Awhile back I had tried to record myself swimming freestlye and ask around the net for commentary, but it was with a low-quality camera and only above-water footage. Not getting too much feedback at that time, I decided to buy a underwater HD camera and try to use that as a reference and improve my freestyle technique. Over about 40 days I have recorded ~16 sessions, and tried to gradually improve things. Here is what I have improved:
- No longer crossing over arms in middle (at least most of the time)
- Entry occurs when arms are more stretched forward, before my elbow was bent ~90 degrees for some entries
- Left pull is a bit more consistent, but still not a clean S curve like right arm (yes I'm right-handed)
- kick is a bit tighter and more controlled (though this probably still needs to be made even smaller, with less knee kick)
- neck angle when breathing is less extreme, before I was turning upwards much more than necessary
I still look straight down at the bottom when swimming much of the time, partially because if I look forward with a 45-degree angle I can't really see much anyway because my goggles get in the way, although I know doing this will make my breathing more natural, and possibly improve my posture overall.
I have been doing alot of catch-up with a pull bouy and that seems to have helped me control my upper body more. Also been doing alot of stretches to enable my foot to stretch to a greater degree, and doing a few laps with zoomers to help improve my overall kick form.
Anyway, the result of my recent training can be seen in the following video, where I edited together a few sessions together, and you can see my technique from a few different angles, both above and underwater.
YouTube- Jeff's Freestyle Technique 7/5/2010
I was concerned about doing too much endurance training with 'bad' form,but I think I am nearly ready to start doing less form work and a little more endurance training. However before that I really would like to get some critique from some masters swimming forum members.
If I were to point out my #1 problem at present, it is a lack of 'balance' in the water, though I am not sure exactly what that means or how to work on it. When I see videos of pro swimmers like Michael Phelps I am amazed by how their arms seem 'anchored' in front, whereas I have to struggle to even keep them straight. It takes a conscious effort to not cross over the middle, and even then I can't seem to keep my arms 'anchored' in front.
I do most of my training in a housing-development pool with no swimming friends, so any commentary would be very helpful.
Thanks very much!
Parents
Former Member
Two more pictures illustrating breathing issues:
In the first frame it looks to me like you are lifting your head to breath and using your forward arm to push down on the water to support your lifted head. With proper rotation you should be able to breath purely from the rotation without having to waste energy pushing down on the water.
In the second frame you can see that your entire face and most of your head are up above the water. Try to breath with one goggle still in the water. You should find that the bow wave created by your head creates a depression in the water that is conveniently located to allow you to breath easily even with one eye still underwater.
The second frame also illustrates the recovery issue discussed earlier from a different angle. Note that your elbow is behind your back at this point which is likely to eventually lead to shoulder problems.
As I said in my first reply, it may seem like you have enough rotation compared to elite swimmers but think of it this way, by exaggerating the roll you will be better able to feel how the other parts of your stroke integrate in with the roll to produce a smooth fluid overall timing, right now I don't get the impression of smooth fluidity that you see in most elite swimmers. I suspect that learning to take a relaxed breath using the rotation is the first thing you need to work on. Good luck!
Two more pictures illustrating breathing issues:
In the first frame it looks to me like you are lifting your head to breath and using your forward arm to push down on the water to support your lifted head. With proper rotation you should be able to breath purely from the rotation without having to waste energy pushing down on the water.
In the second frame you can see that your entire face and most of your head are up above the water. Try to breath with one goggle still in the water. You should find that the bow wave created by your head creates a depression in the water that is conveniently located to allow you to breath easily even with one eye still underwater.
The second frame also illustrates the recovery issue discussed earlier from a different angle. Note that your elbow is behind your back at this point which is likely to eventually lead to shoulder problems.
As I said in my first reply, it may seem like you have enough rotation compared to elite swimmers but think of it this way, by exaggerating the roll you will be better able to feel how the other parts of your stroke integrate in with the roll to produce a smooth fluid overall timing, right now I don't get the impression of smooth fluidity that you see in most elite swimmers. I suspect that learning to take a relaxed breath using the rotation is the first thing you need to work on. Good luck!
