In this video, you will find out how to fix the most common freestyle mistakes
watch this video to correct your swimming technique
Welcome to the channel!
When you fix these mistakes,
you will be able to swim much longer and much faster
The most common mistake that crucial effects a swimmer is made during the arm stroke
if swimmers perform an arm stroke with low elbow position
the swimmer doesn't catch as much water and pulls from the surface
arm strokes are the most important element of freestyle swimming
By performing a correct arm stroke, you'll be able to catch large amount of water
and pull to gain speed and move forward,
therefore each swimmer must be sure
that the arm stroke technique is correct
if you have this mistake, you will learn how to fix it
Actually, this is easy!
The mistake comes in the first phase of an arm stroke,
in the beginning of a correct arm stroke,
the forearm is turned inside
and elbow look upwards
if you have wrong technique,
your forearm is not turned inside and elbow look downwards
forearm position is the key part of this mistake
There is no chance to perform a correct arm stroke
when the swimmers forearm is not turned inside
and the elbows directed downwards
In this position, an arm stroke movement is the same
as a swimmer is pulling a rope
This is the wrong movement for swimming
An important point is that a swimmer is not able to catch the water and push it,
by performing such arm stroke hands will go through the water
and swimming will become harder and super inefficient
First, in the beginning of the arm stroke
you need to turn your forearm inside
so that your elbow is directed upwards
in this position it is impossible to perform an arm stroke wrong
In the first part of the arm stroke, you need to catch the water
you should perform a movement with your forearm facing downwards
while your elbow stays in high position
By doing a correct catch of the water
you'll be able to pull the water
When you catch the water
you need to start performing the arm stroke by using entire arm
a high elbow position allows you to include your back muscles
When you use incorrect arm stroke technique
you can use only your arm muscles
So during the entire arm stroke try to keep high elbow position
Here is the best dryland exercise to set up your correct arm stroke technique
While doing this drill, you'll get absolutely another feeling of the arm stroke
You need to take a chair or a bench,
locate the chair in front of you and put one hand on it
This imitates your study position of the arm stroke
Then, turn the forearm inside to get high elbow position
Once the arm is ready, perform an arm stroke with high elbow position and push the chair backwards
Now, you can see incorrect way to perform an arm stroke
In the starting position, the elbow look downwards
while performing the arm stroke the elbow drops down
and hand is pulling the chair as a rope
When arm stroke is performed, you can continue doing arm strokes in the air
to memorise the correct arm position
Take a video of you performing this drill to figure out
whether you have good arm stroke technique or not
While swimming freestyle, you need to take a breath to the side
A common mistake swimmer make is when they perform an arm stroke while taking a breath
You want to breathe while your hand is in recovery
and another hand is in front
At this moment, your upper body is turned to the side,
one hand is recovering forwards and another hand is in front to provide support for the body
When a swimmer performs an arm stroke while being turned to the side,
the arm follows the wrong trajectory
Swimmer does not have a chance to control the arm stroke while taking a breath
Therefore, the arm catches the water properly
but then, it leaves the correct trajectory and goes close to the body
Imagine, how much this mistakes affects your swimming
If at every breath your arm stroke is useless
Watch carefully how to fix that!
First, you need to work on dryland to get the correct feeling of the movements
In my next videos, I will teach in details how to get correct breathing technique in freestyle
Now, we will focus on the timing for starting a new arm stroke
While performing an arm stroke, another hand is located in front
it helps to get support on the water and glide forward
In the end of the arm stroke, you need to turn the head to take a breath
At the same time, the arm is recovering forwards
while the other hand is still out in front
Remember an important rule,
you cannot start an arm stroke when your head is turned to the side
When a breath is taken, you return your head to neutral position
At the same time, you start a new arm stroke and recover the other arm forwards
This timing of the movements guarantees that the arm stroke will be done in correct body position
Try to memorise the feelings and the rhythm
While performing an arm stroke, focus that the arm goes on almost straight trajectory
and doesn't go under the stomach as you have seen in incorrect swimming
To sum up this mistake,
start a new arm stroke only when you head is back after the breath
and your body is directed forwards
Many swimmers lack of basic swimming skills such as breathing technique
Often adult swimmers learn to swim alone, without a coach
they succeed but there are high chances that some technical elements will be missed
A common mistake is lifting head up for breathing
this is a serious mistake, it makes swimming hard inefficient and damages other technical elements
For many swimmers it seems that it is much easier to leave the head up to take a breath
However, it's not
It is harder and much more uncomfortable to breathe this way
by breathing like this, your body gets down into the water and speed slows down dramatically
I recommend that all of you learn to breathe correctly in freestyle
First, you must start doing freestyle rotations with breathes on land
Imagine that you have an axis that is going through your body from legs to the head
By having this axis, you cannot move your head anywhere except rotating around the axis
So while performing freestyle rotations turn your head only to the side
While taking a breath, keep your head in horizontal position
and then return your head to neutral position
Correct breathing technique to the side is much more comfortable and much easier than lifting your head up
Swimming will become smooth and you will not spend any additional energy for breathing,
you will literally enjoy your swimming
In the water, you need to practice breathing technique by performing swimming drills
The best drill for practicing side breathing technique is to do kicking against the wall
One hand is in front and another hand is by your side
You need to take a breath to the side and constantly perform good kicks
While performing this drill, don't lift your head up at all
turn it only to the side
To succeed in this drill, you should try to keep one of your eyes under the water
Perform this drill for 30 seconds and have a break
While swimming try to take a breath exactly in the same way as you were doing in the kicking drill
don't be afraid that water will get into your mouth
while taking a breath lift your mouth to the side which is above the water
Every competitive swimmer does it, do it too and your swimming will become comfortable
Swimming technique requires constant attention and improvement
By swimming hard intensive training sessions our technique falls apart little by little
this is not a problem, if you have a stable swimming foundation
However, if you don't,
technique can easily be ruined
Another common mistake is to take short arm strokes
Often, this mistake happens due to swimmers trying to rush and skipping swimming skills
By performing short arm strokes, swimming becomes hard,
swimmer gets tired very quickly and body position lows
In the beginning of the arm stroke, you need to catch the water in high elbow position
This is half of your successful arm stroke
you need to perform a long arm stroke with the proper trajectory
In freestyle lessons, I will explain in details
everything about the arm stroke, stay tuned!
In the end of the correct arm stroke, your hand should extend and your fingers should touch your leg
Once you touch it, you know you are in good position
For triathlon swimmers, it is super important to perform long efficient arm strokes
In order to increase swimming speed and save the energy for cycling and running
By doing correct arm strokes, you will notice how much easier and more enjoyable swimming is for you
The common mistake is have large bending at the knees
Many swimmers don't know how to perform kicks,
know the leg movement,
what the rhythm is or what muscles must be working
This approach cannot provide sufficient kicking technique
the worst part of incorrect kicking is that it slows down your swimming speed
plus it takes a lot of swimmer's energy
Kicking doesn't provide a large speed boost
thus, it is not that important for swimming and especially for triathlon
that's why, we need to reduce any movements that decreases our speed and create water resistance
First step to start is swimming with straight legs
However, you should keep your legs relaxed
Due to water resistance your legs will not be straight, they will bend at the knees
In other words, your legs should be relaxed and at the same time straight
This will help you to perform correct kicks
Kicking amplitude should not be too high
ideal kicks are performed in body's streamline
A drill to set up your technique is freestyle kicking in vertical position
You can keep your hands on the lane rope, on the water surface or in any other comfortable position
Kicking in vertical position will force you to perform kicks with straight legs bending a little at the knees
This is the only way to stay in this vertical position
if you bend legs too much,
Most likely you won't be able to stay in stable position
while performing this drill try to memorise the feelings of correct kicking
to repeat them while swimming freestyle
You can do vertical kicks for 30 seconds and have a break
Now you are able to fix and avoid any of these mistakes
By practicing exercises and swimming drills
Do it regularly and your swimming will be fast and easy
Let me know in the comments!
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