How to improve your freestyle

[mslol360]

@piokow you must maintain high elbows,dropped elbows tend to increase drag tire you more however,it is more powerful.

[JinxOz]

I meant to search for a Freestyle Rap improvement video. Not what I expected.

[kanonear]

I noticed that I don't fold my arms in water and I keep them almost straight during the strokes. Is it bad and does it affect my swimming speed ?

[callemout22]

@piokow, I thiiiiink he may just have a leg cramp or something, I do the same thing. Maybe I'm wrong though(:

[MrDevil2000]

when I try to breath water always get in my nose :-(

how r u supposed to breath to avoid this?

should I breath from my mouth instead?

[Swmrsue]

@MrDevil2000 yes breathe in through your mouth, and try exhaling out your nose in a relaxed easy breath...

[sexypoetry]

i would like to join the pole shift survival group or start the new one.

[marilou7itgr]

i swim every day about 900 meters freestyle.should i breathe every 2 strokes as i do or should i have to learn to breathe every 3 strokes?whats best?

[bernapt95]

@marilou7itgr if during training u only do 900 meters freestyle its probably better to breathe every 3 strokes. The 2 strokes breathe will come in handy when u start swimimg more meters,

[marilou7itgr]

@bernapt95 from how many meters and more is it better to breath every 2 strokes?

[GMZTORP]

@marilou7itgr It's always better to breathe every 3 strokes...To develop balance in the water and to be able to breathe confortably to the both sides...After you got that mastered you can breathe every 2 strokes to one side for let's say 50 meters, and to the other side for another 50 m...

[arbanaskocudo]

@marilou7itgr you must found out that yourself, depends how big is your lung capacity and your fitness condition, i usualy breath on every 2-3 stroke

[marilou7itgr]

i cant breath bilateral the left side breathing confuses me!and i breathe every 2 or 4 strokes but the vids i saw before where showing to breathe both sides and every 3 strokes...should i change my breathing?

[TomSouthLondon]

im a quick swimmer and used to be good back when i was 15/16 im now 27 and i cant swim for long ! i mean anything more than 100m and im exhausted !? i dont know why , iplay lots of football so im fit, i just get so tired and out of breath! why is that? help some one!!!

[mpartipilo]

@TomSouthLondon I'm also re-taking swimming. You are using different muscles than in football, your body is used to an infinite air supply, and you're probably holding your breath in too long and trying to go faster than your condition currently allows. Start with a slow pace and slowly increase it over time. Don't hold your air in, breathe out while underwater and breathe in every 2 or 4 strokes. Try not to get frustrated, it's always hard at the beginning while the body gets used to it.

[emutt95]

@TomSouthLondon You aren't in swim shape. My polo coach said for every week off, its equivalent to 3-4 weeks subtracting in training. So if you don't swim for two weeks, it will take you about 2 months, maybe a little faster, to get back to the shape you were in before you took the two weeks off. Get it?

[mnaitct]

U breath every 6s :P

[muddwell]

Ive been getting a sore lower back after swimming freestyle, any ideas?

[gerrocks]

why does he does he breath to one side every 2 strokes , al the video's tell you to breath every 3 strokes t each side , bilateral breathing. answer please???

[Maelstrom787]

@gerrocks It depends on style once you become a bit more seasoned. Learners are generally told to start with bilateral, but competitive swimmers usually stay to one side. Bilateral breathing can generally slow you down.

[lucarex50]

thats great!!

[TeamExxperience]

The person in the forst 35 seconds has a minor limp in his stroke where his right arm pushes his upper body into the water a tad :]

[TomSouthLondon]

I used to be good at swimming.

Ive not been in 10 years

I struggled getting 50m

im doing a life guard exam on monday

Im fucked

maybe Ian can help?

Help me Ian the course cost $260 no refunds!

Im not stupid or retarded.....i fear im something much worse!

[Heriopasu]

Help me here. I'm really trying to improve my swimming skills. This guy Jimmy DShea in his freestyle stroke video mentioned an S motion when you're pulling your hand. But I still don't get how to do it. Can somebody explain?

[burtrumbean]

anyone know of any drills to keep my hips in-line with my body?

mine seem to drift wayward!

[piokow]

can someone explain what's going on with his right leg at 40s? seems he just keeps it in the water... ;)

[scoobysdeathwish756]

Sorry but I'm not seeing anything that needs explanation??

[captainmidas]

he is breathing on the left side and using the right leg to stabilize and balance, before he snaps the kick. Its very pronounced but he makes it work. Check out TI, they do the same thing w both legs

[xk23]

@piokow may be he is getting a cramp in the right leg :P

[AVangarDIsrael]

@piokow  his muscle stretched..... its really painful

[GMZTORP]

@piokow Different swimmers have different breathing, kicking, and stroke patterns and techinques...You got to find your own rythm and the technique you are most confortable with...I think that's just a confort thing for him, makes it easir to coordinate with the arm stroke for him...Hope it helped.

[jungweizer]

dang this video shows great underwater footage.. Ian Thorpe's is a master of the freestyle technique!!

He's swims very efficiently. One of my most favorite swimmers of all time.

[EffortlessSwimming]

Thanks for the video fraggedmetal.

For more free swimming videos go to our Youtube channel

[fraggedmetal]

no problem, u can check out my butterfly one too via my channel and thx for the tip

[HellRzer]

thx ur vid is one of the best its really really helpful thx to u i use the freestyle at 0:18 i find very effective in speed and distance

[HellZ1212]

coolcaz98 NEVER breathe every 4 breathe every 3 or 5 :)

[imthupertherial]

I'm about to start swimming again, and yes, it is very difficult. However, it is by far the best workout there is. It is so fun and good for you! I haven't been swimming for 2 years now so I'm excited to get back into the water. At first don't worry about breathing, do what comes natural. Then you can start to do some hypoxic training to improve breathing. =)

[LovesJeanValjean]

Cool, I am always freaking out about my breathing, so I will focus on other things.

[mojo1pin1]

Last night I started swimming again to train for a sprint triathlon...

Suffice to say that I am horrified by how difficult I found it. I concentrate soo hard on stretching my arms out that I forget to breathe out underwater....which gets me into a right pickle.

[Coolcaz98]

I am really good at freestyle but different places i go to for lessons they say breathe every 3 and then other people say breathe on every 4 but i dont no which to do please help me im in a swimming gala on monday and i want to do well

[Esjar207]

Well it depends on ur pulmonary capacity.. me 4 example i can dive a whole 50m pool... and i breathe every 5... so.. its not wrong if u breathe every 3 or 4..

[Esjar207]

another thing u can do its doing the breathing after 1.. but then u neeed a lot of strengh in ur legs.. its just my op.. :P good luck on the gala :D and have fun.. thats what swimmig is about =D

[PoloBaron]

It all has to do with the race you are swimming. If you are sprinting a 50 free you should be breathing only 3 or 4 times on the race. 100 free should be every 3 strokes. The 200 is debatable, I don't swim it so its hard to say but i would think every 3 or possibly every other. The 500 and up should be every other stroke.

[crazydancinggyal3]

Usually it would be good for evry 3 times. This helps your direction too stay balanced and straight. but it's not wrong for every or five

[ervehcnap]

It honestly depends on how fast you are, see breathing slows you down. Therefore you want to breath less possible during your race to have the best time you can have. I personally during a race breath 4-6 times during a race, but during practice to expand my lung and make them strong i breath every 2 strokes taking in as much air i can possible take in. But your main goal is to breath only when you NEED it. And during practice try what i try. It works for some and others it doesnt.

[MVPacMan23]

For aerobic training, it's ot wise to breathe to much as you do. You want to refine your body's lactic acid output, but that's done by too some degree limiting breathing, and thus forcing the vascular system to pump efficiently. THis is best done duriing practice by using especially long underwaters, i.e. 7-8 dolphin kicks for swimmers undergoing heavy training, breathig every three strokes and emphasizing air deprivation drills, like

25s submerged, and 7 stroke breathing rhythms.

[MVPacMan23]

Ad it's not especially related to speed, just personal taste, ad also race distance. In a 200, the average olympic swimmer takes a breath every 3-4 strokes to remain fueled, due to the both sprint and distance elements of the race involved. In a 50 meter race most sprinters take 1-2 breaths as they move up to speed in the drive portion of a race, which lasts for a much shorter time in swimming than track&field, due to the lower top speed Of course, olympic swimmers have refined aerobic abilities

[AndyPandyO]

so are you saying that the more often you breath the stronger you'll make your lungs?

[LyricalAdvancement]

@AndyPandyO: I would think that as others have mentioned, training your body to be able to work with less Oxygen intake (breathing LESS) would be more beneficial. If you think about it this then is very similar to living/training at High Altitudes - your body is forced to increase its efficiency with every O2 molecule it's given. Of course, keep in mind that this increased efficiency isn't going to happen after 5 practices - your body needs more time to 'rewire' itself to work more efficiently

[AndyPandyO]

thankyou :) that was very helpful. and i'd always assumed that breathing less often would be more beneficial but after reading some of the comments i wasn't really sure what to think and it was all a bit confusing.

[Kerim1995]

hehe well kind of, but your lungs will become stronger if you swim alot without breathing so much to :)

[amerikanerMarinen]

People have always asked me tips how on to stay extended..because I had the same problem. My arm would be falling while trying to take a breath and the best thing I could do was in the middle of my extending I forced myself to move my upwards, then catch to make sure I got max extension..so maybe that will work

[moviedude22]

my worst stroke bar none. breathing, timing, etc are all in need of serious help. but i luv to swim regardless

[tam705618]

I really like your attitude.

[xiaolintraditional90]

I can swim freestyle pretty well for like 50m then I start running out of breath and start getting tense. I feel like I'm using to much energy. I see people who swim really horribly but they can keep swimming for an hour or so but I can't. Any tips on how to swim more efficiently?

[HungAzn]

Its muscular endurance...once you get your technique pretty good, you just need to practice more. At least for me its that.

Take long extended strokes. Think distance per stroke. Don't sprint in long distance.

[SpecializedSport]

Is this at Sydney or after Sydney? There is a big difference in his stroke going into Worlds where he eventually pulled out.

[Usernameinvalid99999]

I am the worlds worst swimmer

[WarGodKills]

lol why?

[headpistol1]

when im swimming freestyle and i go to breathe my legs sometimes cross over as i tilt my body to bring my head out of the water for air. this crossing over makes it difficult to kick. any tips?

[fraggedmetal]

Don't kick so hard or try a 3 beat kick etc. and try to turn more with ur neck not ur body.

[antoting]

my coach told me to lower my head and when breathing try to have only half of ur head out of the water (including your mouth) so that your legs wont sink

[343596]

just turn your head don´t "tilt" ur body!!!

[benzodiazepimp]

Man, the swim coaches I have are telling me to turn my body (that the correct motion should be similar to rolling all the way onto your back)... Everyone I talk to gives me different instructions!

[StrokeDoctorSwims]

You must have some rotation or you won't get air at all. Try this: float face down on your belly and try to turn your head to air. Doesn't work without LIFTING your head, a major no-no. So just getting air is one reason for at least some rotation of the body. But rolling to your back is way too far.There's a lot of bad advice out there--it sucks, but you have to be discriminating and at some point trust your own body/judgment.

[HungAzn]

You should be on your side partially which will make it a lot easier to breath. Don't let your legs flop around and get tangled with themselves.

[kec8]

I had this prolem really bad when I started swimming, I did the TI method which says to rotate your entire body, I now just turn my head and upper body a bit. I used to not be able to use a pull buoy becuase I'd flip over. I suggest not doing so much body rotation, don't lead the rotation with your upper body, start from your hips like every other sport. Also go wide with your arm entry. Watch the pros like Hackett on youtube.

[mikegoldstein318]

Actually, shoulder-driven freestyle (leading your rotation with your upper body) is great for sprint freestyle and is used by Michael Klim, Gary Hall Jr., Eamon Sullivan, Bernard, etc. You're supposed to rotate, but you aren't supposed to rotate all the way over. You want your body to be cutting through the air as much as possible, which is why we rotate. It cuts down on drag in the water, but it takes your shoulders out of the water during recovery to further eliminate drag.

[atriuo]

@headpistol1 your not rotating your hips.

[kypselialani14]

@headpistol1 it happens often...try to turn only ur neck...not just to side!!but 50% side and 50% front...

[skyeric875]

@headpistol1 when you turn to breath, only thing should be shoulders rolling not the body legs should be the same or about

[Pilotman1992]

I need more speed when swimming but i have the format correct, except a lil wide arms on backstroke

[cellardoor70]

Sorry, it's 0:38 not 1:38.

[cellardoor70]

at 1:38 u can see the guy on thorpe's left doing a kicking rythm I havent previously encountered. He does a kick per stroke then the following two are started on the same leg, I guess to account fot the breathing. Is this common? I'll surely try it tomorrow at the pool

[giorgiobello1]

don't try unnatural things like that one. Try to swim keeping the elbow high..it does work!

[TheLilJay]

I cant really get the breathing right...

i keep swallowin water hahaha

[kec8]

work on balance drills, do the one arm drills and focus on breathing on each side.

[alritedarlin]

I agree that drills work wonders - varied drills. I've been swimming 3-5 times a week 1 hour sessions for a year now and my freestyle keeps on getting better all the time - like going through phases, naturally. This is result - I think - of concentration and experimentation in water, watching training vids, enjoying swimming, ipod in water, generally improved fitness. I look forward to getting better still in all strokes!

[l3tt3rs4ndnumb3rs]

are they breathing every 2nd stroke?

[Sevexius]

Yeah

[azgelin]

That's Ian Thorpe

[fraggedmetal]

i know!

[westogmoney]

uh that guy at 1:13 moves his head way too much

[Joebobzilla]

Hey, where did you get video footage? I want some for my videos.

[Joebobzilla]

Bet you I'm better than these guys!

[Gynecologist]

yes. just as I am better than you.

[Joebobzilla]

Ha ha ha.... wait, whose this guy?

[fraggedmetal]

I don't know...