: using fins for drills and other exercises will increase your speed, but if you really concentrate on doing the drills correctly while using fins, it can also help you develop a feel for the drill and a feel for the water. Try to use the fins with purpose. Don't just use them to be faster in practice. In addition to those three things, the July/August issue of SWIMMER has a technique pictorial on freestyle featuring commentary from coach Mark Moore of Mission Viejo. If you are a registered member of USMS, or if you have an individual subscription to the magazine, you should receive the July/August issue during the first week of July. Good Luck! Bill

I recommend this to all swimmers to help get them streamlined. You do not move your head from side to side you just brush your ear with your shoulder as your arm recovers. If you look at the video on my web page of me swimming you will notice it is just a brush by the ear http://www.swimdownhill.com./