how to learn freestyle yourself

Hi Bert, "Total Immersion" by Terry Laughlin is a nice book to start with. It taught me how to swim freestyle :) Starting with it helped me avoid bad habits that I otherwise might form which would be hard to correct later on. Some people don't agree with the method taught there, but for a beginner it doesn't matter to me. I think distinguishing various methods comes only when you have become an advanced swimmer :)

but before i get myself such a book, aren't ther any other basic principles to start with?

www.svl.ch/svlimmat_ratind.html This web site may help answer some general questions for you.

This information I found may help and there are some videos at the bottom also. Good luck ! Coach T. Learn to Swim - Freestyle The freestyle is a swimming style commonly referred to as the front crawl or sidestroke. It is regularly used in competitions, but there are no real regulations on how it has to be swum. Most swimmers chose to swim front crawl during freestyle competitions as it is the fastest technique. For individual freestyle competitions, a swimmer can use any stroke they want. During medley competitions, a swimmer cannot use the breaststroke, butterfly stroke or backstroke. Freestyle Technique Swimming Tips: 1. Leg Kick: The leg kick will control the body position in the water, while the arm cycle will move the body forwards. Establishing the correct timing between your legs and arms is vital to perfecting the stroke. The legs kick in a flutter style ideally 6 times per cycle. During freestyle try to remain horizontal in the water, a strong kick will keep your legs from sinking behind you. You should only make a small splash with your legs, only slightly breaking the surface of the water. 2. Arm Cycle: The arm cycle consists of Pulling, Pushing and the Recovery. Pulling is the semicircle movement your arms make from the water level to the chest. The arm is kept straight and the hand points towards the body center and downward. As you pull your hands through the water, keep them cupped firmly, but not rigidly. Fingers should be held just slightly apart. Pushing is the completion of the pull, the swimmers arm is pulled back up to the waters level. The palm is moved backward through the water underneath the body at the beginning and at the side of the body at the end of the push. The recovery moves the elbow in a semicircle in the swimming direction. The lower arm and the hand are completely relaxed and hang down from the elbow. The recovering hand moves forward, just above the surface of the water. During the recovery the shoulder is moved into the air by twisting the torso. It is important to relax the arm during the recovery. To practice the elbow movement try skimming the water with your fingertips, you should also try stretching each stroke out as much as possible without ever stopping the motion. 3. Breathing: The swimmers face is kept down in the water during freestyle. Breathing is done through the mouth by turning the head to the side of a recovering arm at the beginning of the recovery. The head is rotated back at the end of the recovery and points down in the water again. The swimmer breathes out through mouth and nose until the next breath. Try to take a breath every 3rd arm recovery so you will be able to breath from either side Learn to Swim - The Front Crawl (Freestyle) The Front crawl is commonly regarded as the fastest swimming style (also known as Freestyle). Most professional swimmers use this stroke in freestyle competitions. The initial position for the front crawl is on the ***, with both arms stretched out in front and both legs extended to the back. Then while one arm is pulling/pushing, the other arm is recovering. The arm strokes provide most of the forward movement, while the leg kicking in a flutter movement only provides some. Front Crawl Steps / Technique: Step 1 – Initial Position: From the initial position, the hand is held flat and the palm is turned away from the swimmer. The hand is then lowered into the water thumb first, this is called “catching the water”. Step 2 – Pulling: The pull is a semicircle movement from the water level to the chest. The arm is kept straight and the hand points towards the body center and downward. Step 3 – Pushing: The push is the completion of the pull, the swimmers arm is pulled back up to the waters level. The palm is moved backward through the water underneath the body at the beginning and at the side of the body at the end of the push. Step 4 – Recovery: The recovery moves the elbow in a semicircle in the swimming direction. The lower arm and the hand are completely relaxed and hang down from the elbow. The recovering hand moves forward, just above the surface of the water. During the recovery the shoulder is moved into the air by twisting the torso. It is important to relax the arm during the recovery as having your hand higher than your elbow will result in drag and loss of balance. Step 5 – Kicking: The legs move alternately, with one leg kicking downward while the other leg moves upward. Ideally, there are 6 kicks per cycle. The leg movement is important for stabilizing the body position. The leg in the initial position bends slightly at the knees, and then kicks the lower leg and foot downwards. After the kick the straight leg moves back up. Try not to kick too much out of the water. Step 6 – Breathing: The face is kept down in the water during front crawl. Breathing is done through the mouth by turning the head to the side of a recovering arm at the beginning of the recovery. The head is rotated back at the end of the recovery and points down in the water again. The swimmer breathes out through mouth and nose until the next breath. Most swimmers take one breath every third arm recovery, alternating the sides for breathing. Other swimmers instead take a breath every cycle so they can always breathe from the same side. Step 6 – Turn and Finish: A tumble turn can be used to reverse directions in minimal time. The swimmer swims close to the wall as quickly as possible. In the swimming position with one arm forward and one arm to the back, the swimmer does not recover one arm, but rather uses the pull/push of the other arm to start the tumble. At the end of the tumble the feet are at the wall, and the swimmer is on their back with their hands over the head. The swimmer then pushes off the wall while turning sideways to lie on the ***. After a brief gliding phase, the swimmer starts with a flutter kick before surfacing, usually around 15 m from the wall. Step 7 – Finish: For the finish the swimmer has to touch the wall with any body part, usually the hand. All competitive swimmers sprint to the finish, usually taking fewer breaths than normal. Please look at these videos that may help you swimming.about.com/.../basic_freestyle.htm www.active.com/story.cfm

alright, thanks a lot, I'll try this tomorrow. getting to sleep now :-P ciao

It went quite well, although (is this word correct?) it felt like that, but after two lenghts I couldn't do more. Then after I 'rest' for 2 minutes, I could do it again. Is there a specific manner to built up endurance? I swam automatically faster and faster, I couldn't hold on a basic speed.. Does anyone have some tips to hold on a constantly tempo? I automatically breathed on my right side, but wouldn't it be better if I switched between left and right?

You're going to find varying opinions on whether or not it is good to breathe on both sides. I don't like it personally--I find that it throws off my rhythm, which ties into your question of keeping a constant pace. I tie my breathing into that. I'm a musician, so the natural thing for me to do is just keep a 4-count (or a 6-count if I get bored, lol). I keep the count into my head and try to breathe on the lead beats. Apparently they also have tempo things you can buy that act like a metronome; however, I don't really know anything about them. As far as endurance, you just have to keep doing it. On the days you don't swim, you can bike or run or something, but your swimming endurance is really going to come from swimming. I had similar issues where I could swim maybe 100 yards without taking a rest, but after that I needed to rest for a few minutes. I was in the pool almost everyday after that. A few weeks of that, and I was swimming 400s with only 10 seconds or so rest in between.

As far as endurance, you just have to keep doing it. On the days you don't swim, you can bike or run or something, but your swimming endurance is really going to come from swimming. I had similar issues where I could swim maybe 100 yards without taking a rest, but after that I needed to rest for a few minutes. I was in the pool almost everyday after that. A few weeks of that, and I was swimming 400s with only 10 seconds or so rest in between. This is very true. I started back about 8 weeks ago (with a 10 day break due to illness) and the first day I had to rest at every 25! Soon I was doing 50s just fine and now I'm up to 100s and 150s without needing to stop and rest. I'm improving every week. So don't be discouraged if you have to stop an rest. Just keep at it and push yourself a little more each workout.

Bert, hopefully you are making progress over there with your freestyle technique! Personally, I wouldn't suggest learning how to swim freestyle by yourself, but to each their own. Definitely read through Coach T's post, and do a lot of video watching either on YouTube or buy a "How To" freestyle dvd/video. All the best, and remember that the motor of freestyle is your kick (make sure you are an efficient kicker)!

I start with my right arm, so is it then like this: right arm, six kick, left arm, six kick, right arm + take a breath ... or am I not getting it?? When they refer to 6,4 or 2 beat kicks, it means how many kicks per complete arm cycle. So it's how many times you kick in the time you take 1 pull with each arm.