Finding Rhythm And Connection In Your Freestyle with Tracey Bauman

[@scottymactiles]

Such a fascinating conversation. I was that swimmer that you described at the end. I only started swimming about 4 months ago. When I first started I was a 2.20ish swimmer, after watching many video’s like this and focusing on technique, I am now a 1.50ish swimmer. I feel after watching this and focusing on the things discussed in this video, I think I could probably take another 5-10 seconds off again. Very fascinating the science in swimming.

[@jaymueller2418]

This is a fantastic episode, Brenton. One thing I’ve found helpful is to do pool planks…you float in the streamline position, but not moving and try to keep all of your body as high as possible. At first it’s tough but with practice you can actually log your fingertips and toes over and out of the water and hold it. This trains you to have the entirety of the core supporting the appendicular skeleton. If you go from multiple 1 minute water plank holds to freestyle you’ll feel the connection across the centre and from top to bottom.

[@stutone]

I bought Tracey's book 4 weeks ago. It answered so many postural questions. My balance is so much better (legs up) through proper lengthening and breathing. I am working on her 2 beat kick and now I am able to go longer at the same pace, with ease. I continue to work on timing and I am beginning to feel the "anchoring" effect. I have IMO developed much more in these 4 weeks than the last 12 months. I am sure the speed with come. Great Podcast and Guest...Thanks!

[@cigdemaksu7877]

Approach of Coach Tracy to swimming body position throughout skeleton instead of muscle groups really makes things simple for me. One doesn't need to think about all body parts when put everything in right place and let body does its job, and that is when fun and flow starts. In addition to that, ideas on speed as a byproduct of the process not the goal to reach also apply many other aspects in life as well 🙏 just focus to do right thing in one stroke and keep your body safe, the speed will come eventually.. Nice to hear from Tracy in that platform. She is one of the best coaches I have ever learned from and swim with. Thanks to have her 🙏🙏 Greetings from Turkey ❤

[@TheTrailRabbit]

Easier said than done mate 😅

[@hatpeach1]

Always enjoy hearing from guests on these podcasts. Just set a personal best on a 400m swim -- shocking how KZbin, esp. this channel, has helped!

[@flowerbunny3225]

Totally geeking out on this. Love it!❤

[@dennisalters702]

Thank you for this video. Thinking of the rotation as the engine resulted in faster rotations with a 2 beat kick. Gained 5 inches on my stretch with less shoulder strain. This insight was a game changer. It’s not how fast I pull or kick but how quickly I rotate. Brilliant.

[@TomasMacek-go2me]

One of the very best interviews at ES! Thanks a lot! I'm going to the pool today bearing in mind what was being said here and will try to apply it. I just wish more people watch this as it's so essential for everybody! @ES: please, more interviews with Tracey! 👍

[@taliakatouzi306]

Tracy's golden rules of disconnected body movements/ rotating body & hands/ not to break the body parts, too much rotating slows us down. Thanks to your immense knowledge, both of you.

[@Nataly635]

Apologies for being a bit "late to the party", but I had to say, what an enlightening conversation!! The concepts and explanations are easy to understand and it all makes so much sense. Huge thanks to both of you! ❤❤

[@no-fuse]

Yesterday we discussed rotation with my dear coach and the topic has became so intriguing for me. Thank you for deep explanation ) Tracey you are so gorgeous!

[@jamesduga1900]

This is Fascinating, I am a novice swimmer but a life long martial artist and nearly all of the mechanics she is describing are a part of what are known as internal martial arts like taichi. And I have been swimming like this for a while because I was using the internal martial arts mechanics.

[@levanoganezov8067]

The book became philosopher's stone for me in the way of mastering my swimming skills. It provides holistic approach for building of basic freestile tecnique. Loved the book from the first chapter, where was actually proposed to implement mindfulness meditation in all training sessions.

[@Alesandro113]

Thanks for sharing all this knowledge, great episode!!

[@andrewmason8691]

I’ve been doing Wing Chun Kung Fu for 37 years. Describing the body as the human engine is very similar to how I teaching punching and kicking. Most of the force in a punch comes from and us initiated by the body (centre of movement), not the arms. I can now use the example of swimming when I teach our students.

[@Davidparle71]

As confusing as i found this while watching i tried to apply it in my most recent swim and its made a noticable difference. I realised my opposite leg is kicking which must have been working against the rotation.... so i had to focus on the deeper leg when rotating. It brought my awareness into my middle and the bottom of the pool rather that out front and out back simultaneously. Much simpler!

[@andrewhenderson6097]

The book was so good I bought it for a friend. Brilliant book, and great Podcast thanks both 🏊‍♂️👍

[@scottishwonders4810]

I wish I have watched this earlier, would have prevented my shoulder injury. I like the piece at 11:40 where Tracey demonstrates the natural movemen to the arm and shoulder, something I was not aware of until after the damage was done. Thanks for the video.

[@hamishspencer]

Tracey's appearances have been a revelation. Things I have taken and incorporated - 1. Hand comes inside the line of the shoulder (this is massive) 2. Keeping yourself tall... book on your head and middle joins legs and shoulders together 3. Being joined together in the middle leads to a natural 6 beat flutter that doesn't really need to incorporate the energy-hungry glutes and quads. All of these have felt like real revelations. To be fair, Brenton has described all of these things previously with his ideas of 'elongating the neck', 'core engaged' and 'kicking within a bucket' but for some reason I found it easier to implement the way Tracey described it. The hand being inside the shoulder is a real game changer for me. I'd never really heard it said that way before but since I tried it I have realised my hands were far too wide and it was putting pressure on my shoulders and reducing the power I could put into the pull. Thanks Brenton and Tracey. Best swimming channel on YT by far!!!

[@chriskahlson]

Integrating the mind and body movements- highly informative

Loved loved this episode. So much great info you don’t see anywhere else.

[@wendyhopcroft909]

Buy the book! Excellent

[@fernandoscalise7207]

¡Gracias!

[@EffortlessSwimming]

thank you!

[@jonathankitto7771]

Catch and hold...such a clever reframe

[@johnbarnes6108]

Good to have guest ..listening to what is being shared I think they can best describe it as the catch and scull enable us to rotate and roll the other arm over.

[@Alesandro113]

And the rotation starts at the finger tip

[@snowpants2212]

Pan Zhanle is so good at moving his body as a unit in the way described here.

[@terencecronin1436]

The latissimus dorsi insertion on the humerus involves a 180 degree twist,when you bend your elbow to pull in freestyle this engages the latissimus dorsi. The lats. is a powerful muscle,it untwists to begin a contraction and has a hawser like action (like climbing a rope) which engages the spine down to the sacrum with minimal effort.When your hand reaches the hip other vectors come into play

[@drdecco1]

As an ‘expert’ [myself]😂 on watching YT instructors - at 30:15 when you want to do that [hand] demo of body disconnect…. [it’s funny how our bodies want to work/not work together] just cross your hands over [like a butterfly] and it’ll allow your index/ring fingers demo the leg kick without messing up the other hand demoing the torso rotation

[@mikealexander7017]

I never heard of anyone recommending a symmetrical 4-beat kick - it would indeed be at odds with body rotation. The classic 4-beat is a 6-beat with 2 consecutive kicks removed - or, coming from the other direction, a 2-beat with an extra 2 beat "drum fill" on one side. As a musician I think of it as a 6/8 rhythm - you can have 6 quavers (flutter kick), 3 quavers and a dotted crotchet (4-beat) or 2 dotted crotchets (2-beat). Once you get this, you can easily switch between 2, 4 and 6-beat.

[@hanumarn7882]

I guess it’s like playing golf, boxing, and other martial arts sports where the power comes from the rotation of the hips… never thought of that with swimming. 🧐❤️👍

[@reknirbecurb]

The thumb being below the eye and the pectoral was helpful for me. I have no idea what angle my rotation is, probably more than 30 lol

[@mauriciojr8332]

In this video we can perceive the eternal search for the more fundamental principle to a perfect swimming. Who knows body rotation is the key to become faster?

[@morganames8142]

Tracy, at time 39:07, you discuss your "happy equation" of three things: Strokes per Length (SPL); Tempo and RP (or did you say RPE?). I am a 71 year old Masters swimmer, who recently learned through the marvels of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) technology that did NOT exist in 1970, when I injured my right (dominant arm) shoulder while playing college football at a U.S. Service Academy. Though doctors always told me that I'd suffered a "shoulder sprain" and though X-rays showed no damage to bones (such as the acromium or clavicle), it wasn't until a recent MRI that I learned that I had sustained severe damage in my right shoulder including a near complete tear (85% torn) through my supraspinatus tendon and tears to two of the three remaining tendons along with anterior and posterior tears to my labrum and an acromial-clavicle impingement. Though I have "lived with" the discomfort for 54 years and tried to strengthen musculature supporting my shoulder, recently while swimming laps I "tweaked" my shoulder while working on improving technique ... this re-injury prompted the MRI that revealed the issues in my shoulder process. I greatly appreciate your discussion of "catching and holding" and "reaching over a ball/barrel" and progressing along a horizontal ladder's rungs. All GREAT ADVICE!!! Kindly clarify/amplify on your third factor of RP (RPE) so that I might include it in my objective stroke technique as I continue my swimming regimine so as to prevent further injury. Sincerely, Morgan

[@Alesandro113]

Great observation

[@johnmurray1479]

If you demonstrate a drill or position please make sure we can see what you are doing or we risk doing it wrong!

[@reubenmorales7938]

Excellent!

[@ktech4246]

Really enjoyed this podcast especially the topic on fold. In Tracey's book she talks about executing the fold before the rotation. Can anyone shed light when is this executed relative to the recovery arm? Ie is just before your hand enters the water?

[@swimmastery]

Great question. You will execute the catch slowly at the same time you recover the arm. So by the time you are ready to rotate you are ready to apply pressure (anchor) on the catching (holding) side and send yourself forwards past the anchoring catch, by using the rotation to straighten into streamline on one side. A simultaneous movement.

[@ktech4246]

@@swimmastery Awesome thanks so much for the reply! (BTW love the book) So would a good cue be just when the recovery arm passes the head to start the fold (slowly)? Also looking forward to the Sydney camp announcement :)

[@ananikolic7162]

The lady is amazing

[@wendyhopcroft909]

Buy her book!

[@MaximilianJackson]

I'm using a 2-beat kick, but my kicks are on the opposite side of my pull. Is that ok?

[@swimmastery]

The press should be with the same leg as your catching arm.

[@dekik.979]

​@@swimmasteryin which segment should be my left arm in the moment my left leg kicks?

[@MaximilianJackson]

@@dekik.979 my understanding from the trainers is that as you pull your left arm, your left leg should kick.

[@swimmastery]

@@dekik.979should be beginning to apply pressure on the catch after it has folded (both of these should be timed with the whole body rotation)

[@johnsomoza9450]

Great video but I'm confused by something. Tracey basically says that the rotation happens before the pull. However, I have been using the pull as a way of driving the rotation. Is what I have been doing wrong?

[@swimmastery]

If you can try and think of them as simultaneous movements, you will be able to tap into larger muscle groups, fatigue less quickly and eventually be able to create more power and therefore forward momentum. Providing your frame is in place

[@johnsomoza9450]

@@swimmastery Thanks for the reply! More generally, I have heard different guidance on initiating the rotation. Some people have suggested that it starts with the feet, some with the hips, and some with the pull. If you don't mind, what is your opinion on this issue?

[@johnsomoza9450]

Also, some of the people who say that the rotation starts with the feet seem to be referring to a twisting of the feet while others are referring to a kick on the side of the rotation...

[@swimmastery]

@@johnsomoza9450 I believe that if you are able to connect the whole body from your shoulders to your feet, then the weight shift created by the recovering arm will begin the whole rotation of the whole body at the same time. I believe that if we try and target any one part , as starting the rotation, then there is more chance of disconnecting the body and as a result, increasing the risk of injury because you will tap into, smaller muscles as well as not being able to transfer the energy into forward momentum as the middle line will have been compromised.

[@johnsomoza9450]

@@swimmastery Thanks!!! That is very helpful!

[@twiggyfitness]

QUESTION: Any suggestions for someone who swims in a propulsion pool with a tether? I'm 5'5" with a bulging disk at my L5 and multiple shoulder surgeries. After 20 minutes, my lower back hurts.

[@swimmastery]

Sorry to hear that. Yes even more important to get your head on right. And space between your vertebrae. Imagine you have a book balancing on your head and your are swimming it to the front end of your pool, and away from your feet. As if you are trying to get air in between each of your joints all the way down the body. It is important to ensure the tether is positioned correctly to minimise it pulling you out of alignment.

[@twiggyfitness]

@@swimmastery appreciate the information. Thanks 😊

[@brunopiar6443]

Amazing episode ! Many thanks from the south of France ! If you may, I would have a question concerning the trajectory of the hand during the catch. Tracey says that, during the catch, the hand "must come INSIDE of the shoulder line”, whereas Brenton usually says that, during the catch, the hand “moves OUTWARDS and finishes wider than its shoulder”. Isn’t it contradictory ? I have to struggle with shoulder pain, so a clarification would be so helpful...

[@swimmastery]

The best way to minimise pain in your shoulder is to imagine that once you have rotated your whole body forwards into your streamline position, imagine that you are going to fold and hold the water around your hand and lower arm, and keeping it in place, rotate your whole body past this point. If you have set up your streamline correctly, your joints will ensure they go into the correct position to keep your shoulder safe. I try coaching students to put their joints into positions and allow them to articulate correctly, especially with the catch, rather than telling them where to move their catch. As technically once you have held onto the water, the hand and lower arm should be completely stable and not move at all, it is your whole body that is moving forwards. I hope that helps.

[@brunopiar6443]

@@swimmastery Thank you so much Tracey. I just ordered your book and I am looking forwards to learning a lot from it.

[@swimmastery]

@@brunopiar6443 my pleasure

[@snowpants2212]

Good idea to replace talk of "pulling" with talk of "climbing"

[@atoms-to-atoms]

great video..but for Adhd ..I would have preferred graphics

[@mister-kay]

What puzzles me a lot is the 30 degree rotation. What should happen with the recovery arm? I often see in (TI) swimmers that the bent at the elbow recovery arm forms an equilateral triangle with the surface of the water when it passes the shoulder, which means it's a 60 degree angle between the upper arm and the water. But if the shoulders are turned only by 30 degrees, doesn't it mean that the upper arm of the recovery arm goes way behind the scapular plane?

[@susanbaum4984]

I have the same question! If rotation is 30 degree, it seems hard to bring the elbow out of water for recovery!

[@yourfitday]

What do you mean “ press” the bottom leg! I’m not understanding what this means. Is there a video that demonstrates this?

[@wendyhopcroft909]

Buy her book

[@IT-fr4wb]

elongate forward w t forearm that’s going to pull (love t stretch here) rotate to engage t bigger torso muscles as you pull back/ lovely..

[@jwalantmehta4476]

How about breaststroke?

[@swimmastery]

I love love love coaching and speaking about breaststroke. I have also written a Breaststroke Voach Training Certification smile😊

[@ananikolic7162]

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@ableasdale2000]

I have recently had the exact same epiphany. Years of working on catch and cadence, then a chance session on body line and... zoom. Like Daoism, try less.

[@cinmac3]

that's quite annoying i paid for. No ads, i do thank your tips right now i am going f swimming and needed the shoulder tip my shoulders having been giving me allot of movement pain...... 🙂‍↔️😮🙃😑

[@snowpants2212]

"so long as you're pressing water back at the moment you're rotating, and not using the press to rotate"

[@henrileroy2485]

To sum up, rotate with your legs, not with your arms.

[@swimmastery]

Rotate with your whole body. Shoulders to feet. (What we call the Frame). Limbs are there to use as levers to anchor on the water.

[@henrileroy2485]

@@swimmastery I meant: the rotation of the whole body is performed by the kick of one leg at the right time. The arm should propulse only to the front. Not to help to rotate.

[@rolandfisher]

Who's limbs are falling off, and why aren't they going to a doctor?! If your limbs aren't connected to your body, you need medical attention right away.

[@rnies6849]

would you please try to speak English? Your Australian is hardly understood. I give you a thumbs down

[@royfr8136]

As always with swimming, why explain something in a short, concise and simple way when you can go on and on for a 47+ minutes....

[@MJ-wrty]

Video is way too long it does not need to be

[@frakkos1]

Ah this is only mouth carate and advertisement