Recently I've forced myself to do flip turns in practice, hoping I'll get better/faster at them. My question is about hand position. Many years ago I'd use my hands to scull and help flip me over. Now, however, after some experimentation, I'm just using my torso and a dolphin kick to turn myself over. My hands stay in front of me the whole time as far as I can tell. This seems to put them in a streamlined position faster so I'm ready to push off faster. Back to the question part: Is/does this sound right? It feels faster, but I don't know if I'm missing something. Any help/suggestions is/are appreciated. Thanks.:wiggle:
Former Member
Muppet:
Thanks, sound tough but fun. What is the breakout. I saw that in the USMS Swimmer in an article on evil stroking but it never actually said what a "breakout"s.:confused:
The breakout is your first stroke after a start or turn. When you "break" the surface of the water.
I read somewhere (or was it Ande who gave me this advice - forgive me Ande if I am wrong:blush:) that you should be pulling that final stroke right into the turn as opposed to gliding in. I complete the stroke all the way - right to brushing the hand on the hip. This ensures momentum into the wall and will prevent you from turning 'short' and missing the wall entirely - something I am prone to do. Since I have taken this advice I have seen a significant improvement in the speed of my turn. I have never dolphin kicked into the wall. That would ruin my rhythm completely. Also I don't turn onto my stomach until I have completed the roll i.e. my head is facing the surface of the pool. This allows me to push off from a deeper position and ensures that I don't surface too quickly and, hence, am able to do more SDK's off the wall. However, I am not the quickest flip turner and still have a lot to learn. In fact, in the past, so poor was my flip turn that my time for 50m crawl SCM was slower than my time for 50 LCM!!
Syd
I read somewhere (or was it Ande who gave me this advice - forgive me Ande if I am wrong:blush:) that you should be pulling that final stroke right into the turn as opposed to gliding in. I complete the stroke all the way - right to brushing the hand on the hip. This ensures momentum into the wall ...
That is correct, and what I had attempted to communicate on my first post (post #6) here - I think you said it better, Syd.
your hands should be at your side
as you flip you want to scoop them the opposite direction of your rotation
ending up with them near your head so you can push off streamlined
sprinters don't take a dolphin kick to set up their turns they just roll into them
the best thing you can do is go underwater and watch someone who has great turns and copy them
also have someone time you in and out of the flags
to see if you're improving your turns,
ande
Recently I've forced myself to do flip turns in practice, hoping I'll get better/faster at them. My question is about hand position. Many years ago I'd use my hands to scull and help flip me over. Now, however, after some experimentation, I'm just using my torso and a dolphin kick to turn myself over. My hands stay in front of me the whole time as far as I can tell. This seems to put them in a streamlined position faster so I'm ready to push off faster. Back to the question part: Is/does this sound right? It feels faster, but I don't know if I'm missing something. Any help/suggestions is/are appreciated. Thanks.:wiggle:
There is a video here of how to do a flip turn www.goswim.tv/drilloftheweek_comments.php
Noodle flip www.goswim.tv/drilloftheweek_comments.php
Add to this the balanced push off notice the streamline www.goswim.tv/drilloftheweek_comments.php
Well, I can really reccommend that you check out the links George has provided esp. the first one. Some really solid advice there:
Now for the key aspect of this drill: TUCK the knees toward the chest. Get them as close as you can, and create the smallest possible circle with your body. Remember (and we can’t stress this enough): The smaller you can make your body, the faster you spin. And the faster you spin, the sooner you're ready to come off the wall, and the more speed you carry off the wall.
In fact, I tried this out immediately in my practice this afternoon and it made a remarkable difference. I hadn't thought about tucking my knees up to my chest but you really do turn more quickly in a tight ball. Duh! In the past I was turning with my legs almost straight. With your knees under your chin and your legs like a coiled spring you get much more of a push off from the wall too. Double bonus. In fact, I was turning so quickly I was getting this lightheaded feeling but then I do get dizzy very quickly. The only downfall was that I missed the wall a couple of times. This is bound to happen when trying out a new technique and will sort itself out over time.
Thanks again for the link George.
Syd
Thanks again for the link George.
Syd
You are welcome Syd - there is always a video somewhere. It is a matter of finding them. Go swim, although too TI has a great assortment of videos. Here is their list www.goswim.tv/drilloftheweek_archives.php
