From what i could see in your video, your stroke looks pretty good on the whole. One thing that i couldn't see is whether you are truly stretching each arm out fully on each stroke; based on your turnover rate and just the way your stroke looked from above the water, it *appears* that possibly you are not getting full extension with each arm. You might want to watch your arms about this on your next swim. It's not a huge deal but you would prob get a little more distance per stroke with a longer stroke. OTOH, you have a nice rhythm to your stroke as it is, so we wouldn't want to mess that up.

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"Anyone can be who they want to be IF they have the HUNGER and the DRIVE."

That's a terrible reason to always use a pull buoy. Last time I wore a wetsuit, I could still kick in it. Kick is important for timing.

Legs are dragging and I really don't like the thumb first entry. Head is a little high, out of alignment with your spine. Your entry is a bit narrow as a result.

Can't see what's going on underwater, unfortunately.

Overall, you are doing a lot of things right. I think that was a 39s 50y? and it looked like it was cruising, not particularly hard.

Take off the damned watch. ;-)

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There is likely a lot of good stuff going on there, and I am not someone who thinks underwater video brings a lot to the table most of the time, BUT this video leaves a lot lot be desired.

I recommend shooting with the swimmer in the end lane with the camera person stationary on deck, in the middle of the lane, and you swim one full length where they focus on a steady hold, and keeping your entire body in the shot for as long as possible. This will provide a head on view, a side view, a rear view, and much more detail into the timing of the hands, legs, breathing, and rotation.

Hi Jason,

Thanks for the frank feedback.

1. Agree on the pull buoy. I can kick a two beat and had Nationals this summer without a wetsuit so kicked all summer long, not nearly as much fun. Its just more of a leg workout than I want sometimes or I have gotten used to swimming fast with a buoy so getting off it is hard.

2. Thumb first: what would you recommend? Fingers in first or pinkies? And this drives shoulder rotation?
3. Head High, so look down more? and this brings up my hips?
4. Narrow entry, meaning my hands are close to the center line restricting something?
5. Sorry like the watch, if its not measured its not managed...so data stays.

Thanks again for all the tips!

I was kinda half joking bout the watch. In my experience, measurement is easier and less distracting using the wall clock. And not everything that can be measured is worth measuring.

A flatter hand entry will encourage better rotation, thumb first usually feels "late" to me. And getting the head down isn't so much about getting the legs up as getting the shoulders riding a little higher. Legs come up through getting extension at the front of the stroke and core stability.

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I like thumb first, much easier to loose any bubbles before you move into the catch.

Can't say I've ever been overly worried about losing bubbles before the catch. Enter early enough and extend forward and the bubbles dhoujd be pretty much gone by the time the catch begins.

Thumb first also encourages an outsweep, which I'm pretty sure is what screwed up my shoulders for 2 years, even after I was done swimming.

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Just realized that I had written a longer response to these, but didn't actually post it. Toddler being toddler meant I never finished it

1) just easy kicking while you swim really shouldn't be that much of a leg workout. If it is, then that's something you need to work on.

2) middle finger first, pretty much flat from thumb to pinkie, angled down slightly.

3) answered already...

4) You want to try and keep your hands in line with your shoulders, not crossing over. I'm not sure how much of a deal this really is, if it isn't causing other problems. I, personally, violate this rule. and it doesn't seem to hurt me too much.

5) like I alluded to, the only "data" I ever use religiously in the pool is what time it is (so I know when I'm done) and what my time on the last repeat was. Every so often I'll count strokes, but it's more descriptive than prescriptive for me. I don't care what my SPL is, per se, but knowing what it is gives me some feedback on whether I'm losing efficiency. It's no good to me except in the moment, so I don't need to analyze it later.

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It looks like you're swimming pretty slow, and coming off with some nice rest. Is that your mile pace or something, or were you trying to show your best form?

I think to help us out, you should swim a 500 at a moderately fast pace, and ask someone to record your last 100. Your form looks good enough rested that we need to see your form at race pace or while you are fatigued.

will do and sorry again for the video, this is what happens when you assistant is 10.

Here is video 2. Shot by my 10 year old. I swam a 750 moderate prior to this. This is my standard tempo stroke which is about a 1:28.

Open to comments and thanks for the time:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/1gwa9tgemxcdcc7/IMG_0138.mp4?dl=0

Not a hell of a lot to criticize, looks really good with nice rhythm. Your gains are gonna come primarily from upping the tempo. Don't be afraid to let it get a little less "controlled" as you do so.

If anything, I think your catch is a little weak, and you are dropping your elbow a bit as you start the catch. And you can play around with having a flatter hand on the entry do the middle finger hits the water first.

Your stroke is way prettier than mine.

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