kart

Hi,

I have major issues with the freestyle swim. My instructor tells me that my body is not streamlined when I do the freestyle. It is apparently bent at my hips and waist. My kick isn't great either -- I'm fine when I start off, but after a while I can feel my kick getting weaker. Infact, while doing kick exercises with a kickboard, I seem to go no where after a while. Things are slightly better on my backstroke, but my legs sink after a while and my body isn't streamlined any more. I should probably also mention that my breaststroke is pretty good.

Any tips you guys may have regarding body position and kicking will be greatly appreciated.

texasaggies

On the freestyle, think about kicking from your hips, not your knees. Use your quads. Also, remember, small, fast kicks, not big slow kicks.

On backstroke, a lot of people tend to puff their chest out towards the sky. In reality, you should focus on forcing your hips up towards the sky. Same thing on the kick. And keep your chin back.

Typhoons Coach

I will soon be released body position drills for freestyle on The Swimmers Circle. A lot of people have been asking for that stuff so it's not an uncommon thing you are asking for.

I will do my best to come back and post the article here as well!

kart

Thanks guys.

@Typhoons Coach, Looking forward to your post.

palmtrees228

Kick form your hips. You need to feel like you kick is comoing from your stomach and not your ankels. This will help better you drag.

kart

@palmtrees228: thanks!

I was told sculling helps in correcting the body position. What do you guys think?

texasaggies

It might. In the world of competitive swimming, sculling is becoming more and more frowned upon, because the focus of swimming is all going towards keeping everything front to back. But front to back of course doesn't do you any good if you don't have good body position.

Try doing some streamline kicking, on your stomach and on your back. If you aren't using your arms, you'll really get a feel for the deficiencies in your kick and body position, then just adjust your body position until you get it right. So much of swimming comes down to a feel for the swimmer, which many people overlook because we hear so much of "telling" people what to do.

Also, try some fins. They'll help you get a feel for the right body position, and hjelp build up strength.

Typhoons Coach

Karl, I did post those drills on the site (The Swimmers Circle - Swim Networking, Swim Blogs, Swim News, and Much More). Feel free to browse through the drills over there!

@Palm, I like the idea of telling him to kick from the hips, but there is an aspect of the kick that swimmers need to feel the resistance of the water on the ankle as well as tie the timing of the "ankle whip" with the rest of the kick.

Thoughts?

kart

Thanks guys.

@Typhoons Coach, thanks for the post. It has certainly given me a few things to work on.