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!
Former Member
First and foremost...try to reach more.
Think about trying to touch the ceiling. Your arms and elbows are slightly bent where ideally they should (and could) be out farther in front of you.
Secondly...you are dropping your elbows.
A lot of people do this without being aware of it. After you develop more of a reach...think about extending your arms over an imaginary underwater barrel. As they begin to bend and pull back... you will try to throw the barrel under your torso. When you manage to develop more of a vertical forearm, there's much greater potential for efficiency.
Lastly... the profile of your kick is quite wide.
You want to be swimming down the lanes through a narrow pipe not a wide one. That kick is slightly fishtailing behind you. Calm it down and think about swimming more like a speed skater and less like a wind up toy. It's not a bad thing to have an active kick by any means, but I'd say that what you are doing is taking up a lot of energy without adding much propulsion. Lighten up on it and relax your feet and legs. They look a little stiff. (Were you ever a runner?)
At this point I'm torn between a "Green Eggs and Ham" joke (I do not like them Sam I Am!) or if I should ask "What then DO you like?"
If it's past the 1960's, he doesn't like much of anything.
Is it nasty to mention things that are not right about some ones stroke.
I would like to see a little more body roll. The right hand finishes around the lower portion of the rib cage. I would like to see the finish around the thigh even though it continues lower almost to the thigh there is not a true finish.
I have been busy all day and I am now going to look more closley at your video. I think I did mention that there were things I liked, one being your desire to become a more proficient swimmer.
Hi Jeff,
I would suggest that the most fundamental issue to work on is rotation, try rotating your whole body from the hips to the shoulder as a unit, and rotating enough that you are able to breath with little or no rotation of the neck.
Whether you end up rotating to this extent in the end or not, the process of becoming comfortable doing so will help your comfort and balance. With better rotation the cross-over issue will cure itself.
Kicking for six kicks on one side and then taking one arm pull to rotate to the other side and so on is a good drill for getting the feel of proper rotation.
A second item is to forget about the "S-pull", some of your arm strokes are way too wide. Think about grabbing some water straight out in front of your shoulder and pulling yourself straight over it (so your hand moves in a straight line backward) any "S shape" to the pull will be generated by your body roll.
Good luck, I'll be interested to see what others think and how you progress!
You gotta reach and extend more. Ideally, when your hand enters, your arm should almost be locked out straight and your upper arm touching the side of your head. If your upper arm is not touching the side of your head, your frontal profile is too large and you will not swim fast. The hand and arm should enter almost at the exact same time and the arm should already be straight. Perhaps it is a flexibility issue, not sure. It took me a long time to figure this out too.
This is how it is done.
YouTube- Alexander Popov
You are breathing into the arm pit and you are rushing the breath as your right arm enters so close to where your mouth is. You have to get the face out of the way and back in the water in a hurry. a little more roll and this will not happen.
Don't look back, look to the side of the pool when breathing.
In Lindsay's second photo above your elbow at that point of the stroke should be forward and the hand still following. It seems as if you are pressing the thumb hard against the index finger, this causes tension in the forearm.
You gotta reach and extend more. Ideally, when your hand enters, your arm should almost be locked out straight
I agree with the first statement and strongly disagree with the second. If your arm is locked out straight you are not in a good position for the catch.
Is it nasty to mention things that are not right about some ones stroke.
No, not at all! BUT, it's not WHAT you say, it's HOW you say it. A little compassion and diplomacy can go a long way... :)
Hi Jeff,
You may want to consider changing your initial catch -- it looks to me as though you start your pull with your elbow down and are missing that initial propulsion in the front half of the stroke.
I'd suggest this: when initially placing your arm in front, keep it straight and then point your elbow towards the front of the pool. This is very awkward, but bear with me. Think about "anchoring" your forearm into the pool, keeping your elbow high and the forearm at 90 degrees to the top of the water. Then pull your body by your arm, throwing your hip slightly away from your hand. If you are pulling with the right hand, the right hip should rotate up.
I don't know off hand (no pun intended) if the back half of the stroke is important -- there has been some debate recently that I am still digesting, but I do think it is important to try to get some thrust out of the back half of the arm pull. You don't want to "dead end" the hand at the thigh, though, it should be sweeping past the thigh instead.
I think your body position looks pretty good, but you might not be getting a lot out of your kick. How fast do you typically go for a 100 yard flutter kick with a board?
