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.
A few things that tag along with what Allen mentioned.
a) Definitely need to be more streamline at all phases of your race. Since you asked specifically about the start/underwater pullout, you want to be as "tight" as you can: elbows straight, chin tucked, squeezing your ears with your arms, knees locked, toes pointed. Hang from a pull-up bar to see what it feels like
b) Underwater pull is much too soon and your arms were straight. A long time ago, we used a phrase "3-2-1 pull-outs". No one seems to remember it. After entering the water, hold the glide for 3 seconds, then do the underwater pull followed by a 2 second glide with your hands tight to your legs, then recover your arms followed by a 1 second reach, and finally, start your stroke. Throughout this 3-2-1 pull-out, your chin should be tucked. When done well, almost anyone can make it to the 10 yd mark or further.
c) Dolphin kick timing. Some swimmers dolphin kick during the 3 second glide, some do it during the under water pull. Either way, it should be incorporated into a full body undulation instead of a kick that is just knees down. From what I saw, your dolphin kick is creating more drag than added propulsion. You might be better off with an underwater dolphin kick.
Job #1 on breaststroke is reducing drag. By lengthening your start and turns to 10+ yds, you will go a long way to swimming faster.
Good Luck
A few things that tag along with what Allen mentioned.
a) Definitely need to be more streamline at all phases of your race. Since you asked specifically about the start/underwater pullout, you want to be as "tight" as you can: elbows straight, chin tucked, squeezing your ears with your arms, knees locked, toes pointed. Hang from a pull-up bar to see what it feels like
b) Underwater pull is much too soon and your arms were straight. A long time ago, we used a phrase "3-2-1 pull-outs". No one seems to remember it. After entering the water, hold the glide for 3 seconds, then do the underwater pull followed by a 2 second glide with your hands tight to your legs, then recover your arms followed by a 1 second reach, and finally, start your stroke. Throughout this 3-2-1 pull-out, your chin should be tucked. When done well, almost anyone can make it to the 10 yd mark or further.
c) Dolphin kick timing. Some swimmers dolphin kick during the 3 second glide, some do it during the under water pull. Either way, it should be incorporated into a full body undulation instead of a kick that is just knees down. From what I saw, your dolphin kick is creating more drag than added propulsion. You might be better off with an underwater dolphin kick.
Job #1 on breaststroke is reducing drag. By lengthening your start and turns to 10+ yds, you will go a long way to swimming faster.
Good Luck
