Thx all for posting your comments! This is really an excellent way of getting feedback on your technique when you dont have a coach standing on the side shouting at you :)
These are my conclusions so far (the ones I like and believe in myself):
-When i pull and kick my movements are waaaayyy slower than the big guns. I tried to compare movements in centimeters per frame (30 frames per second) and the big guns almost move twice as fast as me... (I need to work on my strength and explosivity)
-I raise my head to soon and too high...."eyes down below and eyes down above" (Dave Denniston) should be applied by me I think.
-I am not as flexible in my ancles as I hopefully can be
-My kick comes too soon. My kick should come when (almost for 50) in streamline...and when in streamline (for 100 and 200).
-The recovery of my legs is causing a lot of speed loss since I pull them up by bending my hip joints instead of pulling them up in already disturbed water by bending my knees a little bit more.
-My underwater kick has way too much amplitude
-My head is too low and not perfectly streamlined (I can see my goggles during the whole underwater phase)
-My pull can and should be much wider
-My elbows could be higher in the initial phase of the pull creating more "catch"
...agree?
br
Per
The timing in breaststroke is critical and the biggest headache for swimmers and coaches. When I train breaststrokers, I tell them to glide after their kick because most of my newbies cannot streamline well enough. Once they learn to streamline, my swimmers hesitate to get their hands in front of them fast enough and not outstretched fast enough. Then when they get that kink out they don't chamber their feet soon enough (after the completion of the kick the feet should be coming-up again) and must correct that problem. I have found out personally; That if I go super slow and concentrate on the timing, it helps me when I try to swim fast.
I watch Brendan Hansen (my hero breaststroker) and his quick timing and use of his lats as he finishes his stroke is something I'm trying to mimic. I'd like to see more underwater video of him in a race to see when he releases his EVF to scull and finish. If anyone has some underwater video's of Hansen in a competition please forward it. Breaststrokers are fascinating and wonderful creatures and timing is the cross they all carry. God Bless them. Good luck! Coach T.
