Freestyle quirks and problems - please help

I am afraid your head is just a little to low in the water ala following directions from some DVD. I have to admit, I'm trying to emulate something I saw in one of the swimming DVDs that I own: "Go Swim Sprint Freestyle with Roland Schoeman" It's probably hard to see any similarity watching me swim but basically that's what I am aiming at. But keeping the head low and breathing in the "trough" is what I find prescribed in most of the material that I bought, including all GoSwim DVDs that even remotely have anything to do with freestyle. I believe the advice to keep the head low is pretty common.

George: Thank you! At least I'm breathing into my own armpit and not somebody else's; so things could be worse. ;) I will focus more on looking directly to the side when I breathe. Not sure why my hand does "some strange wiggling stuff" but that will probably go away when I concentrate on hand entry. Charles: Thank you for your suggestions and your kind words! I do some backstrocke kicking from time to time, mainly because I'm trying to learn how to kick properly (I don't get the "kicking from the hip" part right), and I'll do more of that and work on my streamline. And I will definitely pick up some kind of stretching routine because I see the necessity, even just in terms of injury prevention. I saw something that didn't look overly time consuming on the CD-ROM that comes with the SwimSmooth DVD package. I've always secretly envied swimmers for their ability to gracefully move through the water; one day, while I was working on my "things to do before I die" list, I figured that it probably wasn't too late for me to reach a certain skill level where I could consider myself a swimmer--and find others sharing that opinion--and so I took the first step. In the process, struggling through anxiety and embarrassment, I found out that I simply love being in the water and that a day without swimming is pretty much doomed to be a sad day. I also found out that nothing compares to the joy of feeling something "click" when swimming or drilling, or having one of those days when I'm "in the flow" and everything feels right. Basically, I unexpectedly found my passion in swimming and I'm trying to become the best swimmer I can be. :)

Great. Swimsmooth DVD package is great. Follow this. Your attitude in learning how to swim should be quoted as a good example to follow. Swimming, compared with other cyclic endurance activities, isn't just about training. Those who seem to never really improve are those who show up on the deck, jump in the pool and train. You, on the other hand, are taking the time to discover and enjoy the sensations that come along with the process. You're becoming little more *fishy* every day. Wondering about how you should move in the water will bring you to a certain level, wondering about how you should FEEL while moving will bring you further. As you increase flexibility, you will discover even better sensations. We can tell that you're becoming passionate about it, just by the way you swim. So keep going, keep feeling, you're on the right path. In case you need more inspiration for stretching and dryland exercises in general, here are some swimmers' secrets. The first post shows stretching, and the other one shows tubing exercise, so beneficial for improving very specific movements involved in swimming. (note that I wanted to bring all these pics on USMS.org, however since they have disabled the html img tag, they don't come as handy. sorry) stretching post www.tritalk.co.uk/.../viewtopic.php tubing post www.tritalk.co.uk/.../viewtopic.php Enjoy!

I believe I can manage to get into a streamlined position but it requires a lot of concentration and I feel very tense when my sole focus is on a good streamline; I probably hold my breath when stretching in some places and pinching in others, which isn't really helping me with the rest of my swimming. Then I am really glad I could bring this issue to your attention, because it will make a difference in your ability to implements some recommendations other members have issued. Streamline position should not require concentration or should not result into upper body muscle tensions. When you reach this point where streamlining becomes easy, your stroke will greatly benefit from it. Best simple drill to improve your streamline position? Just good old backstroke kicking with both arms in streamline position. No need for more, although you may include a short stretching routine you can do at home once in a while. I will not issue any other technical recommendation since other members have done this very well. I am amazed by the serious you put into your swimming, and also very impressed by the progress you've made in the last few years. Enjoy! Charles

George: Thank you for the warning! I will be careful. Undoubtedly, I am in much more danger of being hurt by pools without lane end markers. I sometimes forget to count my strokes and end up recovering and extending into the wall. ;) David: Thank you for your feedback and encouragement! After reading your post I looked at my footage again, a bit closer this time, and realized there is still a lot of vertical head movement and that my head is completely submerged much of the time. I wasn’t aware of the excessive amount of up and down movement—I “dig in” even deeper to prepare for the breath—and that sometimes during the stroke the back of my head is two or three inches below the surface. I will have to get that under control, but I believe that it is mainly caused by my poor implementation of the streamline: I'm trying to streamline as prescribed by Bill Boomer; your telephone pole is probably a good analogy. Richard Quick created a DVD on “Posture, Line, and Balance” and I’m paraphrasing some of that here: The idea is to get the neck and spine into one extended, straight line. When talking about extending the neck, Richard quick referred to this as “growing away the monkey bump from the tail bone”. When standing with the back against a wall, the entire spine and neck would be touching the wall. In doing so, there isn’t a lot of room for playing with the position of the head; it is pretty much predetermined. I understand the rationale and believe in the concept but the problem is that I suck at streamlining. :D I will experiment with your visualization drill and imagine myself as a paddling telephone pole. Sounds like fun, too. :) I am quite optimistic that—one day in the distant future—obtaining a decent streamline will automatically bring my head into the ideal position and keep it there.

Thank you, Charles! I agree, I like the Swimsmooth DVDs a lot. And Paul Newsome has a very entertaining way of presenting his stuff. :) I recently had another look at his website, after George mentioned Mr. Smooth, and found it very well organized and helpful. Just FYI, I can look at the pictures in the stretching post but the links to the images of the tubing post seem to be broken. No biggie, though, I have enough to work on.

Just to throw in my two cents especially with regards to head position: 25 years ago, when I swam age group, we were encouraged to keep the waterline at our brow level which is way higher than coaches who say "keep your head lower" now view it. So when they now say keep your head low, the waterline should be somewhere near the hairline I think.. While this varies for many people, the idea is not to have the waterline at the top of your head. I think your latest video has the waterline at the top of your head still. By holding your head just a little higher, it will make it easier to breathe with a minimum of turning. Your fish tail has decreased immensely from video to video, but when your head gets too low, it requires that you lift and turn your head while breathing. You shouldn't have to lift to breathe. Soon as you do, your hips will drop and your alignment begins messing up. One visualization/sensation drill that has improved the efficiency of my stroke lately is to pretend that I am a telephone pole or that my body is a surfboard and my arms are paddles. My stroke motion mimics paddling a surfboard with my body roll feeling similar to paddling a surfboard or a telephone pole. That ensures I keep a straight line from my head all the way to my feet. Don't know if that would work for you or not. Best of luck. For one year swimming you are showing tremendous results!

Just one suggestion about stretching. Do not stretch cold muscles. Also don't hurt yourself. I have found that most stretching is over done.

Welcome back, Zonfeld! :welcome: Your wife did a nice job with the video, and your swimming looked great! :applaud: I couldn't see what was happening beneath the water with your pull, but you sure had a beautiful stroke from above. Enjoy the water, and good luck in your race!

Thank you, Elaine! :bliss: Swimming is the one thing that never fails to wipe anger and worries away, and makes me smile when I crawl – no pun intended – out of the water. :) I believe, my stroke mechanics are mostly okay. People tell me that my finish is too weak. I should perform it with authority. I agree, only my brain struggles with focusing on more than one problem at a time. :D