In a recent 50 meter breaststroke swim, the guy next to me came out of the dive and pullout about 3/4 to one full body length ahead of me (I am in the red trunks in the 'bottom' lane, he is one lane above me in the video). I caught him at the wall, but on the turn, he regained his big lead. Again, I almost caught him, but he touched me out by about .48. I am not that concerned with getting beat (nor any disresepct to this fellow swimmer), but would just like to know what I am doing wrong on the start and turn (the former I get almost no practice on). I definitely did the one dolphin kick in both directions. FYI...he did happen to be about 6 inches taller than me...I am 5-9, he appeared to be about 6-2 or 6-3; however, I am doubting that that is the whole story.
Here is a link to the video.
https://youtu.be/P6Js3VpPr_0
Again, I am in the red suit near the bottom of the screen. Any other observations, not just about the dive and turn, but anything else, is welcome.
It looks like these blocks have the fin, but it wasn't totally clear. Either way, you back foot is too far forward. It looks like you weren't sure if you wanted to lean back and slingshot or not and were unstable on the block. You didn't enter the water cleanly as your feet and hands entered at almost the same time. Entering "through the keyhole" is the most important thing for maintaining speed from the dive. Once you enter you are not in a tight streamline.Perhaps you have tightness in your shoulders, but you should work on getting your arms straight and pressed against your head. Then you take the dolphin kick too soon and further decrease your momentum.
On the turn, instead of staying in a tight tuck you lift your head up so that you are facing the far end of the pool when you take the breathe. This is wasted motion. Then your dolphin kick is even earlier than on the start, which again slows you down. On the surface your mechanics are fairly good, except you are keeping your head up all the time, which is not as streamlined as head in neutral position. I have pointed out a lot, but there is more positive than negative with your stroke, with a little work you can be much faster.
It looks like these blocks have the fin, but it wasn't totally clear. Either way, you back foot is too far forward. It looks like you weren't sure if you wanted to lean back and slingshot or not and were unstable on the block. You didn't enter the water cleanly as your feet and hands entered at almost the same time. Entering "through the keyhole" is the most important thing for maintaining speed from the dive. Once you enter you are not in a tight streamline.Perhaps you have tightness in your shoulders, but you should work on getting your arms straight and pressed against your head. Then you take the dolphin kick too soon and further decrease your momentum.
On the turn, instead of staying in a tight tuck you lift your head up so that you are facing the far end of the pool when you take the breathe. This is wasted motion. Then your dolphin kick is even earlier than on the start, which again slows you down. On the surface your mechanics are fairly good, except you are keeping your head up all the time, which is not as streamlined as head in neutral position. I have pointed out a lot, but there is more positive than negative with your stroke, with a little work you can be much faster.
