Hello, Here is a short clip of me swimming. It was shot using a Pentax Optio M10 camera. The 10M mov file was then uploaded to Youtube. The quality doesn't seem to be very good.
So, any advice on whatever you can tell about the swim and/or advice on how to upload/shoot better videos is much appreciated and thanked in advance.
www.youtube.com/watch
Hey Steve,
I have a few hopefully helpful comments...
One thing I notice is that your elbows are collapsing near the end of the stroke. If you look closely at Popov's freestyle, his initial catch is fantastic -- he plants his entire forearm into the water and propels his body by his arm. OK, a handful of people can do that, but it shouldn't keep us from trying!
Your elbow drops just after your catch, perhaps due some to flexibility. My shoulders are pretty tight which I notice more in backstroke. Your head position is good and your alignment looks straight (your spine is straight, as it should be!) but then your elbow comes pretty close to your body in the last half of your stroke. This makes your hand slide through the water and you loose propulsion.
I'd suggest trying to keep your elbow away from your body as you rotate your hip. Think of the sequence as plant and throw...plant your hand and forearm as an anchor into the water, then throw your hip as you accelerate your hand past it. Your shoulders and hip should rotate as a solid body, and your spine should remain straight as you move your body by your hand. But keep your elbow out and high, that should help.
You should probably be looking at 14 to 15 strokes per lap instead of 18 to 20 with no increase in effort. Keep your core muscles engaged during the stroke so you have something to pull against, and see if that helps.
Cheers and happy new year...
Hey Steve,
I have a few hopefully helpful comments...
One thing I notice is that your elbows are collapsing near the end of the stroke. If you look closely at Popov's freestyle, his initial catch is fantastic -- he plants his entire forearm into the water and propels his body by his arm. OK, a handful of people can do that, but it shouldn't keep us from trying!
Your elbow drops just after your catch, perhaps due some to flexibility. My shoulders are pretty tight which I notice more in backstroke. Your head position is good and your alignment looks straight (your spine is straight, as it should be!) but then your elbow comes pretty close to your body in the last half of your stroke. This makes your hand slide through the water and you loose propulsion.
I'd suggest trying to keep your elbow away from your body as you rotate your hip. Think of the sequence as plant and throw...plant your hand and forearm as an anchor into the water, then throw your hip as you accelerate your hand past it. Your shoulders and hip should rotate as a solid body, and your spine should remain straight as you move your body by your hand. But keep your elbow out and high, that should help.
You should probably be looking at 14 to 15 strokes per lap instead of 18 to 20 with no increase in effort. Keep your core muscles engaged during the stroke so you have something to pull against, and see if that helps.
Cheers and happy new year...
