Freestyle quirks and problems - please help

Thanks again, everybody, for your comments! For fun, in a deep pool get into a vertical position with your arms at your sides, and see where your water line is. How much of your head is above water? Now try lifting one arm above your head and see what level you float at. During your arm recovery the weight of your arm is going to push your body down into the water in a similar manner unless there is some counteracting upward force, and the slower you go the more it will sink you. The water is on eye level. When I lift one arm, the top of my head barely clears the water. So, one thing you might try is picking up that kick to give you a little more speed, and pick up your tempo a little, that alone should lift you a little higher in the water and also create a little bow wave and trough to breath into.First, I tried swimming faster by stroking faster: My head stayed submerged, only popped up when I took a breath. The head was then extremely high, almost entirely out of the water. However, rotation was reduced. The whole thing wass very strenuous. Then, I tried swimming faster by kicking faster: Same as before, although the head was slightly lower. Another thing that you could experiment with is a rotary timing where you start the catch as the other hand finishes the pull/push rather than waiting for the recovering hand to move forward.I tried that but I couldn't do it uniformly because I had trouble getting it right in the first place. The head remained low. There were strokes with less rotation but then there were others with more. I would have to spend some time getting used to it. Inconclusive for now. I am not sure but at some points I got the impression that your lead arm when extended directly in front of you is actually pointing somewhat downward, which could contribute to your low body position, you might like to try experimenting with trying to get that hand right up near the surface and see if that makes any difference.That had no visible effect on head position. The head remained submerged. After a round of other experiments I noticed less rotation when focusing on keeping the arm high. Finally, while I am not generally a fan of head-up freestyle as a drill, in your case it might be instructive to give it a try and see what happens. It might lessen your rotation, and you might have to swim faster to make it work. The adjustments you have to make may give you hints on how to adjust your regular stroke.I'm not sure I did it as intended. I simply kept my head out of the water the entire time and swam forward. There war practically no rotation because I didn't have to turn my head to breathe. However, it required twice the amount of strokes and I was totally exhausted after only one length. Naturally, the head was above the water this time but I'm pretty sure I don't want to keep swimming like that. Slightly less extreme, you could try swimming with the water at your hairline - as a drill not as something to achieve in your regular stroke. Again, look for what adjustments you need to make to get your head up, and then see if you can use them in your regular stroke.My head remained submerged even though I looked between 5 and 8 feet forward. But that was the adjustment that had the largest positive effect on rotation. The downside is that I lift the head very high when breathing: www.youtube.com/watch I also believe if you finish on mid thigh you will find the body will ride higher. I cannot say if the body rode higher but it was a great help in reducing vertical movement. I found that having a more stable vertical position allows me to be more daring when breathing. I will definitely keep working on this. As far as I am concerned don't try the complete fix at one time.I realize that is not possible and I'm not hoping for an immediate fix of all issues. Actually, I don't expect any quick fixes at all. I'm trying to create my roadmap that will eventually get me to a better stroke. It took me months to get this far and I don't expect that things will get easier. I find swimming very complex. Get instruction from an instructor/coach. A good one will make very minor changes and in a day or two you will be swimming much better. I helped a guy at the pool who had only been able to swim 200m at a time. He walked up to me yesterday and thanked me two days after I tweeked his stroke he said he can swim much faster, does not get tired and was now able to swim a 1500.I would love to but I simply do not know anyone near me whom I consider competent enough or who focuses on the points I consider important. I do not want to be instructed to muscle through the water before I know how I can make sure that the applied force will not damage my shoulder or whatever else there is. I'm 41 now and my body cannot handle the abuse that it tolerated when I was 20. I'm trying to pick my instructors carefully. The following videos of some dry-land drills and some swimmers may help you. Good luck www.youtube.com/watch www.youtube.com/watch www.youtube.com/watch Thanks! I will certainly work on that but I fear learning this skill takes a considerable amount of time. What do you think about the advice NOT to push the stroke all the way through past the hip in the first video? I suggest a "back to basics" drill. Facing the pool wall, put both hands on the wall, shoulder width apart. Get in swimming position (without moving the hands). Kick so that you're holding yourself in swimming position and breathe naturally to the side. Do this to get the feel of it. By holding the wall, you will not be able to over-rotate. Once you get the "feel", try it while swimming. Repeat as necessary. I tried that--it felt horrible and I kept swallowing water; that usually means I have to do more of the same. :) For only starting swimming one year ago, you look pretty good, which means you'll probably be able to improve even more with practice. Even though I appreciate honesty and don't mind being confronted with the brutal facts, some encouragement from time to time feels very good. Thank you! :) I don't usually recommend this, but just as a drill, look forward as you swim, focus on keeping a straight line. Do that until you can maintain this during regular swimming. Also, try head up freestyle with dolphin kick, with fins... 4x50 on 2:00, again as a drill. Keep the head looking forward through-out the entire 50 meters.Fins--sounds like fun. What is the desired effect of those drills? Strength, flexibility, anything else? I don't fully understand how looking forward can help me maintain a straight line. Would you mind explaining that? Core strength training could also be useful. Check this, forums.usms.org/showthread.php already thought about pilates for core strength. But whenever I could choose between strength exercises, the pool, and running, I either went to the pool or ran. I guess it's a matter of priorities (stretching is another not so big one for me) and I might have to rethink them. Drag fingertip drill (works on high elbows) Catchup drill (six beat kick) Opposite side breathing (extension) 3 second freestyle (rolling & breathing) I found breathing on the side that doesn't stroke very hard. It felt much worse than it looked, though. The one drill I couldn't figure out was the "3 second freestyle". Does that mean gliding for 3 seconds after every stroke? I believe I do own a DVD where someone advocates various sculling drills. I'm quite sure it contains all those that you mentioned.

Thanks again, everybody, for your comments! For fun, in a deep pool get into a vertical position with your arms at your sides, and see where your water line is. How much of your head is above water? Now try lifting one arm above your head and see what level you float at. During your arm recovery the weight of your arm is going to push your body down into the water in a similar manner unless there is some counteracting upward force, and the slower you go the more it will sink you. The water is on eye level. When I lift one arm, the top of my head barely clears the water. So, one thing you might try is picking up that kick to give you a little more speed, and pick up your tempo a little, that alone should lift you a little higher in the water and also create a little bow wave and trough to breath into.First, I tried swimming faster by stroking faster: My head stayed submerged, only popped up when I took a breath. The head was then extremely high, almost entirely out of the water. However, rotation was reduced. The whole thing wass very strenuous. Then, I tried swimming faster by kicking faster: Same as before, although the head was slightly lower. Another thing that you could experiment with is a rotary timing where you start the catch as the other hand finishes the pull/push rather than waiting for the recovering hand to move forward.I tried that but I couldn't do it uniformly because I had trouble getting it right in the first place. The head remained low. There were strokes with less rotation but then there were others with more. I would have to spend some time getting used to it. Inconclusive for now. I am not sure but at some points I got the impression that your lead arm when extended directly in front of you is actually pointing somewhat downward, which could contribute to your low body position, you might like to try experimenting with trying to get that hand right up near the surface and see if that makes any difference.That had no visible effect on head position. The head remained submerged. After a round of other experiments I noticed less rotation when focusing on keeping the arm high. Finally, while I am not generally a fan of head-up freestyle as a drill, in your case it might be instructive to give it a try and see what happens. It might lessen your rotation, and you might have to swim faster to make it work. The adjustments you have to make may give you hints on how to adjust your regular stroke.I'm not sure I did it as intended. I simply kept my head out of the water the entire time and swam forward. There war practically no rotation because I didn't have to turn my head to breathe. However, it required twice the amount of strokes and I was totally exhausted after only one length. Naturally, the head was above the water this time but I'm pretty sure I don't want to keep swimming like that. Slightly less extreme, you could try swimming with the water at your hairline - as a drill not as something to achieve in your regular stroke. Again, look for what adjustments you need to make to get your head up, and then see if you can use them in your regular stroke.My head remained submerged even though I looked between 5 and 8 feet forward. But that was the adjustment that had the largest positive effect on rotation. The downside is that I lift the head very high when breathing: www.youtube.com/watch I also believe if you finish on mid thigh you will find the body will ride higher. I cannot say if the body rode higher but it was a great help in reducing vertical movement. I found that having a more stable vertical position allows me to be more daring when breathing. I will definitely keep working on this. As far as I am concerned don't try the complete fix at one time.I realize that is not possible and I'm not hoping for an immediate fix of all issues. Actually, I don't expect any quick fixes at all. I'm trying to create my roadmap that will eventually get me to a better stroke. It took me months to get this far and I don't expect that things will get easier. I find swimming very complex. Get instruction from an instructor/coach. A good one will make very minor changes and in a day or two you will be swimming much better. I helped a guy at the pool who had only been able to swim 200m at a time. He walked up to me yesterday and thanked me two days after I tweeked his stroke he said he can swim much faster, does not get tired and was now able to swim a 1500.I would love to but I simply do not know anyone near me whom I consider competent enough or who focuses on the points I consider important. I do not want to be instructed to muscle through the water before I know how I can make sure that the applied force will not damage my shoulder or whatever else there is. I'm 41 now and my body cannot handle the abuse that it tolerated when I was 20. I'm trying to pick my instructors carefully. The following videos of some dry-land drills and some swimmers may help you. Good luck www.youtube.com/watch www.youtube.com/watch www.youtube.com/watch Thanks! I will certainly work on that but I fear learning this skill takes a considerable amount of time. What do you think about the advice NOT to push the stroke all the way through past the hip in the first video? I suggest a "back to basics" drill. Facing the pool wall, put both hands on the wall, shoulder width apart. Get in swimming position (without moving the hands). Kick so that you're holding yourself in swimming position and breathe naturally to the side. Do this to get the feel of it. By holding the wall, you will not be able to over-rotate. Once you get the "feel", try it while swimming. Repeat as necessary. I tried that--it felt horrible and I kept swallowing water; that usually means I have to do more of the same. :) For only starting swimming one year ago, you look pretty good, which means you'll probably be able to improve even more with practice. Even though I appreciate honesty and don't mind being confronted with the brutal facts, some encouragement from time to time feels very good. Thank you! :) I don't usually recommend this, but just as a drill, look forward as you swim, focus on keeping a straight line. Do that until you can maintain this during regular swimming. Also, try head up freestyle with dolphin kick, with fins... 4x50 on 2:00, again as a drill. Keep the head looking forward through-out the entire 50 meters.Fins--sounds like fun. What is the desired effect of those drills? Strength, flexibility, anything else? I don't fully understand how looking forward can help me maintain a straight line. Would you mind explaining that? Core strength training could also be useful. Check this, forums.usms.org/showthread.php already thought about pilates for core strength. But whenever I could choose between strength exercises, the pool, and running, I either went to the pool or ran. I guess it's a matter of priorities (stretching is another not so big one for me) and I might have to rethink them. Drag fingertip drill (works on high elbows) Catchup drill (six beat kick) Opposite side breathing (extension) 3 second freestyle (rolling & breathing) I found breathing on the side that doesn't stroke very hard. It felt much worse than it looked, though. The one drill I couldn't figure out was the "3 second freestyle". Does that mean gliding for 3 seconds after every stroke? I believe I do own a DVD where someone advocates various sculling drills. I'm quite sure it contains all those that you mentioned.