SWIM FASTER FREESTYLE: 3 Drills to increase freestyle control, power and speed

[@jamescandelaria4840]

Hi Kaitlin! Wow, that is a great video and drills. What luck to come across it. I will be using these techniques starting at workout tomorrow. I am 65 and no longer complete so working out on my own without a Master's club is hard to maintain motivation. I am very fortunate to have a nice aquatic center here in Folsom, CA. But I still like to swim fast with some sets clocking 100s descending from 1:18 to 1:08 and I still love to swim a lot of butterfly too. Thank you! Jimmy

[@frehlingswim]

Glad it was helpful! I understand it's difficult to maintain motivation without competition or your club. It sounds like you have a great location and are doing a great job still training fast. Have a great session tomorrow! Let me know how it goes.

[@jamescandelaria4840]

@@frehlingswim I decided to do only the first drill today and found out it is tiring to work the kick hard for 25yds. I did about 12 x 25s but didn't count with no interval on the clock. I felt more tired than usual today not because of the drill either so I cut out earlier than normal. I really wanted to follow up with some normal freestyle 50s on the minute too, next time. It did feel good to work the kick hard with a normal arm stroke and breathing cadence. I really felt the power of my kick. Tomorrow is the second drill and see how it goes. Thanks for your interest and support!

[@frehlingswim]

@jamescandelaria4840 how has it been going?? Has your body adapted to the harder kick so you’re feeling less tired after?

[@jamescandelaria4840]

@@frehlingswim yes, especially for sprinting 50 & 100s. I've been focusing on using my whole body more and not just dragging my kick along. So, I mean consciously feeling my hips rotating slightly enough to allow the kick to be efficient when on my side. This frees up my feet for a more full kick where if i didn't do this and dragged my legs then my feet would have to cross each other making the kick slower and a lot less power. I've also been working hard on dolphin underwaters too. so, after push off I count seven kicks then start fly with no breath then alternate breathing on each stroke. it takes seven strokes to the wall (SCY) then push off and repeat. it's hard but slowly noticing more stroke efficiency. thanks for asking!!!

[@frehlingswim]

It’s awesome that your rotation is smoothing out your stroke and eliminating the crossover kick(driving more kick power while you’re rotating and extending)That is the goal! Amazing. Also, great work on your underwaters and efficient fly. I love hearing all the progress.

[@KT-zx9jr]

Great drills Kaitlin. Thank you. One question. When a person is on their side, what percent should they be there versus lying flat on the body in the water? Completely on the side, so 90 degree rotation? 3/4s on the side, 75 degree rotation? I was thinking about that yesterday doing the crawl as I rotated back n forth. If a person wants pure speed, is going too far over also a bad thing as it may slow you down? Thank you.

[@frehlingswim]

Great question! Overexaggerate your rotation for these three drills. Overkick-75 degree rotation, One Arm Hover-chest parallel to the wall(90 degree rotation), One Arm Swim-75-85 degree rotation. When you are swimming freestyle, your rotation is directly correlated to your arm tempo. Slower tempo will allow for more rotation, faster tempo will allow for less rotation. You should ALWAYS have some degree of rotation, however, it will vary based off your pace and tempo for optimal speed.

[@KT-zx9jr]

@@frehlingswim Great, thanks Kaitlin. For sprinting, what percent rotation side to side do you average?

[@frehlingswim]

You inspired me to do a more in depth video on rotation. Here it is! Thanks for the inspo :) kzbin.info/www/bejne/h4jbnYOgfsqkiLcsi=f30xCJYBSisbEBZ8