Hey guys, my apologies to those of you getting sick of critiquing people, :laugh2: I just joined a masters team this week and I've gotten some really good instruction on the *** stroke and free, but have a couple questions and a video on which i'm hoping to get some feedback. On the free, the coach is advocating pressing down with the whole arm and then pulling the water underneath me with the forearm just about parallel to the pool floor. He even said to almost touch my opposite hip with my hand (I understood that as crossing the midline on the pull). Is this kind of old school or is there something I might be misunderstanding? It felt very weird trying that, very different from what I had been (unsuccessfully) striving for before. I'm kind of trying to combine elements of what he is saying with what I have read and watched in videos. He was very helpful in getting me aware of my balance and body position. On the *** stroke he was very helpful as well with the arm pull, I did much better after his instruction. One interesting thing he advocated was bringing the legs up during the pull and kicking while arm shooting, so my feet should be back together once my arms were in streamline. What I have seen in videos of olympians shows a kick that is a little more delayed; the legs come up to the butt during the shoot, then the arms are in streamline before the actual squeezing of the legs/feet. Can someone comment on this?
I think I may have screwed myself by doing so much reading and watching videos for 3 years before getting a coach. I would have been less confused during practice. That said, the net effect has been positive.
Here is a freestyle video from today. I definitely see flaws; left arm is weird, probably too high, so I have trouble catching. I look uncomfortable and twisted when left side is down. I'm still not getting the forearms very vertical, right arm in particular probably pulls too low. I wonder if I need more shoulder strength and/or more internal rotation of the shoulder. I've been working really hard on narrowing my kick amplitude, but some strokes forget. I also have problems with the kick rhythm. Please critique and offer me drills you would do when I do practice on my own (have Masters just 3 days a week). Thanks a bunch.
YouTube - Swim Dec 9
You are not rotating and swimming on your side. It looks like your hips are sinking and you are dropping your elbows. More rotation will help with keeping your elbows up. Try kicking on your side one arm extended. Alternate sides on every length. Then graduate to 12 kick switch using a catchup stroke.
Here is a front view showing high elbows with a good reach and glide. Look how high his elbows are compared to yours and notice he is finishing with his hand just under his body. Your hands are too far out and that limits your ability to roll.
YouTube - Ian Thorpe-front
Your hip rotation is much better so your reach is better as well. The pool was more cloudy so it was harder to see. Sorry, I must have worn too much lotion that morning. hee-hee.
I think the second video is alot better than the first (Dec 9).
Some people have a natural position that allows a good streamline. But if your like me you sink real fast so your bum is too low and you have alot of drag. What helped me significantly was the kick. Even if your shoulder driven, if you can kick real fast with a good portion of your workout consisting of focusing on it then the rest of it wont matter and will fall in to place. Do alot of kick sets:)
Leg position can be controlled by
1. What your hands do above the water.
2. How you finish during the catch phase.
3. Head position high or low.
4. Your kick.
You must try several ways to change how you swim or find someone who can help you change with simple instruction.
I think the second video is alot better than the first (Dec 9).
Some people have a natural position that allows a good streamline. But if your like me you sink real fast so your bum is too low and you have alot of drag. What helped me significantly was the kick. Even if your shoulder driven, if you can kick real fast with a good portion of your workout consisting of focusing on it then the rest of it wont matter and will fall in to place. Do alot of kick sets:)
Yeah I'm a sinker. If I try to counter that by lowering my head, my head is completely under water. I try tilting my pelvis back, but as I mentioned before I end up just arching. George made a good point in that there are elements of my catch and pull through that sink me, especially left side down. I can't quite figure out why, maybe my left arm goes too high? My kick timing is not great and I tend to pause it on that side, that might also explain a lot. My body line is also broken on the left, and when I do side kicking drills I have a hard time going straight on that side. I may be one of those people that really needs someone to come into the water with me and physically put me into the right positions so I can eventually imprint them into muscle memory.
Taruky, were you there this morning? Blue suit and cap swimming in the lane next to the bulkhead?
Hey Shark, sorry haven't been on for a few days. But yeah, I was there on Thursday next to the bulkhead, with the blue cap. Pretty much every Tuesday and Thursday.
I agree, you have a classic dropped elbow. Work on improving your EVF and that simply means you need to "set-up" your stroke or put more leverage (pressure) at the beginning of your stroke. There are many things you can do to improve and ankle flexibility maybe another?? Anyway good luck to you and take your time at the start of your stroke. Think of your stroke like a golf stroke, the start is slow until you get into the power phase and in swimming (freestyle) the power phase is from approximately the chest to the back of the hips. I could go on and on but I think you get the idea. Again, Good luck and happy holidays!!!
