Better balance

[cjsmith]

20 lengths? 22 lengths? I lost track.

I'm definitely getting better at keeping my hips up and my head down. Another few swims and I'll start focusing on a better kick. I'm also no longer worried about being booted out of the medium-speed lane.

CRAWL STROKE people: I know breathing is done by rotating the head sideways. Do you also do anything to look forward, to see where you're going? Do you instead look only at your distance from the wall or from the lane boundary, so you don't veer? If the latter, is bumping into the end wall a surprise?

Comments

[rampling.livejournal.com]

20 lengths? 22 lengths? I lost track.

Ahhh, I'm not the only person who loses track! I still recommend that cute little swim lap counter, because, for me, not knowing how much I completed feels like I didn't get full credit somehow. ;)

For crawl, from what I remember, the kick is the least important part. What was most important for me to learn is that there's an important body roll involved. As your arm pushes under the water that side of your body should also tilt down. So along the long axis of your body you ought to roll 35-45 degrees in each direction, toward each underwater arm stroke. Makes each stroke more powerful and efficient. The breathing then is a (relatively) simple matter of tilting your head sideways (avoid lifting it up/back) quickly to grab a breath. With a 45 degree body tilt, the extra added head tilt to get to a breath isn't too tough. Be sure to breathe out while your head's underwater (previous to tilting your head to take the breath) -- then a quick tilt of your head as an arm passes overhead. You can choose whether to breathe every right (or left) hand stroke, every other stoke, or semi-random depending on how out of breath you feel.

I've also heard it said that the crawl feels a bit like stairclimbing -- with your arms. Not sure how helpful that is, but at least it's cute.

And, yeah, use the lines on the bottom of the pool to stay in your lane and spot the wall. Goggles are (IMO) practically essential for lap swimming so you can do this.

Observe some of the better swimmers at your pool, and see how their body rolls, and how they do that quick little breath. Seeing it in practice and observing these details in action could help a lot.

Here's a nice summary of crawl suggestions (http://www.trisportepping.co.uk/trainadv/swimtech.html):

* The body and legs are in a flat position
* Body roll facilitates breathing - the head is not lifted
* Front crawl is performed with the body tilted on its side, the body rolling from side to side in time with each arm stroke.
* The lead arm is held out in front in the glide position. When the arm stroke begins, it does so slowly, accelerating as it moves back towards the end.
* The arm pull begins with the hand catching up with the elbow - the elbow always remaining in a high position
* Always remember - more efficient, less effort

Well, I find the penultimate point confusing, but the rest sounds good.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

That counter does seem nifty! I may break down and get one.

Got the goggles. Gotta use 'em.

Thanks for all the info!

Right now I'm still not crawling. I'm doing my Weird Stroke and working on going through the water horizontally. I'd like a more symmetric breaststroke-style kick. After a bit of reading, I know that what I would have (if I made the kick better) really is pretty much a decent breaststroke. But I know I'll work on crawl soon enough, and today on the flutterboard I practiced breathing to the side. (Doesn't work as well on a flutterboard, of course, because the whole body roll isn't really naturally occurring.)