I’ve been told that when I swim, my arms sway way out to the side of my body, then I catch so late that i have very little pull. Is there a particular drill that is good for this type of flaw? Also, I just read a thread on band swimming. Why is band swimming helpful and what part of the stroke (besides balance) is it helping? Thanks.
Catchup drill with a kickboard. Think streamlined position with your hands on the kickboard and swim with it - you’ll have to stroke with your right hand, bring right hand back to the kickboard, stroke with your left hand, bring left hand back to kickboard, repeat until you get to the end of the pool (hint: don’t try and flip turn holding said kickboard).
Fingertip drag - on the recovery, your forearm needs to be perpendicular to the water so your fingertips can drag over the water’s surface. Your elbow will be up nice and high too.
Forget trying to swim with a band until you can swim better without one…
For the arms above water: try recovering with your thumb touching your side all the way to your armpit.
- If you keep your arm above water, this drill forces your elbow up and keeps the majority of the arm close to your body.
For the catch: closed fist swimming alternated with regular swimming.
- Without your hand as a crutch, you’ll just sink until developing a better catch. Mixing in regularly swimming will give you more tactile feedback regarding the relationship between the drill and your actual stroke.
I’ll let more enlightened individuals talk about the benefits of band swimming, but offhand, it helps you work on body position and helps you notice when you’ve got a fishtail in your stroke. Once you’ve got a decent stroke, it’ll help build your strength.
Keep working on the swimming, it’ll come with time.
(hint: don’t try and flip turn holding said kickboard).
Damn you - you take ALL the fun out of it for the rest of us watching…
Thanks for the tips. I’ll try those drills today. One last thing, it seems odd, but when i swim with my fast friend, she kills me in freestyle, yet I can keep up with band and pull sets. Could this fact expose another flaw in my stroke?
Do you do your pull/band sets with a buoy? If so, your hips/legs are probably sinking without the flotation aid of the buoy.
If not, she might just be one hell of a kicker…
no, i dont use buoy and band together. Band alone or whether its pull or pull and paddles, I am much better.
How’s your kick?