https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jJ9wZNTdMo
This video is from last weekend and I have not swam at all since September due to marathon/running focus. What small-ish things do you see that I could work on before I start back into the pool? Someone who was watching as this was filmed did point out to me that I am crossing over with my left hand (yep, I can see that now and will work on it). I’m certain that I’m doing a lot wrong, but I am interested in seeing if there are easily recognizable tweaks that I can make and incorporate since I haven’t been in the pool for a while now and can start “fresh”.
For a little background, I am mainly an XTERRA guy, but I have completed two half IMs and one full (IMFL 2012, very comfortable 1:21 swim split). I am also signed up for IM Chattanooga this fall. I usually held 1:50-2:00/100m in XTERRAs last year. I am decent on the MTB and a strong runner, but I’d like to come out of the water sooner so I don’t have to pass on the singletrack as much. Please let me know if any other information would be helpful.
Edited to add: I saw jonnyo’s swim catch video and I will work on that with an exercise ball. I tried it a couple of times and the movement felt very odd, but I was not surprised or discouraged by this.
your pull is really wide. You don’t want to cross the midline, but at the same time, you don’t want to be pulling that wide either.
kick is too big. you want a nice and tight, rapid kick.
you turn your head too far. you should be looking at the side of the pool, not at the ceiling. You also cross the midline slightly with your left hand.
Compare your pull with this guy’s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Wei4DGNYJM
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your pull is really wide. You don’t want to cross the midline, but at the same time, you don’t want to be pulling that wide either.
The video illustrates this well and I did not even know that I should be keeping it in that close. It looks like it is just straight off of his ear on either side, without crossing over obviously.
kick is too big. you want a nice and tight, rapid kick.
Point taken. I don’t think that this is how I normally kick, but I understand the comment based on the video I provided. I think it had to do mainly with me knowing that I was being filmed. As soon as I was finished I had wondered why I was kicking so excessively, but I will pay attention to this.
you turn your head too far. you should be looking at the side of the pool, not at the ceiling. You also cross the midline slightly with your left hand.
I will work on this, too.
Thanks for keeping your comments basic and not making them overwhelming for a non-swimmer.
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Man, that’s a ton of whitewater coming off that kick. Use the kick like a cat uses it’s tail - for balance, not as a 5th leg.
Try to get the joints of your big toes touching as much as possible. That’ll bring your feet in.
Also, push off the wall with both hands in front of you. Hold that underwater for a second. Then take your first pull as you break the surface.
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Haha, yeah, I almost edited that first length out before posting since it was so obvious that my kick was out of control, but I figured I’d go all in and show the whole thing anyway. Thanks for the observations and pointers. I think I’ll make a list of things to work on and then try to implement them one, maybe two things at a time starting with the easiest and then add from there as I get them down.
if you pull really wide, that will create a tendency to push your body to the opposite side, which you don’t want to do.
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So, essentially zigzagging down the lane with each wide pull? If so, that makes sense and I could see where that would not be a desirable thing.
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Yeah, thats pretty much it.
I also noticed that you are doing a goofy thing with your left hand where it comes back up to the surface before you start your pull. that slows you down.
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I think I saw what you were talking about around the close up side view at 1:26-1:28s. Where my hand initially starts coming down after entering the water and then points up again before the two consecutive left hand pulls as seen below?
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Thanks for your help. I thought I’d get more comments chastising me for wearing a 910XT in the pool than constructive advice, haha. I’ll work on these basic things and maybe post another video in a few weeks.
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I thought I’d get more comments chastising me for wearing a 910XT.
I thought I’d take it easy on you. I didn’t criticise those godawful pushoffs and those ugly goggles either 
However, I did get a nice view of the cameraman’s nostril.
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I thought maybe ST had gone soft or something. Hopefully this falls off of the first few pages by the time everyone gets home from work. 
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Stop bumping this thread before the disgruntled fishes find it!!! /pink
::stops bumping thread and watches it sink into the depths::
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This picture is relevant because Janet Evans is a really good swimmer.
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This picture is relevant because Janet Evans is a really good swimmer.
But was she as fast as Amanda Beard?
Thanks for posting this and forcing me to think about your stroke.
In reading the comments, they are dead on and very good. I hope these help you.
From what I can tell, you float better than you are allowing yourself to believe. You seem to be “muscling it”. Plug into that good floating ability to make yourself feel more comfortable in the water. Comfort in the water usually means you can learn new things quickly. For example; use that float and comfort to GLIDE more instead of muscling it.
To feel an awesome glide: Do a push off the wall squeezing your ears with your biceps, arms outstretched, one hand on top of the other. Pretend you are a torpedo. Hold your breath, push off and glide/float as far as you can. As you go, make sure legs and feet are together. Go back to the wall. Repeat this several times. When you are feel comfortable doing this and when you are about to slow down add 4 long strokes that make you glide. Do the strokes without a breath. Then stop. Repeat several times. Hopefully this will help you understand gliding in the water and using a little less energy.
1)Pull is too wide
2)kick is too deep
3) you have very flat body position in the water. Very little rotation. You need to rotate more by using your hips and core in conjunction with you shoulders—think how to paddle a canoe. Think how a person in a canoe engages their core to paddle from the start of the stroke to the finish of the stroke.