FASTER FLIP TURNS: Advanced Tutorial

[@robohippy]

I am so old, 74, they wouldn't teach us flip turns as a kid because "they are too difficult for you kids". Now they teach them about the time you can make a length of the pool. We differ on a couple of things. I NEVER depend on the T on the bottom of the pool. In watching the Olympics, ALL of the swimmers spot the X on the wall, and not the T on the bottom. This involves raising the head a bit, but it is important to not to raise the head too far because as you said, your hips can drop. This is also an essential tumbling concept for flips and forward rolls. By raising the head a bit, when you tuck your chin, that adds to the rotation. There used to be an old school teaching that using the arms was "wasted motion". Pretty much every one now teaches to do a bicep/shoulder curl, and I keep my arms more at about the same bend you are using when swimming. I try to not pull past streamline position, but when I am tired, I do tend to pull past that point, not quite touching my shoulders. The abs, along with the dolphin kick help you fold up. Your lower back muscles help you unfold/get your body straightened out again.

[@loraineday8786]

Super video, thank you. I’m going to start incorporating those drills into my schedules for the children, all competitive swimmers.

[@frehlingswim]

That’s awesome Loraine! My younger athletes love doing these. Let me know how they like them.

[@KT-zx9jr]

Excellent video Kaitlin! Another 20/10 video. This is one area that I have to get good at. Thanks very much and have a nice weekend. Hope your training is going great!

[@frehlingswim]

Thanks KT, I’m glad you liked it! Have a great weekend.

[@KT-zx9jr]

@@frehlingswim For sure and thanks very much for taking the time, consideration, and work it takes to make those videos. You are appreciated! Three workouts coming up this weekend!!

[@robertschwabenbauer3656]

Thank you, Kaitlin, you make this look so easy and are a fantastic swimmer. Trying to improve my overall swimming for Ironman races, and these tips help.

[@frehlingswim]

I’m so glad you’re finding the videos helpful. Good luck in your next Ironman 💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼

[@robertschwabenbauer3656]

@@frehlingswim Thank you, Kaitlin. Will you be doing any open-water videos in the future? My next race is in May...unless I return to Oceanside this April.

[@KT-zx9jr]

Swimming break this weekend Kaitlin!! Left lat is a little sore so rest will be good. Hope your workouts went well this week! Thanks.

[@frehlingswim]

Enjoy your well deserved break KT! My workouts have been great this week. I’m going to follow your lead and take a few rest days next week. 😊

[@KT-zx9jr]

@@frehlingswim Thanks Kaitlin!! That sounds great. I went hard again this week....Five days.... Knee and lat is a little sore so the rest will do more good than harm. Glad to hear you are having awesome workouts. Love the mindset that follows an intense session! So positive. The nice thing about a rest is you get very hungry for the eventual workout!! One other great thing, ice cold showers!! So beneficial and healthy...JUst exhale as the cold hits you. See Andrew Huberman's podcasts.... Says the dopamine hit from a few mins of cold showers is as powerful as a drug and lasts up to 3 hours and no crash.....Been doing these for years now.... Have a great one and be well.

[@EngSamarAboZeed]

Nice one, and I mostly liked the advice of pushing the wall on our back as a training for the second part of the tun.

[@frehlingswim]

Glad you liked it! It’s a little change that can make a huge difference 😊

[@EngSamarAboZeed]

@frehlingswim The visual ads and the speed you speak are also perfect, which makes it easy to follow. I will look up to hands through the flip turn video

[@or9481]

Perfect timing. Working on this right now.

[@frehlingswim]

Let me know how it goes!

[@vansavant822]

Brutal, so this is so good. And it is exactly what I need. I still use the old school, long, leg flog/slap turn and they are slow. I will be coming back to this often for my floggings...lol Later gator vs

[@frehlingswim]

I’m glad you liked it! Haha I know the old school turn you’re referring to. This will help you utilize your turns so much better.

[@nataliaortiz7640]

Hello coach! WOW that was amazing, would you please share flip turns for beginners. Thank you so much.

[@frehlingswim]

Thank you for your positive feedback Natalia! I am working on a flip turn tutorial for beginners. Coming soon 😊

[@andrewalentowski5084]

This is awesome!!

[@luciddream5637]

Thank you so much for this great video. Could you please explain more the push with the back not with the stomach ? I don't really understand what you mean. I am just a beginner in swimming and it seems there are so so many things to learn if we want to swim well and correctly. Thanks again !

[@frehlingswim]

Yes, absolutely! "pushing off on your stomach" refers to pushing off the wall with your chest/stomach facing the bottom of the pool. "pushing off on your back" refers to pushing off the wall with your back facing the bottom of the pool(chest facing the sky). The visual at 03:43 is a visual of pushing off on your back. For this technique, push off with your back facing the bottom of the pool and practice rotating back to your front to swim freestyle. This mimics the exact mechanics of the second half of your flip turn.

[@elliotthough765]

What are your thoughts on the position of the arms and orientation of the palms just before initiating the flip? Derrick Mass recommends doing what Caleb Dressel does which is arms straight back with palms facing up to the sky. He also recommends initiating the flip with a dolphin kick which forces the hips up and the head naturally goes down. These 2 things are what i have been coaching my 8yo daughter to do. And she has become pretty good at it. But needs to get more consistent. But most KZbin videos on this subject preach palms down in order to use the palms and forearms to help pull the body around. And here in Thailand her Thai coaches want their swimmers to start rotation during the flip. I keep telling her to ignore that, which she usually does but it’s a constant battle. :) With palms up before the flip and arms straight back, the arms and hands wind up in perfect position to get into streamline and the body horizontal and ready to push off.

[@frehlingswim]

Great questions!! 1) palms- you want to initiate the turn with both palms down so you can pull hard and carry the momentum into the turn. Then both palms should be facing up towards the sky by the time your daughter lands and plants her feet on the wall. This will allow her to quickly lock in her streamline and push back off hard. After she pushes she can start to rotate back to her stomach. 2) The mini dolphin kick can help initiate the turn. The key to mastering this is that she makes it as quick and explosive as possible. If she takes too big(or slow) of a dolphin kick it will work against her and will slow her momentum. Good luck with your daughter’s swimming! You have it right!! NO ROTATION while she’s flipping. 😊

[@elliotthough765]

@ Glad I found your channel. Can’t wait to incorporate some of the drills in your video. Thanks for all the time you invest putting out great content .

[@KT-zx9jr]

How do you feel or know when you start swimming for the reaction acceleration flips Kaitlin? You do a 90 and then transition into a fast set of strokes. That's a cool move. I tried that last year from one of your old videos but did not do it properly. I recall I was too deep when I started to stroke. Thanks very much!! Great swim today but tomorrow is the tough day, 2 workouts. Thank you.

[@frehlingswim]

You’ll need a partner on deck yelling “go” for the reaction portion on the flips. If you don’t have a partner with you, just focus on the muscle activation rather than the reaction. Good luck with the double today KT 💪🏼

[@KT-zx9jr]

@@frehlingswim Thanks very much Kaitlin!! The double went awesome. Got some good sleep last night so 430 am was ok for 5-6 training ..... Was awesome and intense. Then swimming at 8-9 am. I tried the reaction acceleration after doing the standing flips to float. I really feel the "twist" as I flip 90 than crank out 3 crawl stokes..... I did a few and felt not bad but you do feel the twisting effect. I think its coming. Loaded up on protein after!! Hope your weekend training was awesome. Thee fly keeps feeling better n better!! My crawl feels strong, I can really pull across the pool when I hold my breath and sprint!!

[@salimbaghli8040]

Thank you for the lesson My goal is to master the flip turn for 2025. I do about 2200 yards 3 times a week on average but it is very frustrating not to master the flip turn. Will try your method 👍🏼

[@frehlingswim]

Keep me posted on your progress! 2.2K 3 times a week is awesome yardage. The turns will help keep you in the flow on your intervals.

[@Swimmer47]

I seem to flip crooked…or end up angled. How to fix?

[@frehlingswim]

Hey Michael! You might be engaging more and driving harder with your dominant side. The slightest power imbalance can cause you to rotate. Most of the time your dominant side is the culprit. Try the stationary flips in the middle of the pool and focus on equal side activation. Let me know if that helps.

[@Moiatmoi7]

When I wear flippers, I can flip over powerfully but when do it without them, I feel like my body is getting stalled and lose momentum to get my legs over. I wonder what the problem is. Maybe my legs are too heavy and sinking?

[@frehlingswim]

Without seeing your turn, it sounds like you're missing the link between your abs/core activation and your knee drive into your chest. This is very common. Try doing the stationary flips in the middle of the pool at the beginning of your training session where you solely focus on connection your core and knee drive to whip over quickly. Once you nail down the activation, it will layer seamlessly into your full flip turn!

[@Moiatmoi7]

@@frehlingswimthanks Kate! I’ll try that tomorrow!

[@frehlingswim]

How did it go?

[@dherre]

Oooohhh my gosh !!! I love that woman !!! I LOVE THAT WOMAN !!!!! Thank you so much !!!

[@heruhendrajito48]

❤❤❤❤😍😍

[@dondups1543]

If you don't go into the details of how then your explanation of what must be done cannot be done ,for example how do you legs up and replace where the torso is and vice versa,what is the purpose of the arms,what must the head do

[@frehlingswim]

Hey Don! Thanks for the feedback. This video is an advanced tutorial for swimmers that already know the fundamentals. Stay tuned for the beginners tutorial which will go deeper into the fundamental components of the flip turn.

[@dondups1543]

@@frehlingswim great stuff, do a amateur one cause that's where it all starts.😊

[@jufriyadi8706]

Im muslim and i love swim... Please cover your lower body with skirt or something. All women are pretty and im sorry. For more detail please shoot under water also

[@frehlingswim]

I’m glad you also love swimming! I will work on getting as much detail as possible into the videos 😊