Learn to swim with a tight ankle band without pull buoy.

Seriously, it's not THAT hard (it seems impossible at first, but you pick it up really fast) and after you're done with that, you will no longer rely at all on PBs or wetsuits for proper body position, nor will you rely at all on any kicking for buoyancy of the lower half.

You will go slower with an ankle band even if you're doing it right, so expect that. (I'm +7 to +20 sec/100 slower depending on how hard I'm going)

I actually wish I could swim faster with the PB - I'm actually +5sec to +7sec/100 slower with the pull buoy, which actually screws things up a bit in masters sets since everyone else seems like they get faster by -5sec to -7sec/100, so I actually can go from leading a lane (by a fair margin) to becoming the slowest one in the lane the moment I start using the PB. And I'm def a essentially near-zero kick swimmer (minimal 2-beat) - it's def not some powerful kick that's making me faster without it. I actually swear that I feel the added water resistance from the PB between my legs slowing me down!

It takes some work.

I'm going to suggest a drill called "six-kick switch" (there are probably other names for it). Essentially you kick on your side for six kicks, bottom arm outstretched, then take a pull and switch arms. The whole time you should be aiming to hold excellent body position. Use a snorkel and fins if you want, that will eliminate any problems that arise from trying to time your breath or not having a good kick. All you want to focus on is keeping a long, straight profile in the water during the kick, and a nice rotation to the opposite side.

Do that, alternating drill / swim by 25 or 50, or even half a length drill / half swim. The idea is that you take whatever you are working on in the drill, in this case maintaining a straight and level body line, and immediately transfer that to the full stroke.

also, imagine you have to use a payphone (remember them) after your practice, and the only place you have to hold your only quarter is between your butt cheeks. Don't lose that quarter.

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Hard to say exactly without seeing your stroke - could be any number of things. Think of your body in the water as a see-saw with the fulcrum at your hips - if you lift your upper upper, your lower body will sink. Try to do things that keep you flat in the water.


Couple of thoughts:
- Make sure you are exhaling in-between breaths. Holding your breath gives your upper body extra buoyancy; upper body "floats", lower body sinks
- Try not to lift your head when you breathe, just turn to the side.
- Check your head position. Want to be neutral - looking straight down at the bottom of the pool.
- Think about pressing your chest down slightly as you swim.
- Engage your kick. Doesn't have to be a big, hard kick. Just keep your legs active.

I have read and heard this advice often (and it is helpful), but my inner 12 year old always asks, "which way am I supposed to hold that quarter?" ;)

Anyway, this piece of advise was instrumental in having me swim as fast without buoy.

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This is ME! I'm +7s/100scy with a buoy. I'm a new swimmer, and had read most people get faster with a PB---not me. I was wondering what was wrong with me since I definitely get slower. Also a minimal 2-beat kick. Heck even if I do kick, my kick sets are 1:20 / 50scy---so, there's not much there even when I try!

A strong core is key. It takes practice even with one, but pulling/sucking in you belly button toward your spine and keeping that tension will help keep your hips and legs up. Would need to see a video, but sounds like your legs are sinking, ig that is the case strengthening the core or at least activating the core while swimming may help a great deal.

Me too. Even when putting in a good effort I don't think I could get within 15 seconds of a fast 100 swim time. Like you my kick isn't that great either. I am around 1:05ish for 50 but 4:45 for a 200 kick set. Interesting to see the differences in people!

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If I were a betting man, you are lifting your head to breathe - possibly substantially. In order to lift your head, you push down with your hand that is extended out front.

That means a couple of things.
1. Your front end comes up and your legs sink - you are swimming uphill.
2. The first half of your stroke is spent pushing toward the bottom, not grabbing water and pulling it back - so your strokes are short.


To actually make this happen I use what I call FS Kick Drill A and C. I put videos of them here, http://acadianendurance.blogspot.com/...-kicking-drills.html

Good Luck

You can try every tip in the book here and they will band-aid at your problem.

But you need to have a diagnostic on your spine or back posture. Good swimming position requires very good spine fitness & mobility.

1. Rounded & tight thoracic(between shoulder blades) zone lifts your chest.
2. A curved lower lumbar will aggravate #1 and sink your legs.
3. Tight shoulders joints themselves, will also upset balance and lift the chest

Based on your observations, I would say you are sunk before you even hit the water. Some simple mobility tests can prove that out.

You can reel posture issues in with the "band-aid" type fixes but nothing beats an aligned and flexible spine with a strong core.

That's your boat hull**, your primary moving surface strokes are executed on.

**Commonly known as a displacement hull in boat design.

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Thanks for the videos.

I've been incorporating some of those in my swimming to get rid of the skeedaddle legs. I'm guessing I don't kick through the breath cycle...at least, that's what one of my coaches told me. Does the lower body rotate the same amount as the upper body when you breathe?

Skeedaddle legs are tough to get past. I have had some luck recently with using a kickboard between the legs and trying to swim with a kick like that. So you don't avoid kicking, you actively try to kick without your legs coming apart. This works better than using a buoy for the same reason.

As for rotation, most of the time I am seeing a newer swimmer who under-rotates. A brand new swimmer is often trying to breathe by lifting their head to breathe and is therefore under-rotating to their breathing side. Another group of usually more experienced swimmers rotates well to their breathing side but not to the other side - those folks use the kick drill C.

All that to say this,since we are usually talking about a swimmer who is under-rotating in some way - I tell them to rotate their entire body like a log and equally to both sides. Then I tell them that in point of fact, good swimmers don't actually swim that way. But that is the idea we are shooting for. Everyone rotates their shoulders more than their hips , and everyone rotates more to their breathing side. but figuratively we shoot for entire body rotating and equal to both sides.

With a swim band, at first I had real trouble, but to get comfortable with it at first, I'd do a slight fly kick to keep my feet up. Not a real kick so to speak, just a bit of one, mainly for steering when I'd roll to breathe. After a while I was able to reduce it to nothing. It's agood, subtle thing to do to struggle less when first doing the band drill

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Ya, just look at the top freestylers with their "gallop" style, which is definitely NOT symmetrical but is very fast if you have the power to swim that way. Prob this technique has limited applicability to most swimmers you would be coaching, but just thought I'd throw this out there. :)

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^ This! Another way to think about this, imagine that you are standing up outside of the pool and preparing to dive in (ignoring any experience or ability to do so). If you were trying to dive, you would have both hands tightly overhead and locked together. Your body would be very straight vertical and you'd be in what might feel like a stretching position of sorts. Now, stand even taller and reach even higher with hands overhead. Try that same posture when in the water -- the term you'll hear is "taughtness". When you get that, it'll start to flow better. That's one tip that helped me at least - I started out swimming 2:00/100 and now can hold 1:30s and sometimes 1:25s.

Also, the suggestion of swimming band-only is a good one but will be quite challenging at your current pace. I wouldn't really focus on that right now. You need to figure out why there's such a delta first and fix that. Might be breathing related. Might be how you're shoulders are, etc.

Dear Runner66,

there are some interesting suggestions here. Try them and see what works.

The pull buoy is a mobile floatation device.
Almost everyone swims faster with one and of course loves to use them. im guilty of that too.

One suggestion: use your own floatation device nature gave you. Your lungs. And learn to balance (lean) on them. WITHOUT moving forward or wrapping your ankles up... lay on a kickboard w the bottom of the board about your swimsuit line (just below your navel) and **try to lay streamline on the surface. Learning to put weight on your sternum (this sinking your natural floatation device) will allow the head and hips (and yes legs) to behave similarly to when you have a pull buoy stuck between them. This "drill" is stationary. No kicking to cheat and you can start with your hands apart (shoulder width) and legs seperated (but not much) like a lazy "x" and work towards an "I" or streamline position.
Once you have become proficient at this you can start to (still without moving forward) add in some extremity movement while holding that nice position.
Some ** sound bites to think about:
** X to Y to I position
** posterior pelvic tilt once you find the board providing you lift and youre flat w the surface
** remove all water from the lumbar spine area
** then add simple arm/leg movements while holding position.

Good luck

daved

When you swim with your pull buoy, do you kick at all?

I find that every time I fart while swimming, my times improve for a bit. I guess the entrapped air increases my buoyancy. So, I'd suggest farting more often when swimming.

Did you try the ankle band? Seriously, it'll force you to get that head down quick - the moment your head bobs up, the legs sink right down.

Good work! Stick with it - you're going to significantly improve your stroke once you get the hang of it.

I personally find that the most important thing in banded swimming is not stroke rate or even head position (assuming it's not terrible) - it's avoiding extra motions since any motion will have a countermotion without the kick compensation. The smoother and minimal extra motions you make, the less your legs will bob and sink. The more minimal your head roll on the breath, the less your legs will dip.

If you're doing it right, you don't need a fast stroke rate to stay flat - if you're finding you have to stroke like crazy, you're probably compensating for some body position error or errant motion that you should address.