How To Flip Turn | Freestyle Swimming Tips For Beginners

The flip turn, or tumble turn as some of us know it, has been causing frustration for swimmers and triathletes for many years. Yeah, and it's hardly surprising. I mean, you are flipping yourself upside down underwater. You can get disorientated, water up your nose, misjudge your distance from the wall, all sorts. So I think it's about time we helped you out. Yeah, I mean, doing a correct flip turn can seriously benefit your swimming. So today, we're going to be talking about the advantages of it, but more importantly, we're going to be showing you how to perform the perfect flip turn. Okay, so we want to break the flip turn down into steps. So firstly, we want to focus on building our confidence. And for this, we're going to do this away from the wall and in the deep water. And that way, we can practise and get used to doing a 360 degree somersault without the worry of colliding with anything. For this, we're going to lie horizontal in the water, or as best as you can. To start the flip movement, just pull forwards ever so slightly to give yourself a little momentum. Then draw your nose and chin towards your chest. And by doing this, your head will actually direct your body and begin that rotation. It's at this point that you should bring your knees into your chest as tight as possible. By being in this compact position, it will make the flip a lot easier and a lot quicker. Once you're at that point and you're feeling more brave, you can gradually begin moving closer to the wall. You still don't need to touch the wall, but it's a great way to increase your spatial awareness and confidence of the skill. As you get closer to the wall, it does require an element of timing. Because if you turn too soon, then you're going to miss it. Or if you're too close, you're going to collide with the wall. As a rough guide, when you're coming into the wall and your head passes the T on the bottom of the pool, you've got one or two strokes before you have to initiate that flip turn. Obviously, it does vary depending on your stroke length, the speed that you're coming into the wall, and some pools can be a little bit different. So it's important that you practise it to dial it in. That's where the handy T marker comes in. Most swimming pools will have them, it's that T shape you can see on the bottom of the floor of the swimming pool as you're approaching the wall. As you take your second from last stroke, finish the stroke and leave your hand by your side. Now lead with the other arm as you go into the turn. Tuck your head in as we practised and curl into a ball. If you've got your timing right, you should plant your feet nicely on the wall, side by side with your legs bent as though you're sat in a chair. Do it correctly and your face is gonna be facing the ceiling about a foot below the surface of the water. So make sure you continue to blow bubbles out of your nose. And once you're ready to progress, you can move your feet to a 45 degree angle so you're ready to push off that bit easier. Now that our feet are on the wall, we can start preparing for that push off the wall. So start by bringing your hands together in a streamlined position above your head. If you've managed to lead with one arm whilst keeping the other by your side, you should just be able to slide the trailing arm up to meet that leading hand. Now push yourself off of the wall and begin turning yourself to face the bottom of the pool face down. It's important you maintain that streamlined position to make yourself as hydrodynamic as possible through the water whilst breaking into a butterfly or freestyle leg kick to maintain your momentum. As your head breaks the surface, this is the point that you should take your first stroke. And obviously, you'll be wanting to take a breath at this point, but to really hold your speed off of the wall and off of that turn, you should maybe consider trying to hold your breath for one or two strokes off of the wall. And it does take a bit of practice, so just build up to this with time. Now if you're a triathlete watching this, you might be wondering whether it's worth using your valuable time to actually perfect the flip turn. And it's something that we get asked all the time because obviously, in an open water race, you don't need it. Yeah, but flip turns can be really useful for training. I mean, a touch turn is, well, you're basically breaking, you're slowing down and interrupting the flow of your session. Whereas with a flip turn, well, it keeps that flow going and also helps to improve your breath control. Yeah, and then again, if you want to swim with swimmers who actually do good flip turns, you'll find that you'll get left behind. So it does make quite a big difference. We're gonna prove this. Mark and I are gonna do a little versus. Mark's gonna do a touch turn. I'm gonna do a flip turn and we're gonna see who's quicker. Okay, we're gonna start 10 metres out from the wall. We're going to approach or try to approach at the same speed and see who comes out quicker. Let's go then. Right, well, for fairness, I think we should flip this round now. So I'm gonna do a flip turn and Heather's going to do a touch turn. Well, that was pretty conclusive. And whether you want to learn a flip turn for performance or purely because it's something you've always wanted to do, it's obvious that it is quicker. Yeah, and I'd actually say that a flip turn is actually easier once you've got the hang of it. Yeah, well, if you like this video, hit that thumbs up button. 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