Some swim thoughts to share

Thank you very much for posting this Bob.  I have really neglected my swimming the last 3 months and have noticed a serious decline in the few times I have been in the water.  If a person were to take each point you mentioned and worked on them INDIVIDUALLY for awhile until mastered they could become a mighty fine swimmer.  I think I'll start with delaying the pull. Thanks again.

I'm focusing on swimming this winter, and have been working on your first and second points for the last couple weeks. 

FQS is new to me. I just googled and found several articles describing it.  It makes a lot of sense and is something I've never thought about before. Going to add to my list of technique issues to work on this winter.  Thanks.

great post with great tips.  I am a new swimmer, and love to read as many tips as I can. 

great post! 

Binghamton?...not too far from Syracuse...with the weather, you'd figure you would be swimming a lot int he pool?  

As for noticing the difference in your strokes in your shortened warmup, I've noticed that as well.  I typically will do a 500 wu, but if I do break it down into one or two hundreds, I actually do different strokes instead the regular old front crawl.  Maybe an IM or two.  Then, on a longer day, I'll even throw in a 500 crawl in the middle of the sets, just to get back focused on pulling to the thighs and keeping that rotation on a line.

Really, really good stuff that I will be stealing and passing on as advice to others at the pool.

Great tips!!!  Thank you.  Over the last 3 months I've knocked a fair amount of time off my hundreds (8-10s) doing exactly what you're talking about.  I've been stuck somewhere in the 1:40 range for a while but now I'm getting close to 1:30 on my longer swims with the same effort.

Also, my coach brought in a band for my feet last week.  I used it with a pull buoy and had some great results.  I wasn't aware of how much I compensated with my legs.  without being able to use my legs I zig-zagged everywhere.  Once I caught on it really felt like I was on axis.  After I took it off I was much more aware of what my body was doing in the water.  Anyway, it might be worth a shot if your'e intersted.

Thanks again.

I know we are strangers, but can I just say "I LOVE YOU "? !!!  Your post makes so much sense, I LOVE word pictures, now this is a post I can use. I am pretty new to swimming, and this EVF has been so hard for me to GET !  HOWEVER, the imaginary barrell, that is something I can work with !!!

Many thanks for the time you took to write this and share with us !

LOL Thanks stranger!! Believe me when I say that it is my pleasure and I am glad you could make sense of the babble.

Fred - I'm working on another post filled with swim advice just for you and IMLP!!  

Your question brings up another great way to visualize your stroke. To answer your question, as you start your pull your hand and forearm are at an angle, not straight. There is no exact angle, mine tends to be a little more than 90 degrees.

The next visual is to stand in front of a mirror, bend over at the waist and "shadow" swim. Take note of your hand entry making sure its in front of the shoulder and not in front of your head. Watch your catch and look for a high elbow and a slightly bent arm. Finally watch your shoulders and make sure you are getting a good rotation. With your arms fully extended, you should not be able to see the shoulder of your trailing arm. If you can see your shoulder, you are not rotating enough. BTW - After doing this for a few minutes you will see that it's actually a pretty good shoulder workout!

Another trick/drill that I use to work on the high elblow (EVF) is trying to do as much of a lap as I can without breathing. Look up a little so you can see your elbows, and you will be surprised how much they sometimes drop. Try to correct this and keep those elbows high. Your speed will improve a lot!

My swim clinic video two weeks ago exposed that my stroke above water looks good and below the water looks bad. My left elbow drops when I extend, and my right arm is not much better.

My masters coach reviewed the video and made several suggestions, specifically my EVF.

1.  get a snorkel so you can see what you are doing wrong,and how it looks when you do it correctly under water.
2. strengthen the muscles that stabilize EVF using stretch cords.
3. do fist drills, slow and fast speed.

Excellent suggestions!! The stretch cords are great. I'll add one more to the list, sculling with your hands in the catch position. Keep your elbows high and prepare for some bicep and tricep burn!!

Bob, I'm sitting trying to get what you mean. Would it be with high elbows and upper arm not moving but just forearm and hand or could you explain more.

If you get freestyle snorkel my swim coach recommended getting a nose clip as it is almost impossible to put outward slight pressure out your nose using the snorkel to prevent you from geting water up your nose. I don't use it for anything other than the snorkel.

That is correct Kathy. If you put both arms out in front of you with your hands draped over an imaginary barrel keep your upper arms in that position and scull with your hands and forearms using your elbows as the pivit point. I know you're doing this in front of your computer, right?

Thanks for the tips!

Hahaha how did you know?

Bob,

Great stuff as usual.  You mentioned front quadrant swimming (FQS).  Until about October, I was entering the water just infront of my head, extending out and then going over the barrel.  When I was at my full extension my hand was about 6" under the waterline. 

From here, I would go over the barrel (granted, my elbow drops all the time).  I was at masters and one of the swim coaches pulled me aside.  He had me not enter the water until I was at full extension.  This caused me to not 'lose' the water 6" above my hand therefore I could pull more water and it even helped me with my elbow dropping.  I got faster by about 1-2 seconds/100.

For a visual here is a drill he gave me to do:  You have a kick board in front of you and your arms are fully extended.  Release one hand and pull.  When that hand gets back to the board, release the next hand.  Repeat.

Thoughts?

Kathy,

This is another visual / drill for EVF from evanscoaching -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEQTxN854uk