New Way to Swim Freestyle

I'm Susan Ingram, US Master's Swimming Level 4 Coach. We are exploring today ways in which freestyle was presented in the past and how we are currently coaching it. Early kicking in freestyle tended to be side-style kick following the actions of what the upper body did. As an example, sweeping the pole across and under the torso caused the legs to cross. Kicking errors range from crossing the legs to a foot being pulled away from the body to not kicking at all. These can create drag and hesitation in the stroke tempo. The six-speed kick was introduced in 1912 and where this is the strongest kick to use in freestyle, the errors of the kick's ancestors still haunt us today. A six-speed kick minimizes drag by avoiding the feet from crossing or swinging out from the body line. The stroke becomes evenly balanced, the body is elevated in the water, and the kick tempo assists in the timing of the arm stroke. Instructions for kicking used by some coaches had swimmers imagine a bicycle motion in the water. This resulted in the legs being driven too deep and drag forces created by both the bent knees and the exposed calves as they pulled the feet to the surface. This large range of motion with the legs greatly reduced the tempo of the kick. The kick is much more of a muscle-driven, not joint-driven movement. This means the power of your kick does not come from your hips, knees, or ankles, but rather the large muscles of your leg. Keep your legs extended and kick down with your quads. There will be a slight bend of your knee due to the foot lagging behind because of the water pressure on the top of your foot. Then use the top of the hamstring muscles, even into your glutes, for your up kick. You shouldn't feel like you are using your calves. A helpful hint in kicking correctly would be to put on a set of fins and feel the power of kicking equally up and down as you press the fins against the water in both directions. Your legs remain within the body line, hips be at the surface, and a more efficient kick will provide continuous propulsion. Coaches instructed swimmers to hold their forehead at the surface of the water to avoid drag. When the head was held in this position, it required the swimmer to lift their head slightly and then turn it up for the side of the breath. Your head should be held so that the water level is at the crown of your head. During your breath, focus on your chin instead of your forehead. To rotate your head to the side, open your eyes and confirm with your vision it's directly to the side and not behind or in front of you. The opposite cheek and goggles should remain at water level. When returning your head back to its neutral swimming position, look down approximately 8 feet in front of you. This helps your head, neck, and spine to stay in line, provides taking a quicker breath, and keeps your shoulders square with your spine for a more balanced stroke. Swimmers were coached to enter the water with the hand in front of the head and narrower than the shoulder width apart. They pressed the hand away from the body then swept the hand back under the belly button. This was called the S-Pull. An additional expression often used in this pull pattern is finding new water with the hands. When the hand presses in and then away from the torso, it loses control of the water as these movements sweep the water left and right of the body. This results in creating a lateral movement instead of sending the body forward. Enter your hand in line with your shoulder. Bend and lift your elbow and point your fingertips to the bottom of the pool and press your hand back in what would be considered a quote, straight line. The pressure on your hand and forearm is constant. Swimming strong is not about pulling your hand through the water as fast as you can. Rather, it is about anchoring your hand so efficiently that your hand does not move at all as you push your body forward. Imagine the goal of having such a great hold of the water that your hand exits the water at the same point it entered. Much like the oars of a boat, press your body past your hands. The body remains flat with the arms making a full rotation style and straight arm pull requiring a lot of shoulder strength. A flat body has more surface area than a side position body. Rolling your torso so that your shoulder is rotating out of the water during the pulling phase provides less resistance in the water. An added benefit is now your lat muscles are more engaged which creates a more powerful pull during this phase of your stroke. Once again, this is Susan Ingram, U.S. Master's Swimming Level 4 Coach. I hope you enjoyed today's video. Please like and subscribe to receive more great content. Thank you for watching.