So I already knew the following from every coach at Masters squad…
My elbows drop, I don’t finish my stroke well, I probably don’t catch well and my kick is nothing to be proud of. But what the hell are my arms doing out there??? That was new information…
Being a later life swimmer, the hardest thing is often working out HOW to fix all the crap - so any advice on drills, visualisations or anything that will take me to a better swimming place would be much appreciated.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njDtGgNKkOI&feature=youtu.be
Pretty simple answer. You need to pull some water and propel yourself forward. By my calculations you are moving about 1.5 ft per pull. Say you are 5ft tall, and your wingspan is about the same…Your ultimate goal in a perfect world, pulling on a stationary object, would be to move 5ft(arm up in front to arm almost out in back). In other words your pull is about 30% efficient.
Thanks - I’ll add those tips to the mix!
This winter I’ve been increasing the amount of time I spend doing drills - spending some time doing one arm & catch up and really concentrating on what I’m doing with my arms underwater seems to be helping.
I like every tip that starts with ‘Imagine…’ - my brain/body seem to work best with those ones. Something else to think about next time I’ve got the kickboard & flippers out
My seat needs adjustment??
Try this:
Learn to swim taller.
And by that I mean:
Reach out more and glide a few tenths of a second longer while rotating. And hold that long glide while you breath. You might just be pushing down with the opposite arm from the side you breath on. By pushing down you push your head up. Head up means the legs will drop causing drag. Try not to push down when you breath. Glide and breath in a more shallow manner. Think only a goggle and a half can be exposed while breathing.
This will make you swim taller.
To finish your pull do not scoop ice cream. The end of your stroke looks as if you are trying to push up with a flat hand towards the ceiling. Trying pushing all the way back past your hip. Imagine how you would pull yourself out of the pool. You do not scoop ice cream to get out. You push down all the way to your hips to get out.
Hope this helps.
point fingers at the pool floor while your hands are in the water (you’re currently pushing yourself up and down instead of forward)
point toes at the wall behind you (your ankles are too cocked)
those coupla bits of hydrodynamics will help the “glide” without wasting time/dropping speed at the catch or the finish.
While my brain struggles with putting it all together all at the same time, I had a promising drill focused session at the pool tonight with a couple of new visualizations to work with…
Ice-cream scoop… (don’t)…ice-cream scoop… (don’t)… ice-cream scoop… all the way down the pool 
And imagining I was dancing on tip toes (and swimming tall) - kept the toes pointed and the kick compact. Thanks for the tips!
I may have some more :):
Longitudinal rotation in the shoulder axis is ok, but I s suggest rolling less in the hips. Legwork begins in the hip and ends in the kick. Think “whiplash”. It may also help to rotate you pointed feet slightly inward (supination) so you are able to displace water with the outside of your shins an the back of your feet.
I think the “out there” with your hands will improve when you fix the elbow.
One thing I tell my athletes is to imagine pulling (and pushing) themselves along on a rope in the water, that usually helps them focus on the bent elbow and to keep their hands under the shoulder - or further to the sagittal plane.
Just keep at it - there will be a moment when it just goes “click” and you’re there.
OK, my brain is starting to melt, but I like those two, particularly the rope!
Now I just need to stop the ice-cream slopping down the rope while I’m dancing on my toes and applying a bit of whiplash.
Pole dancing is starting to look like a much easier activity