50m freestyle Help!!!

i'm 22 yrs old, i've been working on freestyle for 1 year now. =/ hope that i'm not too late! I realised that as much as i try to imagine what a good catch should be like, i'll need to experience it in the water. i'll try the drill jazz mentioned and post yet another video on u-tube in a week time.

i'm 22 yrs old, i've been working on freestyle for 1 year now. =/ hope that i'm not too late! I realised that as much as i try to imagine what a good catch should be like, i'll need to experience it in the water. i'll try the drill jazz mentioned and post yet another video on u-tube in a week time. Its one of those things, a minute to learn and lifetime to master. Its never too late though.

i do think that my stroke rate seems to be a little too slow for a sprint race though. I like the stroke rate. I don't think you can really dictate stroke rate in a sprint, though. You'll have a certain amount of efficiency, strength, and kicking power. Your sprint stroke rate just happens from those factors. When you said "rushing with my catch", does it mean that i'm not gliding enough? or i did not set up the catch position at all? And are fins really essential? because it is kinda expensive in my country. But if it will serve to understand the concept of a proper catch i would definitely invest in one! Rushing the catch isn't about gliding, it's about the time from when the arm motion starts to when your arm is in a powerful position. You should be relatively relaxed until your arm gets into that position. I find that it's easier to practice this feeling at about 90% effort instead of top speed. Fins are not essential, but if you end up having trouble with body position in slow drills they can be very useful. For the drills, is the emphasis meant to achieve a gd EVF? i'm having trouble with EVF, seems hard to achieve in the water bt possible dry-land. (not sure if i'm making any sense, EVF = early vertical forearm) Yes, this is an EVF drill. And yet another, am i supposed to sway so much on the upper body when swimming with only the flutter kick? Try to limit the sway as much as possible by keeping your body rigid.

i'm 22 yrs old, i've been working on freestyle for 1 year now. =/ hope that i'm not too late! I think you're on a very good path so far. You have a good build for swimming, and it seems like you have the flexibility for it, which is what holds back a lot of swimmers who start as adults.

Do flutter kick on your stomach with your arms extended in front of you but not locked in a streamline. Tilt one wrist slightly downward, and allow the water to push against the back of your hand. Then bring the wrist back up and do it with the other wrist. Once you're used to the pressure on the back of your hand, allow the pressure to push your forearm until it's completely vertical, with your elbow still at the surface. Do this with alternating arms. It's kind of like doggy paddle, except you aren't pulling. Just let each forearm slide into a vertical position, and then straighten it back out. That position, with your elbow above your wrist, is the most powerful position for the freestyle stroke. Once you feel comfortable with the first drill I describe, start engaging the water with a strong pull in this position. Just quick short pulses of power at first, recovering underwater like in the first drill. Then work up to the full stroke with an over-the-water recovery. Instead of focusing on the movement of your hand, imagine pulling your elbow to your side. The strongest muscles on your upper body are the ones that bring your elbow to your side, and you want to use them as much as possible. Thanks for posting this. I kind of put it in the back of my mind to try out one day. Yesterday, my coach was showing me what I was doing wrong. He was emphasizing that my right hand was sliding outward through my stroke but I also noticed that when he immitated my motion, he had no catch. That reminded me of the drill progression you suggested so this morning I gave it a try. Makes a HUGE difference.... thanks!

I agree with many of the points already posted. The primary things I see: You are underwater too long at the start of your race. Your kick is not powerful enough to warrant you being underwater so long, come up much quicker. Take less breaths. Ideally you should be taking 2 or less. Anything more is slowing you down. Put your head down. Hard to tell on camera, but it appears your head is not as far down as it should be - you should be looking straight at the bottom of the pool, not in front of you. Here's the biggest one: bend your arms. It appears you are swinging your arms around, and that's an inefficient stroke. If you don't know what I mean by bend your arms (at the elbow) just stand on land, bend over, and take a stroke but try and graze your ear with your hand. That's bending your arms. Your stroke should be like that, but not as far in as to graze your ear. A drill that will really help with this is "fingertip drag." YouTube - ‪Fingertip Drag Drill‬‏ (start about 40 sec into the vid). Your stroke should not be this exaggerated in a race setting, but its a good drill to get your elbows up and bent. Hope this helps! Good luck to you

With regards to staying flat, I'm not sure I understand why you are saying you want to be flat. You definitely want to rotate, you never really want to be flat. Example: just sitting here, put your arm straight up in the air. Now rotate your upper body. Feel how your hand goes higher, and you have a longer reach? This is what you want in the water. When you pull with that arm then, your body should be rotating to take the same stroke with your other arm. I'm not sure where you are thinking you want to be flat!Disagree. In a 50 free your turnover should be such that a hip-driven freestyle is not possible- everything except your shoulders should be relatively flat (e.g Popov). If your hips are keeping up with your arms, your turnover is too slow, or you were formerly a bellydancer. Most 50 freestylers have a shoulder-driven freestyle, where the shoulders move independently of the hips.

Disagree. In a 50 free your turnover should be such that a hip-driven freestyle is not possible- everything except your shoulders should be relatively flat (e.g Popov). If your hips are keeping up with your arms, your turnover is too slow, or you were formerly a bellydancer. Most 50 freestylers have a shoulder-driven freestyle, where the shoulders move independently of the hips. So extreme shoulder, collar, back, and torso flex is needed. Thanks gives me something to work on for this Saturday.

I agree with many of the points already posted. The primary things I see: You are underwater too long at the start of your race. Your kick is not powerful enough to warrant you being underwater so long, come up much quicker. Take less breaths. Ideally you should be taking 2 or less. Anything more is slowing you down. Put your head down. Hard to tell on camera, but it appears your head is not as far down as it should be - you should be looking straight at the bottom of the pool, not in front of you. Here's the biggest one: bend your arms. It appears you are swinging your arms around, and that's an inefficient stroke. If you don't know what I mean by bend your arms (at the elbow) just stand on land, bend over, and take a stroke but try and graze your ear with your hand. That's bending your arms. Your stroke should be like that, but not as far in as to graze your ear. A drill that will really help with this is "fingertip drag." YouTube - ‪Fingertip Drag Drill‬‏ (start about 40 sec into the vid). Your stroke should not be this exaggerated in a race setting, but its a good drill to get your elbows up and bent. Hope this helps! Good luck to you sry for the mia-ness, was working on doing the catch drill jazz proposed and i must say that i could feel more force being exerted from my hands, however when i take an underwater footage, i don't seem to be having the EVF. i think lots more have to be done. with regards to the fingertip drag, i admire popov's technique that seem to have the same form, however his body doesn't rotate that much. I'm not sure if i'm making myself clear, but when i try to do so, my body would no longer be flat. Because i see pros staying flat i always assumed flat was better, but will rotating my body to achieve that form be better (was thinking the sway would cause drag). Or is there a way to remain flat and still achieve the same form (refering to the recovery phase).

with regards to the fingertip drag, i admire popov's technique that seem to have the same form, however his body doesn't rotate that much. I'm not sure if i'm making myself clear, but when i try to do so, my body would no longer be flat. Because i see pros staying flat i always assumed flat was better, but will rotating my body to achieve that form be better (was thinking the sway would cause drag). Or is there a way to remain flat and still achieve the same form (refering to the recovery phase). With regards to staying flat, I'm not sure I understand why you are saying you want to be flat. You definitely want to rotate, you never really want to be flat. Example: just sitting here, put your arm straight up in the air. Now rotate your upper body. Feel how your hand goes higher, and you have a longer reach? This is what you want in the water. When you pull with that arm then, your body should be rotating to take the same stroke with your other arm. I'm not sure where you are thinking you want to be flat! Edit: You may not be doing another drill which will help you understand this and help with your rotation. Kick on your right side, both arms straight against your body (like you were standing at attention). Take eight kicks, then only using your upper body, rotate to your left side and kick.