How To Achieve The Perfect Freestyle Stroke | Swimming Technique

[@dthompson9355]

I am 73 years old and swam in high school and college and we were taught to keep the fingers tight together on water entry. I am looking at the video and it looks so much more relaxing seeing the hand relaxed and fingers relaxed. I am going to start swimming again and wonder how important it is for me to concentrate on relaxed fingers instead of tight fingers on entry. THanks..

[@judylearn7971]

Hi! I am 73 as well! Have been swimming off and on all my life. Have even taken lessons at various points. Yes, what we were taught has changed somewhat. I think keeping the hands and fingers more relaxed helps keep the movement more comfortable. My shoulders each have a touch of arthritis, and keeping the movements relaxed causes less strain, less achiness afterward. A warmup before swimming, or in the pool, and some strength training 2-3 days a week when you aren't in the pool, is also helpful. I'm at the point where I swim for the love of it, the health benefits, and letting my body dictate some of my techniques. The shoulders squawk at me when my stroke puts too much stress on them. Learning to swim smarter, to keep on swimming! Wishing you all the best in your own swim journey!

[@visionaryr]

One of the better techniques I have seen on yt. The pull and recovery are so perfect.

[@robohippy]

Well, as always, a couple of comments. The power part of the pull happens between about 45 and 135 degrees in the 180 degree arc of the pull. This is where levers and muscles can apply the most strength. You use your shoulder to get your arm down to the 45 degree position, and then the back, lats, and pecs come into play. One mantra I have heard, many times, is that your fingers should be pointing to the bottom of the pool for the entire arm pull. Can't quite do that when your hand enters the water, or until you get to that 45 degree range. The purpose of the catch, which to me means that slight bend in your wrist, like 20 to 30 degrees, is to keep the initiation of the pull from going straight down, which would lift your upper body slightly. As for the finish, keeping with the 'fingers pointing to the bottom of the pool' idea, you want one last wrist 'flick' at the very end. Think of it this way, you are on hands and knees in the sand box. Pile of sand in front of you, and a hole a meter or more behind you. That last little wrist flick sends the sand back into that hole. What this does to your stroke count is, for me, it takes maybe 2 or 3 strokes off of my average stroke count for a length of a 25 yard pool.

[@SBoots29]

Take away for me is do not rush the pull. Since October I have been in the pool 2 times a week. My swimming has improved big time and your videos do help. I hope to one day swim as smoothly as Heather and Mark. So much technique to think about to be a good swimmer. Cheers

[@heatherfell_oly]

There is a lot to think about but it will get easier.

[@aaronhewko2543]

Love the videos, training for my first sprint triathlon. I am not a strong swimmer. After watching a few of these videos I have noticed improvements in form and time. I like the reinforcement of only focusing on one or two at a time. Keep up the good work, I appreciate it.

[@Chetglass_]

Did you do the race?

[@virginie7314]

Thank you, I'm training for a triathlon but hadn't been in a pool to train in forever. A coach when I was younger told me to keep my fingers together, I see that this is the first thing to correct in my technique. Everything was very clear in this video!

[@gtn]

It's great to hear this video was useful to you! Have you seen our video on getting the right freestyle leg kick? 👉 kzbin.info/www/bejne/r6nCiIaAf8iNhNk Hope it helps as much as this video! 🙌

[@emmynoether9540]

I'm really confused about this. Why is it better to open up gaps between the fingers?

[@sirbrochill7757]

@@emmynoether9540 mitt effect

[@Fraser365]

I struggle with controlling my kicking. I feel I get nothing from my legs and when I stop thinking about them they speed up, consequently making me breath more. In short, I struggle with my legs and breathing. All advice welcome.

[@pinoyhatdog]

Same here! I even feel like I slow myself down when I kick. 😅😢

[@nursejean903]

I also struggle with this. I've been doing kicking drills and it seems to help.

[@gtn]

You're not alone! Lots of people struggle with the kick! How about checking out this video? 👉 kzbin.info/www/bejne/n3yZnGmCd7mmsJI

[@JJBpilot]

Work on ankle flexibility. Sit on your feet, to stretch the front of the shins.

[@Arthur-ns4yh]

Yeah, get a flat buoy and do kicks 😊

[@My85GSL]

Tips for breathing? I feel like Im drinking half the pool each time. Am I not rotating or lifting the head high enough? This was some great info on the stroke and pull!!

[@levisandskayak]

Your torso should roll with each stroke (so you can extend your driving arm out further and your recovery arm is easier to lift towards the next stroke). As your recovery arm exits the water and goes forward this is the optimal time to turn your head for a breath. It is also worth noting that you should look a little bit backwards as you breath because the front of your head is creating a wave but it is also creating a low pressure zone behind it (making the water slightly lower). You can also turn your lips to the left or right to get a tiny bit more clearance. I hope this helps!

[@atlosass]

Very helpful video, thank you. I need to work on every part...

[@gtn]

Hahaha we feel your pain! Swimming can be a tough sport to crack 😮‍💨 What do you struggle with mostly?

[@waterwomaninFL]

These videos are so helpful to me I can’t even tell you.

[@elizabethbalbin8091]

brilliant explanation, thank you !

[@pinoyhatdog]

Maybe we could have a part 2 to this video where the focus is on how to make an efficient/effective kick? I personally struggle with the kick way more than my pull, so any help there would be great!

[@markthrelfall3577]

Hi Pinoy. Thanks for watching. Try some of our kick videos on our channel, like this one kzbin.info/www/bejne/n3yZnGmCd7mmsJI

[@vits-swimtrainingevolution9886]

A bare foot kick will never be efficient but with fins, its a additional help on short distance. The longer the distance the lower is the kick in effect. The kick is mainly necessary as the opposite lever to the Arm-Stroke Lever to the Body. ANd there the long straight leg, with a good straight feet all the way to the toes, for minimum resistance and losses. Look at Katie Ledecky on 1500 m. Only a little kick impulse simultan with each stroke, because the Arm stroke is nealrly perfect in pure forward propulsion, very little lever to her Body, so only a little kick is there perfect. No need for strong kick if the armstroke is a pretty good one. But on short track, 50-200m, lower intense on 400m, the kick generates propulsion additional, as long the athletes oxygen and short time energy systems works, on longer track the footwork gets lower intense. Foot kick is moving mainly water molecules, not pretty efficient in forward effect. Arm stroke the better way to move forward, spend your power first there is the better idea. But always straighten your legs to the toes.

[@gtn]

How about this video! 👉 kzbin.info/www/bejne/n3yZnGmCd7mmsJI All these techniques need a bit of practice! Hope we've helped out 🙌

[@luqmanshahjehan1785]

Cannot thanks enough you guys especially mark Heather. Had learnt alot and still using vedios for correction. Now I'm feel some time like a fish.... 😂

[@chowjianlin3590]

What I saw other channel right hand and left hand pull timing is different??? ? I need to try which style comfortable for me???

[@andrew9360]

This is awesome. Really simple but practical explanations. Thank you.

[@kennethknowles6253]

Great video. Thank you GTN and Heather! I have incorporated many of these concepts into my weekly swimming sessions. Now…unbelievable to me…others are asking me for advice on my swimming techniques. I simply tell them about this channel and they take note.

[@gtn]

This is great to hear! We love that GTN can become the go to place for triathlon tips! How have your friends got on with using our videos?

[@heatherfell_oly]

That's great to hear, well done on your improvements!

[@crcsector9]

Very pro video. Now I would like to know more about breathing and leg work

[@Riley.Madison.00]

Thanks for this! I’m starting club swim and will be swimming x4 farther than I’m used to and for x2.5 as long 😭😭 wish me luck

[@egovorch]

Greetings, Thanks for the earlier reply about my question on the swim plans. I did want to ask a question not related to the current topic of the freestyle swim. Has GTN done a vlog about bike shipping boxes for travel? I have a 61cm Canyon Tri bike and have been looking for a good air travel case. Your vlogs have covered so many topics, I scrolled down quite a bit but didn't see a topic covering this topic. If you have not done one in the past, maybe this might be a good topic for a future or maybe updated vlog about the subject. There are so many cases out there both hard and soft it is hard to know which is a good case for the money......just a thought for a future production...

[@gtn]

Hi there! No worries, we love chatting to our GTN community 🙌 Great idea! this isn't something we've done but our friends over at GCN have done a few videos on this! Like this one 👉 kzbin.info/www/bejne/pnaXenymgr-YeMU - Maybe we should look at this subject but with a Tri bike 🙌 Thanks for the feedback!

[@egovorch]

@@gtn Thanks for the reply. I did watch he referenced video from GCN. It seemed more geared towards a a little more towards a traditional road bike. With so many changes in bike transport boxes and in bikes, maybe a future video can show the bikes and cases that many pros use to get to events. Just a thought for your production team for the future. Thanks again for the reply and keep those awesome vlogs coming! you guys do great work!

[@krusch2010]

🏊🏽‍♀️👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼i did and do it and it s like Surfing 🏄‍♀️ !!!What’s wonderful feeling 🥰Txssss🥰

[@gtn]

What area of the stroke do you do well? Or is there an area you feel needs improvement? 🤔 Let us know in the comment section below! 💬

[@blubbblubb6239]

I started training towards my very first triathlon and am binging all your vids recently. They are really helpful as well as entertaining! However, what I currently struggle the most with is the breathing. Are there specific drills for training lung capacity and being able to exhale for an extended amount of time? I somehow can just exhale a few seconds and seem to still have air in my lungs. Many thanks in advance!

[@Jumpymountain]

Hi GTN😊is there a watch that can track my pool swim without breaking the bank. I've got a garmin fenix 3 but it keeps adding lengths. I just want my distance and sworf. Thank you Mark 🎉

[@markwiseman6776]

When should the catch phase begin? Does it start as I enter with the opposite arm?

[@josueugaldea]

Great video! Thank you GTN 🙌🏼

[@climbswiththecrew3759]

You didn’t say a single word about what my legs should be doing.

[@MarkKrebs]

Is there an inn and then outward skull action at the end of the pole and the start of the finish? She does it more dramatically than he does. During that phase she's briefly got her thumb as the leading edge of her hand paddle and then her pinky afterwards. Any comment on that?

[@NightEmbers]

I'm a decent swimmer but I'm constantly trying fine tune my technique when in the pool. One of these days I'll get to the point where my mind can just drift off but not quite there

[@gtn]

Keep it up, you'll get there! How often do you swim? 🏊‍♂️

[@NightEmbers]

@@gtn shooting for 3 days a week, been dealing with some knee issues so spending more time in the pool now. I was gonna say maybe yall should do a video on runners knee but yall already have that covered so I'll check that out. Much appreesh

[@gtn]

Smart move, swimming is a lot easier on the joints than running. Hope you find the video helpful!🙌

[@Katherine-Zheng666]

Is there a beat or rhythm to the moving body? Like for around how many kicks should be paired with an arm swing? I know how to move my arms and legs separately, but together I always end up like a dying trout 😅

[@yusufyakubu8403]

So do ur fingers need to be close when u are stroking

[@peterfalk7084]

I struggle with 2ñd and third, getting breathing aligned with the catch, I'm sure I create too much drag.

[@gtn]

Keep at it, hopefully the tips in the video will help out! Do you find lots of time to get in the pool? 🏊🏻

[@peterfalk7084]

@@gtn I could do with more, I do 2x swims, 2x bikes, 2x runs and Pilates each week. Sometimes I add a couple more swims but not often enough 🙂

[@aram5642]

My dominant style is breaststroke, as I never quite got the hang of free style. My aim is to swim this sort of gliding (almost splashless), slow type of freestyle. What would be the best sequence to start the journey?

[@robr9905]

Just a small point......... I noticed that both swimmers do not keep their hands flat through the end of the pull as the hand leaves the water.

[@oliviavallone9021]

Rushing the pull is such a tricky habit to break!

[@gtn]

Keep going! Practice makes perfect, you'll master it eventually! 🙌

[@na-dk9vm]

Im training for my first triathlon in june. Olympic triathlon. I can do the 1500m swim in 49 mins, the cutoff is 55 mins. The only probelm i have is im so tired when im swimmimg. I take so many breaks. Im still getting in under the cutoff time but do i just keep doing 1500m sessions, or do i add easier swim sessions ?? Currently doing 2 sessions a week

[@chrisblanchard4938]

Just curious what is your stroke count when swimming in a pool at 25 yards. If its more then 18-20 strokes counting each side, that could cause you to tire pretty quickly. I would do a 300 warm up, then maybe 4 x 50 kick, then do a 4 x 50 drills such as catch up drill or fist drill, at least 2 drills. Then for you main set you could do like 6 x 250 with 30 second recovery. You should be working but not over doing it with your main set. Then a 200 easy cool down swim. Mind you these are measurements for yards. This particular swim would be 2400 yards. Adjust for meters

[@captainbanjo1617]

I end up with pain in my kneck after about 1000m. I favour the right side breathing and this makes me think my breathing motion is wrong.

[@alfkh]

can u count the number of times u hear the word "key?" i find this really confusing. Which "key" is really "key?"

[@dpgoodall]

Minnie Driver is a swim coach now?!

[@patrickw.6016]

When I breath during the stroke my whole body always drops lower in the water... Is there any great way to stop doing that?

[@gtn]

Hey! We have a video on how to breath while swimming freestyle 👉 kzbin.info/www/bejne/fnKteJZ6rJp2iLs Let us know if it helps! 🏊‍♂️

[@patrickw.6016]

@@gtn Hey, thanks for mentioning that video. I´ve watched it already. It´d be great if you could make a video that focuses on the Top5 Mistakes while breathing and how to get rid of them. Much appreciated!

[@Random-wh4pn]

I can't correct my right hand no matter I watch these or listen to my coaches. The problem is that my elbow goes down first on the water before my hand, my dad would get angry if I can't get this right on my competitions.

[@whitehh15]

0:53 .. Ok

[@JJBpilot]

Wonder what Brenton at #effortlesswimming would say about their stroke??? They're better than mine, but. ...

[@sonaljoshi-a8699]

😊

[@PHILLIP90]

101

[@MrTobes1970]

Have to disagree with the male swimmers arm movement under the water. Once your hand has entered the water and reached forward. You hand, forearm should pull down immediately towards your chin bending at the elbow to 90 deg. This will get maximum catch and pull with least strain on the shoulder. The video shows the arm going down, straight and not bent. Poor form.

[@chadbeardmore8209]

Never understand how people breathe

[@marshallnongbet7752]

You can't breathe inside the water only when pop up the head outside

[@berniefynn6623]

Propulsion is from the legs.

[@mukeshgoswami55]

i have fear in breathing..

[@mukeshgoswami55]

in freestyle...so i do doggy style.. swiming

[@vits-swimtrainingevolution9886]

Hmm, not too bad, you did it ok .... But, sorry, I think still some elementar mistakes there, and still the common ones, starts from thinking first, then goes over while acting. Actually pretty perfect precise armwork is'nt absolutely not as difficult, but brain programming is required first, then well tuned concentrated exercising until its a familiar habit, only the right motion, pure forward propulsion, nothing else, only minimum losses, fingertips to toes, eveything between. May exactly this is the difficult for used swimmers, with no perfection by a common habit - eliminating all the worse things, thats may take a few weeks, two months maybe. Exactly for perfection of precision is VITS created, also for easiest daily practice. Prctice in perfection and in performance, endurance, everything. Unfortunateley currently not in public offer - but Partnerships and cooperation is welcome. Sorry ... I only mean well and like to help - lets get in touch 😀 Cheers Peter Ningelgen Frankfurt ...

[@patrickw.6016]

Typical complainer without much to back it up... Where's your videos with thousands of views doing it better?

[@vits-swimtrainingevolution9886]

@@patrickw.6016 Thanks Patrick for your statement. And yeah I know that, nothing new for me. Did you even know anything about me ? Or about VITS ? I think no. Anyway, there still common mistakes, easy to fix, with a specific new Method, coming soon public ...

[@patrickw.6016]

@@vits-swimtrainingevolution9886 As I said... you only critizise but you have nothing in return to show for what you have done so far... instead you´re trying to sell something that is not yet online... Good luck to you in the future!

[@vits-swimtrainingevolution9886]

@@patrickw.6016 Hi Patrick, KZbin was made for open communication, and also exactly what the comment function is for. No one is being insulted or called names, whereas you are personally attacking me a bit ;-) but ok. So everything is actually right and good, even very good, because KZbin lives and works as we see. You can see my comment as "nasty" criticism if you want, but you should'nt. Rather, my comment is simply a comment pointing out visible deficits - so it's actually clearly constructive information, and that's exactly how it's meant and phrased. No one should complain about a critical comment, that's part of life, and it's a pretty good and common way to improve things. I work to ensure that many athletes have success and fun, that is my way. I even don't trying to sell here anything, what are you talking about? I sending Information, if someone is interested we can see, but only for experts currently. May keep VITS in mind, I am working for to coming out with in public in time, but you can already watch some results in world top sport, swimming and triathlon. All the best for you Peter, Frankfurt/M Germany

[@donishcushing8223]

Hold the water. Push myself by grabbing and pushing the water. Mind blown! 😄🫡