i know there has been a number of posts/threads on this topic and i did search the archives, but i still wanted to post this thread. ok, so i've been trying to learn freestyle since 2005, and i still haven't got the breathing right. this has been really frustrating for me. i practice almost every day on a pool that is about 5' 5'' deep at one end. i have done a lot of research-hours of youtubing and checking out swimfast dvds have resulted in nothing! i've invested about $200 into private lessons, with no significant output! my goal is very simple-to swim freestyle laps in a 25 yard pool; is that asking for too much? i'm not interested in the other difficult strokes! i think my problem lies in the fact that i don't breathe out air completely before breathing in! are there any drills to work on that? also, some swimmers say that breath out through your nose, and some say through your mouth-i'm confused! if anyone can help me out, i'd really appreciate it! i want to learn this thing, and as you can see, i don't want to give up! TIA!
Two possibilities come to mind:
1) you say your speed is infinitely better. Swimming infinitely fast will tend to wind you. :D
2) swimming with better technique can be like riding a bike in higher gear in that if you swim with a dropped elbow it takes very little effort to pull your arms through the water (of course you won't swim very fast) which is like spinning in a low gear in cycling. Also, some people, in an attempt at lowering their stroke count will go to a very catchup-like stroke and either lose speed between pulls, requiring a high effort stroke to regain it again, or kick hard to maintain speed, either of which will tend to wind you.
You could experiment with swimming slower, swimming with a pull buoy, and kicking to try to isolate what is winding you. If you can swim your old bad style without getting winded then probably it isn't a pool chemical problem.
It would be good to tell us your time per fifty for your old stroke and for your new stroke.
My speed is infinitely faster, not fast, lol. What I mean is that my stroke distance is much better and my efficiency is much better. Just like you said, when I had a dropped elbow before my arms easily slipped through the water, whereas on every stroke now I feel the recruitment of my lats and triceps like I'm lifting weights.
I never timed my old stroke 50, but I'm sure it was probably around 70-80 seconds at a relaxed pace. On a relaxed (relatively) 25 meters now I average about 25 seconds, on a sprint I've reached 16 sec (both values off the wall with a small push, not diving). I did a relaxed 50 meters today which took me about 55 seconds, and I was still catching my breath at the end. When I say relaxed now, what I mean is low stroke rate and not kicking hard. I'm not sure I even know how to relax my arms anymore, I'm now conditioned to feel that water resistance against my forearm and really pull myself over it. I'm sure the idea with the vertical forearm is to hold the water and propel yourself over with the kick and rotation. I rotate OK, but my kick timing and rhythm are so bad I think I'm depending way to much on my upper body. That could be what's wearing me out, 25 meters is literally like doing 20 reps on a weight machine.
I bought a pair of zoomers and a Finis snorkel. and have been doing kicking drills like Ande suggested. My kick is pretty weak, so I'm hoping to both strengthen it and achieve coordination of kick and arm stroke. I've scoured youtube video to help with kick coordination to no avail.
Incidentally I did take a couple puffs of Albuterol prior to swimming today and it definitely helped somewhat, but I think there's still elements of poor breathing technique and lack of rhythm.
Two possibilities come to mind:
1) you say your speed is infinitely better. Swimming infinitely fast will tend to wind you. :D
2) swimming with better technique can be like riding a bike in higher gear in that if you swim with a dropped elbow it takes very little effort to pull your arms through the water (of course you won't swim very fast) which is like spinning in a low gear in cycling. Also, some people, in an attempt at lowering their stroke count will go to a very catchup-like stroke and either lose speed between pulls, requiring a high effort stroke to regain it again, or kick hard to maintain speed, either of which will tend to wind you.
You could experiment with swimming slower, swimming with a pull buoy, and kicking to try to isolate what is winding you. If you can swim your old bad style without getting winded then probably it isn't a pool chemical problem.
It would be good to tell us your time per fifty for your old stroke and for your new stroke.
My speed is infinitely faster, not fast, lol. What I mean is that my stroke distance is much better and my efficiency is much better. Just like you said, when I had a dropped elbow before my arms easily slipped through the water, whereas on every stroke now I feel the recruitment of my lats and triceps like I'm lifting weights.
I never timed my old stroke 50, but I'm sure it was probably around 70-80 seconds at a relaxed pace. On a relaxed (relatively) 25 meters now I average about 25 seconds, on a sprint I've reached 16 sec (both values off the wall with a small push, not diving). I did a relaxed 50 meters today which took me about 55 seconds, and I was still catching my breath at the end. When I say relaxed now, what I mean is low stroke rate and not kicking hard. I'm not sure I even know how to relax my arms anymore, I'm now conditioned to feel that water resistance against my forearm and really pull myself over it. I'm sure the idea with the vertical forearm is to hold the water and propel yourself over with the kick and rotation. I rotate OK, but my kick timing and rhythm are so bad I think I'm depending way to much on my upper body. That could be what's wearing me out, 25 meters is literally like doing 20 reps on a weight machine.
I bought a pair of zoomers and a Finis snorkel. and have been doing kicking drills like Ande suggested. My kick is pretty weak, so I'm hoping to both strengthen it and achieve coordination of kick and arm stroke. I've scoured youtube video to help with kick coordination to no avail.
Incidentally I did take a couple puffs of Albuterol prior to swimming today and it definitely helped somewhat, but I think there's still elements of poor breathing technique and lack of rhythm.
