I am so disgusted--I've done the TI drills, had lessons, had swim team college kids give me tips, yet I still just can't seem to get the freestyle arm action right. Do you exactly move your arm in the recovery phase the same as you move it in the fingertip drag drills? Or do you do a wind up motion of your shoulder to bring the arm out of the water? No matter what I try, I am so pathetically slow--more often than not, I am feeling like it is all wrong. I am a good breakstroker and decent flyer, and great backstroker, but geez, I need to be able to do the free - I swim about 12 miles a week. Any tips are sooooo appreciated.:bow:
Parents
Former Member
My forearms are vertical, not diagonal. My coaches teach us to do our strokes out to the side, the way you lift yourself out of the pool rather than the S-stroke under your body. For me, keeping it straight and out to the side is more efficient and faster. Ever since I switched to that, I've been taking an average of 16 strokes per length (not stroke cycles, individual arm strokes), and swimming 30s 50-yard frees at a moderate-to-easy pace (quite an improvement considering last month I sprinted a 33s 50-yard). I've also switched to breathing every 3rd stroke, which has helped immensely. If I go diagonal, I get a little less distance per stroke, so I try to keep it nice and vertical.
My forearms are vertical, not diagonal. My coaches teach us to do our strokes out to the side, the way you lift yourself out of the pool rather than the S-stroke under your body. For me, keeping it straight and out to the side is more efficient and faster. Ever since I switched to that, I've been taking an average of 16 strokes per length (not stroke cycles, individual arm strokes), and swimming 30s 50-yard frees at a moderate-to-easy pace (quite an improvement considering last month I sprinted a 33s 50-yard). I've also switched to breathing every 3rd stroke, which has helped immensely. If I go diagonal, I get a little less distance per stroke, so I try to keep it nice and vertical.
