I've been working on my head position, trying to keep my head down. But I can't seem to stop jerking it up for breaths. So I was told to keep my ear against my shoulder to allow for a simple head rotation. It is here that I have noticed what I think is a fundamental problem in that my left arm (I'm breathing to the right) is already too far down to make this position possible.
The way it seems that I can counter this is by employing a more "catch-up" style where my left arm has to stay forward/paused until my right arm is almost forward and my head is back down. Does that make any sense?
I just started experimenting with this style and am wondering if I am on the right track. I do notice that I am getting more body rotation and that I feel like I am pulling a lot more water - but that could also be because I am going so slow to try and work on this. One thing I am worried about is that my turnover is already very slow and this seems like it could make it even slower. Perhaps my timing has been forever wrong and I need re-learn these basics even if I will be swimming slow before I can hopefully eventually go faster? I'm not sure if I have had a revelation or I am about to work on something that is going to mess me up even more.
Former Member
Herb: check out this video:
YouTube - Great freestyle swimming tip
If you extend your arm while breathing it actually makes it easier. --mike
This is a longer video along the same lines:
YouTube - Freestyle Breathing
Thank you. Very Helpful!
It sounds sort of like "Front Quadrant Freestyle". Check Terry Laughlin's Total Immersion.
I did find something on this in Maglischo's book:
"Swimmers will have the proper relationship between the stroking and recovering arms so long as they do not delay the start of the downsweep of the arm in front until the recovering arm has entered the front above-water quadrant. Unfortunately, some have interpreted "front-quadrant swimming" to mean precisely that one arm should not start sweeping downward until the other is entering, or very near to entering, the water. This interpreation of front-quadrant swimming is not correct and will result in longer than desirable periods of deceleration between the propulsive phases of the two armstrokes"
It sounds like I might be guilty of this exact misinterpretation (without ever knowing what front-quadrant swimming was). And/or I am overexaggerating what I need to accomplish because I think I am pushing down too quickly with my left arm when it should be extended.
Alexeilb, thanks for the tips. I'm not so sure about my head position otherwise. I had my head too far up forever, but have worked on that. Strange thing is today I was back in the pool and it actually seemed like the roll of the head was a little easier if I had it up a little more and that there was too much resistance looking more straight down. I seem to be able to conciously fix that part anyway. But the breathing part still had me stumped.
It looks pretty simple what I need to do watching those videos and standing in front of a mirror, but swimming lap after lap focusing on nothing else I still didn't feel like I could do it. If I do a full catch-up drill that is the only time it feels like I am getting it. Don't know if doing that over and over could help ingrain it in me and eventually translate to a correct stroke? I will try the kickboard drill next time. I definately found out you are correct I couldn't just jump in and do it.
I will have to get a video up someday. I'm thinking MJ's first video about 40 seconds in is probably me. Strange thing I notice about that though is that the body does rotate a lot - just not in a good way.
