Today I discovered that I am swimming faster doing pull sets with a buoy then I can swim normally by about 5s per 100yd. I assume this is a factor of poor balance (legs sinking) and a poor kick. What are your suggested drills to correct my body position so my legs are not sinking as much?
Ankle bands, no buoy
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Kick more
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Hi macinmt good on you for recognizing the problem and wanting to fix it…you are a 1%er!
A very quick answer with visuals will be a yootoobes search under ‘freestyle body balance’…great examples on how to begin to develop feel for your position. This is not a 3 day endeavor so be patient. If you stick with it, 90% don’t, the payoff will be huge. There are NO fast swimmers anywhere who have poor body balance. None. It’s a deal breaker game changer.
As far as the buoy, hopefully you can make yourself leave it in the car for the time being. Once you begin to learn how to press your upper thoracic spine down and support your core you will probably find that swimming with a buoy is very difficult if you want to keep your posture engaged. I cannot and will not swim with a buoy b/c it makes me too head down. At some point you can go back and do pull sets no question, but I’d highly recommend leaving it at home for a good while if you want to get this problem licked. Chances are great a buoy will feel weird and you might not even want to use one. If I just have to pull I will grab some bands, but I rarely do. Good luck stick with it!