Swim Faster And Easier With The Right 'Base Position'

If you ever feel like you're on treadmill when you're swimming and you can't relax or keep your heart rate down... think of this 'base' position as the place you relax every stroke.
The base position is with your fingers slightly deeper than your shoulder, hips and torso rotated to ~45 degrees and arm aligned with your shoulder. Eyes looking straight down or up to around 45 degrees forwards.
Use the side kick drill and 6-1-6 drill to help develop this and refine it.
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[@EffortlessSwimming]

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[@pinjaliina]

This is in my opinion one of the very best front crawl swimming technique videos on KZbin! There are some others with good tips, but I have yet to see any of the other ones to mention the base position and how to practice it. I've thus far only made one extra drill practicing it and instantly felt that my swim improved by a bit (by clock, too). Now I try to remember it all the time while swimming: find the base position on every stroke! I still need more practice - well, we all always do - but this really already helps. Thank you!

[@1houndgal]

I will be practicing these drills also. Thank you for sharing them.

[@vaged2aj]

Your explain things really well. You are a great speaker.

[@7kmkeane]

Perfect advice. Definitely important, if the foundation is not correct, hard to make everything else from there right. Was actually thinking about this today while swimming as a "neutral position" in that you are trying to be as horizontal as possible when extended, and not down by the hips and legs, or "negative". It may be that everybody's balance point to be horizontal may be different depending on body type. All good stuff, thanks so much for all your advice!

[@jessequijano]

yes! totally focused on this right now with an eye toward strengthening and lengthening my core and keeping my legs streamlined. It certainly is keeping my heart rate down and I can feel the focus on the pull building muscle I wasnt getting with poor technique. It is how I overcame a back and shoulder injury incurred my swimming flat with a straight down pull trying to do that old school curve nonsense I was taught as a kid.

[@f.3620]

Fantastic advices and very clear explanations on what is right, what is “wrong” and how to fix it.

[@maurizio7209]

Grazie, Brandan, I will put on practice this drill! As usual yout advices are really useful !!! Ciao!! From switzerland😎🏊🏽‍♂️😎🏊🏽‍♂️

[@garyg1144]

Just wanted to say thank you for your videos generally, they have helped to demystify swimming for me. Great content explained well!

[@gingerbadjie9670]

Great tips, going to try the 6-1-1 today thank you :)

[@ROCKNROLLFAN]

Its been since 2001 since Ive even been in a swimming pool and I would LOVE to learn all of these base position techniques.....

[@billsergeson9427]

Brilliant advice as always. It’s definitely helping me to improve in the pool but my open water swimming is still all over the place. I get out of breath after 200m

[@ImhotepLex]

This is one of my favorite drill along with 6-1-6 and 6-3-6

[@taahiraquick588]

Great tips. I’m just wondering if you could give some insight or do a video for people who (due to being overweight) tend to float too much, making rotating and staying underwater difficult. Thanks

[@seiti1]

4:13 I think this is one of my problems. I'll practice those drills on my next swimming sessions. Thanks!

[@dapianoman20]

Me too! I've been trying to work out which is better; keeping one arm out or just going like the clappers... this vid answered that question! Thanks so much :)

[@K.mersch]

I find when I swim front quadrant or catch-up it reduces my strokes per minute, is this bad if you're training for triathlon and need a faster turnover rate?

[@ampeliozurutuza6958]

In what should focus ? Cadence oro sliding in the water. How much effort should I been putting in the catching?

[@ankitamitra2148]

Hello Brenton, your videos always help me a lot in improving my strokes. I have done the 6-1-6 drill before, but never tried the side kick drill so far. Do you recommend practicing the side kicks without fins and snorkels? Is it better to practice the base position with these?

[@johnthornton9267]

Brenton, I've been doing kick on side and 6-1-6 drills for some time but have never thought of them as helping to establish a 'base position'. Where would this position occur on a breathing stroke i.e.. before, during or after?

[@EffortlessSwimming]

During

[@fu.i]

What about head position? Is it better to look straight down to keep it streamline? Thanks so so much for the video🙏🏻❤️

[@1houndgal]

On Freestyle/front crawl, eyes down looking at the bottom of the pool/lines until you take a breath. When you take a breath your head is turned sideways and your head should be suberged so one Google is in the water. Backstroke is eyes on the ceiling with head in neutral position, in such a way your head position limits drag. You should not look back towards your feet because you will likely be bending head forward causing legs and hips to sink. That creates drag and makes it much harder to swim fast. Hope this helps.

[@user-pl4eu5jc5w]

I noticed in good swimmers their one shoulder comes above the water line when they rotate. I think this is one reason drag is reduced too?

[@nicksmith-chandler458]

FQS raises the feet, drops the head, keeps up the momentum of your moment arms (physics)

[@karstenmeinders4844]

Also if one hand and arm is always in the water, the water line keeps being extended which reduces drag additionally.

[@alvarotomico872]

One question Brenton. The 6-1-6 drill showed in this video (3:00) is performed with 90º of body roll (both shoulder and hips). Is it necessary to do it that way when at base position you should keep about 40º of rotation?

[@EffortlessSwimming]

I like 6-1-6 drill with more rotation than you’d normally swim with. Doesn’t need to be 90 though. Just make sure your opposite shoulder is out of the water

[@niks12341234]

Keeping myself in the ideal base position with body in the front quadrant feels difficult. I wonder if this is because I lack good shoulder strength or I am not getting the alignment right. Does anyone else have weak shoulders? How do you manage? Are there any land exercises for this?

[@EffortlessSwimming]

Might be too flat through your hips and shoulders

[@niks12341234]

Thanks all... Will keep this in mind while trying the drills next time. Side plank seems like a good idea!

[@jessequijano]

Nikhil Mysore i find there is a minimal amount of velocity specifically from your legs. When you lose you momentum and your hips/feet start to fall into the water it makes me plow the water with my chest so I cant glide forward during the “base position”. When Im doing this I use 3 flutter kicks per pull, very tight kicks with my legs as streamlined as possible. it helps with my rhythm. pull, kick kick kick, pull, kick kick kick. then when I want to sprint just connect those kicks together but keep the rhythm. thats how I started fixing alot of my bad habits. that said watch more video from here best youtube i have found for this info.

[@trykozmaksym]

8:32 - is she breathing a bit too far back? Especially to the right - her spine gets twisted. I tend to do that myself - after 1k or less that lower right side becomes really painful - it even gets hard to breathe. Or is it something else?

[@KeithHiew]

MaxTryk you may try bilateral breathing. Breathing every three strokes so that you’re alternating breathing sides. Or if you find you still need more oxygen, then breathe every two strokes to the right as you go down one length of the pool, and then breathe every two to the left as you come back. Might help you find the balance and hopefully the pain will go away. Because I do two to three sessions of 1,500 free every week and I find that it helps. Just my two cents.

[@trykozmaksym]

@@KeithHiew thanks!

[@farouk596]

I'M BATMAN

[@howzat2046]

Great info as usual ! Does anyone know how fast Brendan swims per 100m ?

[@EffortlessSwimming]

47:01 was my IM swim time (1:14 pace).

[@joequillun7790]

I see a lot of this exaggerated glide technique, and it confuses me how one arm can give an extreme reach, (in preparation for the catch), while the other arm is still in front gliding. It appears the shoulders are too perpendicular with the body centerline, which to me would seem like more drag. At the end of this video, the girl swimmer doesn't seem to be performing this exaggerated glide, like the guy after her.

[@ROCKNROLLFAN]

it cant be that hard, I just have to learn how to breath in the water.

[@1houndgal]

For anyone who is working on breath control: here are some tips/drills that may be helpful for you as they have been for me. Start by learning to do bobs if you don't know how to have good breath control. Learn how to use you diaphragm as singers do. Try taking a deep breath and the singing ("God Save The Queen" or "My Country Tis of Thee". If you still have air in your lungs keep exhaling slowly and counting up. Then practice Breathing in air with mouth quickly as you swim, and out of your nose slowly (making bubbles as your head will be in the water (past the top of your ears), eyes looking down at bottom of pool. Just some tips on breath control. Good luck. Hope it helps. BTW, Humming can help you learn breath control also. HUMMING makes you keep your mouth closed as you breathe out through you nose. All of these things and more help you learn to go faster when you swim. Especially so when you add flip turns (blowing bubbles out as you start your flip and through the flip keeps water from going into your nose and sinuses. Again, hope this helps anyone who is working on good breath control.