Hey peeps,
Today I'm doing a quick swimming blog. Might as well since I'm waiting for my flight to Vietnam!
Anyway after reading this post you will have better arm recovery. That's right, I can improve your stroke without even watching you swim! How many teachers do you know of that can do that! 😉
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I've taught many people over the years and had the pleasure of watching pupils grow up and swim confidently as well as win races in their schools etc 😁.
But I've also observed alot of teachers and noticed alot of shouting at the pupils to get the result. However as a teacher, your not the one doing the actions and most of the time not even in the water.
So when I hear someone scream "Get your arms out the water!" or "you need to lift your arms out the water more" it's likely that the problem is actually nothing to do with arms. As a result, the teacher ends up stressed with a sore throat and the pupil gets upset/annoyed.
So what is it?
Head position
Head position fixes pretty much everthing when it comes to swimming on your front. If your arms feel heavy, your neck or shoulders ache and your not relaxed it's probably your head position.
Look down, not forwards
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Try this - Do 4 to 6 stokes looking directly downwards, don't even look where your going then stop. Stand up.
You should feel less or no pain in your shoulders and neck. It's as if your mobilty has just increased.
That's because it has
Don't believe me? Then do the opposite. Look forwards not downwards at all. Heck look upwards if you really want but have fun trying to keep your legs up let alone get your arms out the water.
You can choose what feels better but I already know the answer.
So now you know this, you can use this knowledge to find the sweet spot. That is somewhere in between looking down and forwards. However you should mostly be swimming with you nose facing the floor.
If your worried about not swimming in a straight line then use the straight lines on the floor to guide you.
thumbs.dreamstime.com/z/swimming-pool-line-13442652.jpg
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If you absolutely insist looking fowards than use your eyes rather than lifting your chin.
Please note this will only make the arm movement [alot] more comfortable and possibly arm entry. It won't affect the timing. I have other tricks for that 😉.
By the way...
Everything I teach and advise on I can actually back up - I've got in the water and tried it myself. Why? Well, there's nothing more frustrating to me than teaching someone who doesn't progress. Other teachers can vouch for this.
Thats it for now
Comment if you want me to cover something else.
Happy swimming 🙂