Freestlye swimmers, I need your help!?

Question

Hello! I love swimming, my best strokes our breastroke and fly, but I really struggle with front crawl! Didn't coaches tell me to do different things. Some coaches say I should bring my arm as far back as possible, but one of my coaches told me to bring it up at the waist and roll more. Whatever way, I always get over taken at front crawl, it's no way near the standered of my other strokes and it's the one we have to swim most. I reach as far forward as possible, I do the catch thing under the water, I kick as hard as possible and I always keep the water line on my head just above my goggles (which all the coaches actually agree on lol!) Please, if you're good and front crawl please give me some tips!

Answer 1

Yes, you should definitely roll your body when you're doing freestyle.  When you reach with your arm, rotate your hips so that you roll your body slightly (not quite on your side).  Then, as you're pulling underwater, rotate your body back to the flat position.  Then as the other arm is reaching, rotate to the other side.

Always reach as far in front of you as you can with your arms and extend the arm back behind you after you pull underwater.

When your arms are out above the water, make sure that your elbows are bent and high.  A good drill to ensure that you're doing this correctly is the fingertip drag.  When your arm is out of the water and reaching forward, drag your fingertips along the surface of the water.  Another good drill is redline.  This is a similar motion, but in this one you focus on running your thumb along the side of your body, from your hips to your armpit, as if you were drawing a line on yourself.

When it comes to your kick, make sure your legs are straight (knees NOT bent) and close together.  Keep your kick small, so that your feet never move too far away from each other.  Do fast, short kicks, keeping your toes pointed like a ballerina, and keeping your ankles loose so that your feet are flexible like flippers.

That's all I can think of right now to help you out, if you have any more questions or need any more tips, feel free to ask!

Answer 2

Your first coach who said that you should bring your arm as far back as possible, is wrong. That's not how you swim freestyle. When your elbow is about in line with your hip, you should pull your arm out of the water. Keep in mind, when you're pulling the water underwater you should keep your arm bent, it's much more powerful that way and you'll pull more water. When you kick, you should make sure that your feet are making very small, choppy motions. There's a common misunderstanding that you should do big, wide freestyle kicks to get more water. That's wrong, and time-consuming. Keep your kicks short and quick, feet pointed and knees straight (not bent!) and you should improve. Kick the whole time; most people stop kicking when they breathe, but you will lose a LOT of time if you do that. Kick continuously through each stroke. Rolling is key, but you roll from your abs and hips, NOT your shoulders. If you roll from your hips, the rest of your body will follow. Here's a play-by-play that should also come in handy for you:

Step 1: Visualize a line running down the center of your body from your chin to your chest. This line is the axis upon which your whole body should pivot, and it should extend horizontally in the direction you are swimming.

Step 2: Keep your legs straight, but not rigid, with your toes pointed out, and kick up and down. Continue kicking the entire time.



Step 3: Move your arms in a windmill motion opposite each other. While one arm is extended completely out, the other should be all the way back, almost against the side of your body.

Step 4: Keep your hands flat, thumb separated from the index finger and pull the extended arm through the water beneath your body. Bend your arm at the elbow and draw your fingertips along the imaginary line down the center of your body.

Step 5: Lift your other arm out of the water and move it all the way forward as the first arm is pulling beneath you. Bend at the elbow and drag your fingertips along the surface of the water. Penetrate the water with your fingertips and completely extend the arm.

Step 6: Breathe on one side by turning your head to that side as the arm comes out of the water.

Answer 3

What everyone else has said is very true, but I'd like to add that unless you're sprinting something short as fast as you can, it makes it easier to really extend your arms, using your core muscles rather than just the wimpy little ones in your arms and taking slower, more precise strokes. Although it may seem obvious, there are plenty of swimmers who don't remember to keep their fingers closed. Your arms should be like paddles and they move water much faster and more efficiently without holes. Also, try to swim like you're swimming through a tube. Keep your whole body compact with your arms near your sides and your upper arms near your ears while you stroke. Do an extra little "swish" bringing your arms under your body to pull more water (if that makes sense!) I hope this helps! Good luck! Maybe you could tell me how to do breast stroke faster :D

Answer 4

you should have high elbows out of the water...definitly do the body roll, make sure your hands are slightly cupped and all fingers are together and thumbs are against your hands, also make sure you keep kicking when you breath and kick with your feet turned in.