Stuck At

[@tobias_hille]

Thanks a lot! The body position and the disconnection between the upper and lower body were things I also noticed immediately. I’ve already been able to adjust my body position, and it really makes a huge difference. Thank you for your advice. I might send you some follow-up videos later this year.👍

[@EffortlessSwimming]

Thanks for sharing!

[@darrenconway8117]

62yr old started learning to swim 6months ago. Now doing 1000m every second day. I share at least half the technique defects of this guy. For the past couple of months I have been focusing on achieving forward quadrant strokes. I think it has 3 key benefits: 1. washing bubbles off the back of the arm to improve thrust efficiency. 2. Moving the centre of gravity further ahead of the centre of buoyancy to lift the legs. 3. Maintaining the longest length in the water to improve stream lining. I am focusing entirely on improving technique to improve efficiency. I measure efficiency by counting strokes for each length. I have no idea what my times are but my stroke count is trending lower and I can feel that I am getting faster for the same effort. Efficiency is free speed. The biggest problem I have is my body naturally wants to apply a paddle wheel type stroke. It feels natural. Forward quadrant strokes feels awful. I have had to change my breathing technique and change the body roll timing to keep my arms forward. I am still not there. On breathing strokes, I begin the catch way too early. Based on analysis of good swimmers, I am aiming to delay starting the catch until my head starts rotating back into the water. Easy to say, hard to do. The only way I am able to improve is by what I learn from these videos. These videos let me know what good looks like so I have something to aim for. This video tells me I am not the only one trying to figure out good technique.

[@faustobrusamolino6345]

Thanks for clarifying the steady pace 1:35/100m and the 1:20/sprint at the very beginning of the video. Often the two things get mixed up a lot. Great video!

[@jesshanafin-bf1ve]

Really useful comments! Good luck @tobias!

[@mwpb3]

Fantastic video so interesting, good luck Tobias

[@barefootbeachrunner9498]

Awesome assessment I think im doing the same thing Thanks Brenton 😊👍🏻

[@robohippy]

I was thinking his head was a bit high. I didn't pick up about the finish part of his stroke. One other thing, and that is the front quadrant issue. With the gallop freestyle, which is an uneven cadence, the breathing arm stays extended for a slight pause. Breathing is on every other stroke/once per stroke cycle. All the male Olympic swimmers swim this way. Katie and Summer swim this way. Ariarne does not swim this way. Anyway, when it recovers, the pulling arm on the other side is at or slightly past the half way point of the pull because of the uneven cadence. I remember seeing you watch one swimmer who was swimming gallop style and your comment was some thing like "close enough".

[@mokongx3m]

I wish I could be stuck at 1:35 haha, I'm more stuck at 2:20-2:30 in open water, 2:15-2:10 in pool. I'd be delighted to get to 2 flat in open water haha

[@ChileanChimp]

Don't stress on open water pace too hard, there's too many variables that affect pace in open water unless you're swimming in a still lake with like no currents lol. I manage 1:25/100m for about 1.5km continuous swimming in pool but in open water depending on the conditions I could be at like 1:40-1:50/100m or maybe it's quicker.

[@KungFury_7337]

As triathlete, I have almost the exact same problems as this guy. Fixing the hip sinking seems very hard. Fact of the matter is we triathletes do have way more muscles on the legs than pure-swimmers. Will never stop seeking improvement though.

[@StoryboardsbyStuffPOP]

These are the exact problems I have !!! Thank you for the video. I’d started figuring out some of the timing on my own, but everything here should be super helpful for me.

[@lendial]

This man did not skip leg day. I would love to get to 1:35/100

[@stephanieschell-jz8ks]

Strength and flexibility go well together for swimmers, I’m no gymnast but working on my core and flexibility on dryland helps connecting my body while in the water 👍 solid advice from what I’ve seen and always worth trying someone else’s ideas “fresh eyes” if they don’t work then try something else, keep swimming! 🐠

[@thelicencecoliquorwisedivi8364]

Perhaps a silly question - how do you stay relaxed and still pull in / tense up your core? Everyone says you'll do you best times when you swim relaxed, but if you tense up your core, isn't that doing the opposite? I'm a novice swimmer (2:05/100m) - so enjoying seeing such videos and trying to sort out the most important stuff from all the "noise". 😁 Hope you get to that 400K subscribers!

[@_Dibbler_]

I think that wasnt mentioned: 7:22 : You can see plenty of bubbles of water at the left hand, so the catch is a bit too impatient So he should stay in a streched position longer, feeeeel the water with the hand (thats what my coaches always told me - haha) and then make sure he pulls himself through the water, dont rush the arm through the water, but lock it into the water. Easier said than done, I know.

[@marjorymccoy9046]

What do you suggest to do on helping hold the legs up

[@ГюльнараЛи]

Очень полезно, спасибо!

[@si_gr]

I don’t get it: You talk about rotating the hips more. Dan Smith said to keep the hips stable and only rotate the shoulders (video: How to swim 100m in 1:10). So what is right?

[@greenapple1069]

I'm still stuck at 3 min/100m. 1:35/100 is good already.

[@DC-zm6tj]

What do you mean on holding and anchoring. Can you focus on what he should be doing instead? Thank you!

[@tobias_hille]

It means that your body should pass your arm (anchor) and not the other way around. If you pull to hard, fast or in the wrong direction/constellation you lose that grip of the water your anchor. You can't apply enough pressure to propel you forward. Then your arm slips through the water and passes your body without creating much speed.

[@DC-zm6tj]

@tobias_hille Thank you Tobias! Thank you for your videos. I think about everything you teach us while practicing. Trying to get better every time. You do great work!

[@petert2299]

hi u see i do 2.5 in 45 minutes then hit the gym right after i clock 1.4/1.45 per 100 i maintain it fur the entire 45 minutes swim then gym is it a good approach ?

[@tonyshihoutang6576]

He seems not press his chest resulting his legs dropping I guess I found armpit open and stretch further feel the chest press on downwards , then his legs would float on surface . Correct me if I am wrong

[@williecronin7021]

For a guy swimming 1.35 ,you found a lot wrong with him! Can you tell me what he's doing correctly?

[@AbdullahKahramanPhD]

I can't see the link of the video at 5:13 Could anybody help?

[@sayspeaktalk5031]

How about his head position? I believe the head of Tobias is a little bit to high, what also affects his overall body position. Is anyone else seeing this?

[@swimcat2333]

Head down more ,legs automatically come up. Core strength helps too . Woo hoo !! We are all trying to get that " mo jo " while swimming!!!! ❤ .

[@inz_uzi]

Head down didn't do anything to lift my legs. I look silly like a turtle and that's it.

[@supertotoaktarus]

very interesting, nonetheless i would pay to get stuck at 1:35....

[@matthias2995]

Nice and short but eye opening video 👍

[@gregspence4692]

1:35? didn't really look like it

[@TomasMacek-go2me]

The only chance for everyone to see dropped legs is to get some footage. You can't without a coach or a sparring partner. I don't have neither of those, and I so much wish to get some underwater footage of myself ... hopefully I wouldn't be too disgusted 😀

[@allydea]

Swim with a buoy and you'll immediately feel yhe difference when you go back to kicking. I also struggle with dropped legs and swimming with a buoy is about -4s/100m. My whole technique comes alive with the buoy but I didn't find a way to translate it to regular swimming.

[@pranze3484]

Sure you can, if your heels are not licking the surface your legs are dropped.

[@inz_uzi]

I bought a camera mount with a suction cup. I can mount to the side of the pool. It's not ideal, I get less than 10 s of useful footage but it's enough to see all the flaws of my stroke. It didn't help me much to correct them but at least I know why I suck so much at swimming. 😜

[@TomasMacek-go2me]

@@inz_uzi Wouldn't you have a link to that mount?

[@inz_uzi]

@@TomasMacek-go2me Just google "GoPro suction cup mount"

[@leonniezhe]

It is so much easier to say than do it, especially for people with no swimming background. I have the same problem and realise I should lift my lower part higher, but I just simply cannot do it. My body structure is not that straight and flexible. That is the reason I think sometime swimming coach should give more realistic advice to the swimmers.

[@RoryFitzpatrick-pe3fx]

That is realistic advice he is giving. He is talking about what can make this guys stroke better. Not yours. Get over yourself

[@aydendemery478]

I think you can you just haven’t found the strategy that works for you

[@garydebeer4235]

I use a pullboy to alleviate when I am swimming in a pool, obviously don't need one when I am in the sea

[@darrenconway8117]

Same for me. Easy to say. Very hard to do. I swim every two days to give my body time to recover. I swim one length at a time and review what I did each length. I pick my worst fault and focus on that. For the last couple of months I have been focusing on forward quadrant stroke. Only about half way to where I need to be. That is the strategy that works for me.

[@JJ.ermenegildofregna]

1.35 /100 m?...if only

[@Bloosee]

I have a really hard time believing what I'm watching is a 1:35 all day pace. I've got a pretty good stroke, body at the surface, connected kick but can only do 1:50 all day pace. Perhaps he's making it up with his obvious muscular physique.

[@purpleblueunicorn]

I'm stuck at 1:40 and in my head, I swim much better than he does lol!

[@_Dibbler_]

There is the saying that if you cant swim under 1:30 you primarily need to focus on technique, not fitness. And thats about right with what we see here. Probably he can swim 1:35s for some time, but with a very high effort. I have always been a 1:20-1:30ish kind of swimmer (faster in competitions needed, but thats all day pace for training sets) and coaches always still had plenty of complaints about my stroke. It really gets hard to improve from there on because outside it still looks messy, from the inside its hard so see or feel. Thats why coaches are important in swimming, you need the feedback

[@purpleblueunicorn]

@@_Dibbler_ Yeah makes sense. I think that the realisation that I should not be forcing to swim 1:30 might help. Is it really so, that 1:30 should feel almost like light jogging pace? Right now, I just added heart rate module to my FORM goggles and I'm astounded how high I'm running. Not crazy high, but I'm 150-153bpm which I thought I was in zone 2, whereas on my bike zone 2 is 135-140bpm. I'm very fit and using lots of power in my arms just to produce 1:38-1:40 and I've rarely every swam faster than 1:30 for a single 100m, but I've done 1000m at 1:38. I'm now swimming 5-6 times, 15k per week total and feel like stuck at 1:40. But I started at 1:55 6 month ago. I've had coaching before, so my technique is not crap and trying to do all the things I've seen in videos. Waiting for those little breakthroughs.

[@_Dibbler_]

@@purpleblueunicorn 15k per week? Wow, The last time I have done that I was a kid. The problem with swimming too much is that the body position and the stroke falls apart easily when you are getting tired. Thats counterproductive. All I need to do to get into the ~1:30s range is swim 1-2k per week(or rather, once in a month). Same for the sets, keep them short, rather swim 50m and 100m sets and focus on technique. In swimming heart rate can be quite high, the lactate tolerance is higher due to the horizontal position. Its ok to swim hard, the problem is: Dont rush, take your time for the catch, take your time to grab the water, take your time to float between strokes. Use the 50m sets to use a 4xstrole and glide a lot, catch up, dont try to be fast, try to have an efficient stroke.

[@pranze3484]

There's 0 way this is 1km every 13 minutes. More like 20-25 minutes

[@tommykirk9796]

It’s around 15:45

[@arnaus33]

Don't be envious

[@alexbonzi]

That's a 1:35 /100m pace? Yeah right😂😂😂

[@dominicliam2542]

Swimming well, but definitely not an all day 1:35 pace. Be lucky to get 1:35 on the first 100.

[@MinhNguyenTao]

TBH, I desperately like being stuck at 1:35/100m pace.

[@TomasMacek-go2me]

😀I'm somewhere right after 2:00, so I may just long to get to the 1:35.

[@tomospark4366]

This aint 1:35 pace

[@ThePoitivient]

What pace is it?

[@Dnmk2007]

slower no ?

[@ThePoitivient]

@@Dnmk2007 I guess its hard to tell exactly, but it looks like a 135 pace to me. 135 isn't too fast.