Where do you look when you swim? Most swimmers today will immediately tell you to look down at the bottom of the pool or lake or any other body of water. I have always found this perplexing.
I can understand the need to keep your head low in the water. It does help balance you fore and aft. It helps keep your hips up in the water. But why look down?
As a coach/teacher I never write messages on the bottom of the pool. I do want my swimmers to notice their hands as they enter the water and move forward. I also want them to be aware when the wall is approaching. In order to accomplish these simple tasks they need line of sight. We learn so much about the world around us through observation. It is important to see what you are doing.
We all have the ability to raise and lower our line of sight without moving our heads. We can also see a panorama. This phenomen is called peripheral vision. The next time you go swimming establish your neutral (neither up or down) head position and raise your line of sight until you notice your hands entering the water. You will be able to see if they are entering in line with your shoulders or crossing in front of your face. You will be able to see if your hand enters opposite your elbow so that you can get into your stroke quickly. In other words YOU become your own coach when you can see what you are doing.
I think the answer depends on who’s swimming in the lane next to you.
I find it interesting how high up some swimmers can keep their head and still go fast. I see a lot of people swimming with the water line just at their cap line above the goggles. This postion always seem to go along with real swimmers who know how to kick. The head down position seems to compensate for the lack of lift some of us get from kicking or should I say not kicking.
At the chicks in the next lane…duh! Actually when I am thinking about it , if I look forward enuff so the water line is just above my eye brows, I go faster.
My way of doing it is way dated. My high school coach taught us to have the water line at our foreheads. This was in 1967. Still do it that way, and am mildly successful in spite of no kick to speak of.
First off, thanks for posting your ‘thoughts’ - I enjoy reading them and will probably use the last scooter installment in some of my workouts. I also find myself thinking more about my kick for some reason…;).
The ‘where to look’ thing gets me also. I like to see where I’m going, but I know looking straight down helps with balance. I think I’ve found a pretty good mix where I can see far enough ahead not to have any accidents.
What are your thoughts on Fistgloves? I’m a so-so swimmer coming back from a long long break and have found Fistgloves to be a great technique improver. I don’t use them all the time but try and do at least 30mins/week with them.
Head position tends to be moderately looking forward but not too high in the pool, with more looking forward in open water situations. I can remember way back when having coaches yell at me for not getting my head high enough when I swam.
The really high head position crowd seems to keep their hips up by arching their back in the water. Me, I’ve got a little back arch, but it’s mostly thinking about rolling my chin forward in the water than consciously throwing my head up.
I have worn fist gloves and like them for part of my warm up. We also do fist swimming without the gloves by alternating one length of each fist then open hand. Fist swimming takes the stress off your shoulders and does enhance the feel for the water when you do open your hand. I personally would not do more than 10 minutes with them.
Only wear them in them in the pool. Do not go into a bar with them on. Especially the black ones.
My quick respones to this is we have our athletes look down.
THIS WAS REINFORCED AFTER WE GAVE A CLINIC WITH GARY HALL JR. LAST WEEK AND HE REALLY EMPHASIZED LOOKING DOWN. HE SPOKE ABOUT IT AT LENGTH AND CONTRIBUTED IT TOHIS SUCCESS.
Head up and the hips go down, not a good thing for swimmers.
You actually were taught? I don’t remember Don teaching much - at least for me. I think he was good for the freshman who were experiencing competitive swimming for the first time, but fine tuning one’s stroke - never saw it. After he left, CMHS never had anyone who knew much about swimming. I went over to get help from Jack Fullerton. He did a lot for me as a kid and then as a Senior to get me through CIF. I never paid him back by attending OCC… I should have.
Most of the time I look about 8-10 feet in front of me if the water is 4-5 feet deep. The water would probably be in the middle of my forehead. I can’t see my hands when they enter the water but I see them soon after that. Sometimes a little higher sometimes a bit lower. Normally higher if I’m going faster, normally lower near the end of the swim if I feel I’m dropping my legs.
During a race it’s normally pretty high cuz I’m watching the feet in front of me.
I’m in look down camp at this time. It’s the only way I can keep the back half afloat.
Related question:
When I am conciously trying to keep my head down to balance my back half, it gives me more trouble with my breathing. It just seems that there is farther to raise your head when you roll for a breath. Comments?
If you are rolling your shoulders and body far enough, it should be a pretty natural slight neck turn to get a breath. I’d refer you to Total Immersion Swimming book to see a visual.
Also, think about having high elbows in the recovery…like pointing your elbow at the sky perpendicular to the water…a breath should then be natural.
Just got back from noon masters and I have a slight lift but nothing like I used to when I swam in college. As others have mentioned I think this has been largely debunked. I asked the masters coach (who is the reigning WORLD champ triathlete in her AG, and former Div I swimmer) and she says no real need to look up except for sighting. I listen when she talks…
I’m a deep-BOP swimmer (and also very much a new swimmer), but my trick to help with that is 2-fold.
I try to imagine my head at a fixed depth under the water, as if someone’s hands are submerging my head. Use whatever metaphor to give you the same sensation.
Body roll: as I’m is getting used to the idea that freestyle is done with with me on my side not on my front, I’m allowing/encouraging my body to roll more. There are so many benefits to good body roll: less effort to rotate my head to breathe, lessened need to impinge the shoulder on recovery, better power-transfer across the entire upper & lower body.
For me it’s like tennis. I don’t swing with just my arm and torso. I step into the stroke first with my feet, legs, hips, core, shoulder and then finally arm.
Hi again HalfSpeed. DOC taught us quite alot as freshmen, then like you said, Jack Fullerton fininshed things off when I went over to OCC. Mostly concentrated on breaststroke and my indo with Jack, though. He was a big help there.
Say Doug, along with the comments the others have made, please keep your string of posts coming. You are making me think more about my swimming technique than anyone else since I started lurking here three years ago. Wish you could do clinics out here in So. Cal. Our masters coaches just give you the basics and no stroke instruction. Maybe coaches are a bit like the bike fitters, hard to find real good ones…
I’m the worst swimmer here, so take my thoughts for what they’re worth.
I keep seeing people consider their head as a balancing tool. Not sure that’s good. You shouldn’t have to sink your head to be level in the water. Lean in at the armpits for that balance; more if your head is relatively high.
I see fast swimmers (say 1:20 pace for many 100s) with great degrees of head position. I’m sure it’s at least a partially personal thing.
Lastly, I think Doug is saying LOOK forward, not lift your head.