Can some of the swim experts please provide some feedback on my freestyle stroke?
A little background on me:
I am very new to swimming. I am a former collegiate runner who became interested in Tri as a means to stick with endurance athletics but also tackle new challenges and reduce the number of overuse injuries. My first real triathlon was 3 years ago and I trained just enough to finish. My 500 yard swim time was 14:36 (2:55/100 and basically last out of the water). I then became too busy with grad school and my first year starting my career so I haven’t raced since.
I have zero formal swim training. I took basic swim lessons as a child, but just the basics to make sure I did not drown, no real work on any stroke.
Since January I have been trying hard to improve my stroke. I went from being unable to swim 200 yards without stopping, at around 2:45/100 pace to now being able to swim 1500 yards without stopping, averaging about 2-2:05/100.
My goals are to be able to average about 1:45/100 for shorter races and just sub 2:00/100 for longer distances (2.4 miles)
Below are 4 short clips. I apologize… the quality is terrible. I used my iphone with a waterproof case and the lighting was awful at this time of the day. I will try to get better videos in the future.
I really can’t tell much. But this is what I do see You have a scissor kick in there, toes aren’t pointed, and you look like you are bent at the waist. All of that increases drag.
Recovery is really careful and slow, stroke is short at the front and back, and your elbow is dropping.
I’m sure there is other stuff in there, but I can’t really tell anything else. It’s just as important to know what not to change.
The other thing is that it seems like you are overthinking where you want your hands to go, but not considering how fast to get them there. When you look at good swimmers, there are all different ways that they execute the recovery phase, but what they have in common is the quickness of the recovery phase.
your stroke is short and choppy. it doesn’t look like you’re generating any power. you need to figure out how to lengthen your body and catch water. no easy answer; you’ll probably get some better advice but maybe try to learn fly? you can’t swim fly without lengthening and strengthening your stroke.
your stroke is short and choppy. it doesn’t look like you’re generating any power. you need to figure out how to lengthen your body and catch water. no easy answer; you’ll probably get some better advice but maybe try to learn fly? you can’t swim fly **well **without lengthening and strengthening your stroke.
When you watch the video, you are just moving your hands at one speed, actually they almost decelerate during the pull. Too fast at the beginning. Almost like a car on ice giving too much gas and the wheels slip. Too quick in the positioning movement and then you never really hold the water. Every stroke should accelerate from beginning to end. The amount of water pressure on your hand should increase from beginning to end and you should be using more effort at the end of the stroke than at the beginning. You need to work on ankle flexibility. Having been a runner you have very stiff ankles that are Doris-flexed while you are trying to kick. This not only creates drag it can also make you go backwards when you flutter kick. I would work on kicking with a board and then progress to side kicking with and without the board. One arm drills and catch-up drills will allow you to focus on medically rotating your shoulder joint at the beginning of the stroke to position properly and accelerating your hand from the beginning to the end of the pull. Hope this helps a bit but you need a coach that is standing on the deck giving you advice. Also, when you video underwater try attaching your camera (go pro) to a pole so you can get you in the frame for a full length both head on and profile. You just need to ask someone to follow you down the pool with the camera and pole.
Thanks for all the advice! I have thought strongly about hiring a coach but am quite torn. I have a very tight budget, which is holding me back. What does a swim coach generally charge? What do they generally provide? I could possibly do something like 2-4 visits per month (front loaded for the first month, then less frequent after), hoping that they gave lots of feedback that I could work on for the remainder of the week etc… Do they also then give workouts for the rest of the week? I understand that all swim coaches are different, just looking for a starting reference.
It strikes me that you need more propulsion from the hips. Seems like most of your work is being done by your arms.
That is very accurate. I go just as fast (if not faster) by only pulling vs adding a kick. Part of it is I fatigue so much quicker when I kick, part of it is that my kick is terrible.
Do catch up drill, a lot. You need a much earlier arm recovery, at the chest, more reach up front, high elbow on the catch. Soft fluffy kick for balance.
I go just as fast (if not faster) by only pulling vs adding a kick. Part of it is I fatigue so much quicker when I kick, part of it is that my kick is terrible.
The main reason is that your hips are really low in the water. When you add a buoy, you are benefitting from the added flotation, but your basic body position is crappy. If you pull faster than you swim, that is usually an indication that you need to work on basic body position.