I've been addicted to practicing flip turns these days, which I just learned :D. I'm having problem doing it at the shallow end of the pool (water level to my waist). After completing the turn, my body (back or hands) would touch the bottom of the pool, so can't continue my lap. How not to hit the floor?
In my experience, 3.5 feet is a pretty standard shallow end. I can't do good sprint breakouts at that depth but turning should be a non-issue for anybody under double that height.
If you are hitting your hands on the bottom at all, let alone hard enough to hurt, you definitely are doing it wrong. Your hands should start the turn back by your hips and end it out in front of your shoulders, having moved hardly at all while your body pivots around the hips. Your first move after the last arm stroke is to bring your face toward your knees. It's a more like a pike than like a layout or a tuck.
Thanks, this is helpful. I think I may be more like a "tuck", dropping like a tight roll/ball then unfolding the roll close to the floor. I'll keep what you say, esp. the "pike", in mind next time. I do see a lot of swimmers do flip turns on the shallow end in the same pool.
In my experience, 3.5 feet is a pretty standard shallow end. I can't do good sprint breakouts at that depth but turning should be a non-issue for anybody under double that height.
If you are hitting your hands on the bottom at all, let alone hard enough to hurt, you definitely are doing it wrong. Your hands should start the turn back by your hips and end it out in front of your shoulders, having moved hardly at all while your body pivots around the hips. Your first move after the last arm stroke is to bring your face toward your knees. It's a more like a pike than like a layout or a tuck.
Thanks, this is helpful. I think I may be more like a "tuck", dropping like a tight roll/ball then unfolding the roll close to the floor. I'll keep what you say, esp. the "pike", in mind next time. I do see a lot of swimmers do flip turns on the shallow end in the same pool.
