Freestyle swimming

manetta1

I'm training for a sprint triathlon in the summer and I would like some tips to do a half mile of swimming quicker. That's 25 laps in the pool at my gym. It ends up taking me 22 minutes. My friend who is a girl and is not in the shape that I am can do it in 17 minutes. So I feel like maybe I'm swimming freestyle somewhat wrong. I couldn't do 25 laps of freestyle, I ended up swapping to breast stroke, but fell behind. Maybe I'm going too fast when I try to swim freestyle or maybe my breathing is off. Can someone give me the 101 of freestyle swimming because ideally that is the stroke I need to use to get my sprint done in under an hour. I need to get out of the pool by 15-17 minutes I'm thinking to make it under an hour. Any tips would be much appreciated.

mike

lucy1703

it's probably in your technique.
head should be relaxed and in the water looking ahead only turning to the side to breath. whe you breath you should sim to keep your ear and 1 eye in the water - it comes with practise.
arms should be entering at 1 and 11 o'clock. keep fingers slighly apart it increases the surface area of the hand pulling more water. elbow should be high with your arm 'spearing' the water so it still drives forward through the water before pulling back and out. legs should also be on the surface of the water doind realxed kicking. feet should come out of the water on the up kick but not too far.

hope this helps.

Kait_liiin

A few tips from a (non-competitive) swimming instructor:
1. kick from the hip. Keep your splashes as under-water as possible and don't bend your knees like crazy; just keep your knees soft.
2. It is best to breathe every third stroke or more, as doing so more often tends to slow you down. But ultimately just breathe when you need to take a breath to maintain your pace and stamina. Also, try not to roll too far over when you take a breath. Rather, just turn your head far enough to get your mouth out of the water and take a breath.
3. For your arms, ensure you reach as far above your head as possible so you're pulling as much water as you can (without reaching so far your hips start swinging from side to side with each stroke). During the stroke (i.e. when your arm is moving from head to hip in the water) concentrate on putting some force behind your pull to get you going. Also, your hand should move in a slight "S" during the motion.

Hope this makes sense and helps. People who have swam competitively may have more suggestions and/or tell me I don't know what I'm talking about for racing! Good luck!

Azdak

Yeah swimming is as much about stroke mechanics as it is fitness. I would recommend trying to find a masters swim class or training group. Kait_liiin has listed important tips-- I think if you are really serious, you can benefit greatly from "hands on" instruction.

triben

Mike when You come home we can hit a pool and I will show you some parts of the stoke to make you more efficient. It takes practice. There are also a couple of Triathalon videos about doing the free style stroke in open water because that chenges a lot.

coronalime

Are you doing an open water swim? If you are, pool trainng will only get you so far. Open water is totally not the same and you cant look to the side you need to look forward so you know where you are going and stay on course.
As far as what stroke you honestly can do whatever stroke out there you can. In the beginning you are just trying to survive the salmon up stream while everyone in your wave hits the water and attempts to swim. If there are some turns again people will be on top of you trying to turn tight.
I did a few last summer and training for a 1/2 iron man this spring. While I recommend swimming and practicing the real time is in the bike and run. You swim for so little out there in the grand scheme of things. Where your swim training may have some tri courses or classes or you can google an instructor if you want more help. My husband had a video called Total Immersion that is a DVD and book about swimming. Also beginnertriathlete.com is a great site to join