Not a swimmer growing up. Have been working on my flip turn for a few months. I am now at a point where I have the technique somewhat down, but I can’t swim as hard, say on hundreds, as I could doing basic push turns. I run out of breath and feel the need to recover between the walls instead of pushing hard.
Assuming equivalent levels of fitness, does it just get better with practice? What’s the deal? You are going a longer time without a breath. I would appreciate any advice or input. Thx
It’s probably has more to do with relaxing than losing a breath going into or out of the wall. Tensing up uses a lot of oxygen. Try swimming relaxed into and out of the wall.
i agree with sully, loosen up, relax, enjoy your swims, and just keep practicing.
Got it. Need to keep that in mind. Smooth is fast!
Thx
Open turns allow for more frequent breaths. You will get to a point where you will be OK with flip turns even on very hard sets.
Open turns allow for more frequent breaths. You will get to a point where you will be OK with flip turns even on very hard sets.
That’s exactly what I was hoping to hear.
I like doing flip turns, by the way. They are fun.
Open turns allow for more frequent breaths. You will get to a point where you will be OK with flip turns even on very hard sets.
That’s exactly what I was hoping to hear.
I like doing flip turns, by the way. They are fun.
It will come just stick with it!
One thing I will add that may not seem like much, but in aggregate over a longer set will be noticeable when corrected. There are lazy turns and there are fast turns. The faster you get back to swimming the faster you can have more air:)
During the point in the flip you are upside down, you may be exhaling much of your air to keep water from going up your nose. Practice flipping and being aware of your exhaling. Find out how little you need to blow to keep your nose clear.
Open turns allow for more frequent breaths. You will get to a point where you will be OK with flip turns even on very hard sets.
That’s exactly what I was hoping to hear.
I like doing flip turns, by the way. They are fun.
It will come just stick with it!
One thing I will add that may not seem like much, but in aggregate over a longer set will be noticeable when corrected. There are lazy turns and there are fast turns. The faster you get back to swimming the faster you can have more air:)
Understood. thx I’m all about getting back to breathing quickly, especially in the thin air here in Colorado!
During the point in the flip you are upside down, you may be exhaling much of your air to keep water from going up your nose. Practice flipping and being aware of your exhaling. Find out how little you need to blow to keep your nose clear.
Never considered that. Makes sense. thx
HalfSpeed wrote:
During the point in the flip you are upside down, you may be exhaling much of your air to keep water from going up your nose. Practice flipping and being aware of your exhaling. Find out how little you need to blow to keep your nose clear.
This. I’m working through the same learning curve
It’ll come.
It takes a combo of both:
Comes gradually , but you actually don’t have to force the issue - just keep doing those turns when you’re at a comfortable pace, don’t do them if they’re killing you on your hard efforts, and you’ll soon find that they’re so much faster that you’ll WANT to do them on your hard sets, as it’ll mean you can actually easy off a tiny bit on the pace and make it up on the flip. (In a 25yd pool, that’s 4 turns per 100, and saving 2-4sec/100 as a beginner per 100 is pretty typical, which is huge if you’re really hammering it.)
Doing flip turns is harder, it especially harder when you are going hard. It also takes a while to get your timing down. I have just started swimming again after a 7 month layoff and find myself shorting or crowding the wall quite frequently. When I started doing flip turns, I would do an open turn every other lap, then every hundred, then every 150 and so. Once you get to this plateau you should be able to do them all the time. This allows you to incorporate them in a somewhat controlled fashion and in the back of your mind you know you have that safety open turns coming up. It is also a opportunity to do a clock check. As others have pointed out, many times, they help with the chaos of mass starts. You don’t panic when you get dunked or a wave of water on your breath.
You probably need to throw in some hypoxic work into sets. Do anything from repeats of sprint 25 no breathers to 500s with a breathing pattern of 3,5,7,3 x 50. It will help, but keep practicing. You’ll adapt. It’s actually something most triathletes should do in theire swim training.
If you have any questions, let me know.
Best regards,
Tim
Just want to chip in and say “stick with it”. One of my goals this offseason was to do flip turns. I started by doing them during my warmup. Then moved up to doing them during the easier sets. Then moved up to doing them all the time on the deep end of the pool. Now I do them almost all the time, except when the team is pushing hard and I want to add in an extra breath so I do an open turn. I think at this rate I might be doing them 100% of the time by spring.
So increase gradually and you’ll start feeling more comfortable in them. In my case I think its mostly mental since it’s I’m no longer out of breath when I do them but every once in a while I chicken out and do an open turn. Pussy!
How long should one streamline for after a flip turn before you come up and start swimming freestyle? I have no problem with the flip turn, but during longer sets, I find I can only get in one or two good underwater dolphin kicks before I come up gasping for air. Typically my head is just past the backstroke flags when I turn my head for air. On a short set I can get significantly further. I’m sure, as it’s already been stated, with better swim fitness one could go longer without needing air, but is there an ideal distance to move underwater?
The ideal distance is where you surface just before you are slower underwater than you would be swimming. If you are swimming in a meet you have to surface within 15m after the start and each turn.
You’re trying too hard on the flip, which causes you to burn extra oxygen and need more air. Relax as you flip. Instead of viewing it as work, view it as a chance to be resting your arms.
One of the big differences between swimming vs running/cycling is that you cannot breathe as often as you might need or want. Turns do aggrevate this problem. They do speed you up though. Short course swimming is faster than long course which is faster than open water. Swimming a 1000 with open turns is more like swimming 40 x 25s. That may not be what you want.
It is not uncommon nowadays for competitive swimmers to work the turns and rest on the actual swim part. This is a more effective strategy short course…
Hypoxic training might help you.
Technically, one is not supposed to breathe in or out of turn. That level of effectiveness might be unnecessary for your average triathletes. Personally I breathe in and out of each turn. I know that probably costs me .25 sec. each time.
Open turns that’s more like 1 sec. That is way too much to give up.
How long should one streamline for after a flip turn before you come up and start swimming freestyle? I have no problem with the flip turn, but during longer sets, I find I can only get in one or two good underwater dolphin kicks before I come up gasping for air. Typically my head is just past the backstroke flags when I turn my head for air. On a short set I can get significantly further. I’m sure, as it’s already been stated, with better swim fitness one could go longer without needing air, but is there an ideal distance to move underwater?
Only stay underwater as long as it’s faster than your freestyle. So, through experimenting with the clock change your break out point and see how it pans out. I found out on my stomach that it’s 3 dolphin kicks: one on my side, one more rotating me about 1/4 of the way flat and the last one I’m coming into flat with a stroke on my lower arm to power into my break out. YMMV…just experiment.