Fabulous video! As an older swimmer, I learned many of the outdated methods. As a new WSI and Masters co-coach I really appreciate the clarity! For new swimmers it is far better to learn it the right way from the start. For seasoned swimmers open to technical coaching these refinements will make a huge difference. (I can't wait to get in the pool later today to try them out myself.) I'll be watching this a number of times to fully integrate each detail and I'll be sure to send others here too. Thanks again Susan!
I'm a former competitive swimmer (from ages 6-13, nothing impressive) and it's so fascinating to me to understand the *why* of why I was taught to swim in a certain way. Maybe my coaches told me, but it never really sank in (lol). I think I would've lasted longer in swimming if I had been taught to understand each movement like this.
Good video as a swimming instructor and Masters coach I strongly recommend that if you want to improve find a qualified coach. It is impossible to see yourself and understand what you are doing now and what you need to do to change to a more optimal technique. I swam at National level and still have a coach who can watch and motivate me. Enjoy your swimming
Excellent video. I have tried to "kick from the hips" many times and it never worked for me. I eventually learned to kick by swinging the calves and the ankles down against the water. I'll go back and try kicking with the quads and hamstrings and gluts. This will be interesting.
I was a lifeguard in the late 1980s and I remember learning from some "swim team" swimmers to imagine a pole going through the center of your body and rotating along that pole when breathing. It sounds very similar to what is described here as "new," right?
Which part of this was new? I would argue the kick tempo may depend on the swim. Is it a short sprint or 800m plus swim? I will decide either 2,4 or 6 beat kick based on my swim.
@@diminishedreturn I believe the point being made is that what's being referred to as "new" has been mainstream coaching for years and freely available all over UA-cam.
I really liked the part where they actually explained what a six beat kick actually is. "In short, your swimmer should complete six kicks per stroke cycle or three kicks per single arm stroke."
The best part is losing your mind as you try to keep count over a nice long swim. It's got to be so much smarter to view the kick as an adjunct. Get your breathing right (exhale underwater and inhale behind and to side of you keeping streamlined profile), keep your head position right (head down helps keep legs up ie streamlined body profile), get your stroke right (rotate at hips to push water backwards to go forwards)... *Nice minimal flutter of legs with toes pointed provides a little thrust but mostly keeps legs near surface for that sweet-spot streamlined profile. Don't waste energy / brain power on your kick!* Thank me later
@@NeilMalthus thank you for this lol i definitely dont worry about counting my kicks, but ive also never heard of 2, 4, 6 stroke kicking and was curious what it actually was :p
@@NeilMalthus I thank you *now* ! I started swimming a year ago, and I’m pretty addicted. I’m a runner (for half a century) and I’ve always thought swimming was the most boring thing in the world but I now find that it’s very meditative. Only a few YT videos, no coaching, some asking of other swimmers to watch me. I’ve slowly gotten a bit faster and more often I feel at one with my body in the water moving along like a symphony. It does bug me though when I see teenagers zoom past me at 2x my speed, helpful motivation to keep improving my streamlining. This video and your comment are helpful.
As a long distance swimmer I lile to make sure my legs and kick stays strictly within the lines of the chest and torso to maximise efficiency through the water.
Except for the S-pull, I was taught these modern techniques in the late 90s. I could feel that the S-pull was a bit less controlled, but the straight pull put a lot more stress on my rotator cuffs. How do you address that extra strain?
Really clear video. Thanks for the upload. I have a question about the head position: looking slightly in your feet direction instead of keeping a neutral position by looking right to the bottom of the pool. The idea is to have some hydrodynamic downward push to help keeping the body more aligned (sinking a bit the torso and lifting the hips). I think that there’s a Chinese Olympian swimming this way 🤔
Great video. It summarized the key moves that I have gathered from watching swim videos the last 2 years. What are your thoughts about hip driven reaching? I try to sync the further glide with the completion of the EVF pull. Your input will be well appreciated
Great video. Always something new to learn. By the way, is the best technique to breathe on both sides on a three count or on one side on a two or four count?
The 'snap' kick as I called it is so common in freestyle. By snap kick, I mean a mini scissor kick. I have seen this with Olympic level swimmers. With my over arm side stroke, the forgotten stroke, I was trying to eliminate the slow down/high drag part of the kick which is very similar to the breast stroke kick where most swimmers come to an almost complete stop before the stroke resumes. That is one thing I never liked about the breast stroke, as well as my feet will not turn out like that for that kick to be efficient for me. Anyway, I ended up going to a flutter kick for my OASS. I took 3 seconds off of my 50 yard sprint time in about 3 days. It eliminates that slow down part of the stroke when using the standard scissor kick. In most cases when swimmers use the 'snap kick' it is with the leg doing more of a back stroke style kick where there is less flex at the hip and more at the knee. The lower leg is more stream lined than the thigh, so I figure this is a less drag type position. Not sure, but just a thought. This snap kick is very common in the pool. For those who can do a good whip kick, if they stop during a lap, they always use the whip kick to get going again. For those of us who can't do the whip kick, we use a scissor kick. Lots of thrust, but also lots of drag, but since we are at a stand still, not much loss....
Not really new. I've been coaching this way for 25 years. And you do need to use some hip flexor in the kick. If it's all quad, then it's all knee bend. Fins are a good tool, as you recommend, for simulating the feel, and they work best when swapped on and off in repeat drills. The biggest difference in today's stroke is the wider entry point you mentioned. The old S stroke was a misunderstanding. From the perspective of a person watching, it is still an s because of body rotation. But, relative the swimmer, it is almost straight back. Also beginners usually could engage lats more, but getting them to think about rhomboid and abdominals gets even more muscles engaged, balances their stroke and helps with shoulder injury prevention.
Why baffle the beginner with talk of muscle groups? Are you teaching anatomists??? Why not just tell them to keep their head down - inhale to the side - to help keep legs close to the surface? A minimal straightish-leg kicking action (toes straight) ensures body profile is as streamlined as can be whilst adding a tiny amount of propulsion and using a minimum amount of precious energy. It kind of keeps it simple. Ideal for the beginner.
@@NeilMalthus What about the shoulder + hips rotation you seem to voluntary obliterate? @miscellaneousstuff2901 explains well why it is necessary, except maybe for a 50 meters freestyle race, whatever the swimming level. I think it is important to take the right posture including that, even at beginner level. It is a major part of the muscle memory to assimilate, the sooner, the better.
@@JustinaZenOnDVD We're talking beginners, yeah? I guess I should have mentioned "don't forget to use your arms" but I thought that too obvious. I think shoulder / hip rotation is a little _next level._ Apart from the obvious use of the arms in front crawl, I think maintaining the most streamlined body shape has to be up there with any half-decent coach's number 1 concerns. And to facilitate that, you want your face down in the water as much as possible with your legs rising naturally as a result (desired for that best body profile). I'm sure I'm teaching you to suck eggs here. You don't ever really need to talk muscle groups, I'd say, which was the point of my comment. Why go down the technical route? To impress your students with your knowledge of anatomy? To over-complicate things and drive the nervous swimmer away? It makes zero sense. IMHO. I hope that explains the 'voluntary obliteration' _(cough)_ for you.
@@NeilMalthus Really sorry if my words were too critical, not fluent enough in english. This matter of knowing which technical progresses a freestyle beginner should be aware of and practice is interesting anyway! Wishing you lots of fun swimming.
5 місяців тому
Are you all doing six kicks per stroke also during training? I find I’m lazy with the kicks and definitely guilty of the old technique shown here. Lots to try now :-)
Right, those distance freestyle swimmers seem to use the four beat kick mostly, during the majority of a 1500, and only use two beat momentarily for reducing workload and heart rate.
The "S" pull is inefficient .....now they try to enter the water more from the top, so create momentum with a hand and arm moving more back to straigh line and avoid the "S" turbulence. You can see that in the olimpic: relentless move of the arm, as moving in slow motion to enter with the hand digging Of course, swimers need to have strenght to do a stright line arm recover, but hey!...that why they do gym exercices specifically for that. Tip for the master's coaches: they must include specific gym resistant exercises and they should relax the water trainning session following that
What happened to early vertical forearm? That's all I hear about on other youtube swimming channels for freestyle. And i remember reading how Cokie Lepinski said to pull as though we were swimming over a barrel. If EVF is now outdated, why don't you mention it as outdated? You mention the S-pull (which is really outdated), which Doc Counsilman not only created, but also discovered in elite swimmers, I believe, your point that the hand enters and exits the water in the same location. I am a U.S Masters swimmer.
A flexible back seems like an Olympic swimmer skill. The major issue is a kick without any torque. This kick is quick but without any grip on water. It is not efficient except for cardio. Many swimmers kick fast at the beginning and move their legs outside the water. Olympic swimmers curve their back, which looks like the motor trim on an outboard engine so yoga can make myself a faster swimmer.
Hi USMS, do you do video analysis? I am trying to improve my freestyle swimming. If you have a couple of minutes to point out my biggest problems and how to solve them would be highly appreciated: watch?v=S6DL16aHY0Q
Thank you for this!! I'm in my 40s and getting back into swimming laps after 20 years. It's amazing how much has changed!
I'm in the same journey! In my 40s, and getting back to swimming! It's an amazing experience!
I'm 75, swim 10,000 yards a week, and still learning how to swim. All the best.
Amazing and good on you. You are a great example to follow!
you're an inspiration!
Fabulous video! As an older swimmer, I learned many of the outdated methods. As a new WSI and Masters co-coach I really appreciate the clarity! For new swimmers it is far better to learn it the right way from the start. For seasoned swimmers open to technical coaching these refinements will make a huge difference. (I can't wait to get in the pool later today to try them out myself.) I'll be watching this a number of times to fully integrate each detail and I'll be sure to send others here too. Thanks again Susan!
Thanks for the kind words. Please do let us know how it went in the pool later today.
I'm a former competitive swimmer (from ages 6-13, nothing impressive) and it's so fascinating to me to understand the *why* of why I was taught to swim in a certain way. Maybe my coaches told me, but it never really sank in (lol). I think I would've lasted longer in swimming if I had been taught to understand each movement like this.
Great condensed show,
Took me multiple years and lessons to grasp what she taught in minutes.
Hope our video helps you in the pool!
Good video as a swimming instructor and Masters coach I strongly recommend that if you want to improve find a qualified coach. It is impossible to see yourself and understand what you are doing now and what you need to do to change to a more optimal technique. I swam at National level and still have a coach who can watch and motivate me. Enjoy your swimming
Loving the dad bud vibe
Excellent instruction....really...great stuff....thank you
Just what I needed. Thanks.
Happy to help!
Excellent video. I have tried to "kick from the hips" many times and it never worked for me. I eventually learned to kick by swinging the calves and the ankles down against the water. I'll go back and try kicking with the quads and hamstrings and gluts. This will be interesting.
I'm a convert. Kicking with the quads and the hamstrings and gluts does work a lot better. Thanks Susan...
@@gary4451good,to know thank you 🙏
Nice video. This is drastically different from the lessons we had in the 1970's in high school swim team in San Jose and Santa Clara, CA.
Which technique do you prefer?
@@USMastersSwimming I like the "new" 6 beat kick. The bigger issue is that i get toe cramps a lot more now.
I was a lifeguard in the late 1980s and I remember learning from some "swim team" swimmers to imagine a pole going through the center of your body and rotating along that pole when breathing. It sounds very similar to what is described here as "new," right?
Which part of this was new? I would argue the kick tempo may depend on the swim. Is it a short sprint or 800m plus swim? I will decide either 2,4 or 6 beat kick based on my swim.
Everything labeled as 'outdated' is old, and everything labeled as 'modern' is the new stuff. Hope this helps.
@@diminishedreturn I believe the point being made is that what's being referred to as "new" has been mainstream coaching for years and freely available all over UA-cam.
Great advices 👏👏
Your compliment is greatly appreciated.
I really liked the part where they actually explained what a six beat kick actually is. "In short, your swimmer should complete six kicks per stroke cycle or three kicks per single arm stroke."
Thank you, we'll forward the compliment to the coach.
The best part is losing your mind as you try to keep count over a nice long swim.
It's got to be so much smarter to view the kick as an adjunct. Get your breathing right (exhale underwater and inhale behind and to side of you keeping streamlined profile), keep your head position right (head down helps keep legs up ie streamlined body profile), get your stroke right (rotate at hips to push water backwards to go forwards)... *Nice minimal flutter of legs with toes pointed provides a little thrust but mostly keeps legs near surface for that sweet-spot streamlined profile. Don't waste energy / brain power on your kick!*
Thank me later
@@NeilMalthus thank you for this lol i definitely dont worry about counting my kicks, but ive also never heard of 2, 4, 6 stroke kicking and was curious what it actually was :p
@@NeilMalthus I thank you *now* ! I started swimming a year ago, and I’m pretty addicted. I’m a runner (for half a century) and I’ve always thought swimming was the most boring thing in the world but I now find that it’s very meditative. Only a few YT videos, no coaching, some asking of other swimmers to watch me. I’ve slowly gotten a bit faster and more often I feel at one with my body in the water moving along like a symphony. It does bug me though when I see teenagers zoom past me at 2x my speed, helpful motivation to keep improving my streamlining. This video and your comment are helpful.
Angle of the elbow is different for speed vs endurance. Just saw that earlier today. Me, I can't swim like that to save my life. Love the video.
Just keep swimming. It's a process!
I guess nobody taught Katie Ledecky she should be doing a 6-beat kick in her long distance events. 😉
As a long distance swimmer I lile to make sure my legs and kick stays strictly within the lines of the chest and torso to maximise efficiency through the water.
Been swimming for 65 yrs. Still hoping to complete a fully satisfactory 25 meter. Maybe tomorrow 😊
Just keep swimming! You got this.
Love your Zen approach!
I’m a swimmer beginner at age 50. Go go marine is inspiring.
Except for the S-pull, I was taught these modern techniques in the late 90s. I could feel that the S-pull was a bit less controlled, but the straight pull put a lot more stress on my rotator cuffs. How do you address that extra strain?
Implementing a shoulder dryland routines to improve strength and flexibility in the muscle group will help.
Really clear video. Thanks for the upload. I have a question about the head position: looking slightly in your feet direction instead of keeping a neutral position by looking right to the bottom of the pool. The idea is to have some hydrodynamic downward push to help keeping the body more aligned (sinking a bit the torso and lifting the hips). I think that there’s a Chinese Olympian swimming this way 🤔
Hi, thank you for your comment and question. Currently, the advised head position is neutral or slightly a head to aid in proper body alignment.
Great video. It summarized the key moves that I have gathered from watching swim videos the last 2 years. What are your thoughts about hip driven reaching? I try to sync the further glide with the completion of the EVF pull. Your input will be well appreciated
We only need a six beat kick for a sprint, but for long distance 4 or 2 beat are enough.
Great video. Always something new to learn. By the way, is the best technique to breathe on both sides on a three count or on one side on a two or four count?
Breathing every 3rd or 5th stroke for bilateral breathing is recommended in freestyle.
I felt my lungs flooding when watching the section about how to take a breath - the idea just strikes fear in me.
Hi, try watching our freestyle technique breathing drills and workout to help!
The 'snap' kick as I called it is so common in freestyle. By snap kick, I mean a mini scissor kick. I have seen this with Olympic level swimmers. With my over arm side stroke, the forgotten stroke, I was trying to eliminate the slow down/high drag part of the kick which is very similar to the breast stroke kick where most swimmers come to an almost complete stop before the stroke resumes. That is one thing I never liked about the breast stroke, as well as my feet will not turn out like that for that kick to be efficient for me. Anyway, I ended up going to a flutter kick for my OASS. I took 3 seconds off of my 50 yard sprint time in about 3 days. It eliminates that slow down part of the stroke when using the standard scissor kick. In most cases when swimmers use the 'snap kick' it is with the leg doing more of a back stroke style kick where there is less flex at the hip and more at the knee. The lower leg is more stream lined than the thigh, so I figure this is a less drag type position. Not sure, but just a thought. This snap kick is very common in the pool. For those who can do a good whip kick, if they stop during a lap, they always use the whip kick to get going again. For those of us who can't do the whip kick, we use a scissor kick. Lots of thrust, but also lots of drag, but since we are at a stand still, not much loss....
Not really new. I've been coaching this way for 25 years. And you do need to use some hip flexor in the kick. If it's all quad, then it's all knee bend. Fins are a good tool, as you recommend, for simulating the feel, and they work best when swapped on and off in repeat drills. The biggest difference in today's stroke is the wider entry point you mentioned. The old S stroke was a misunderstanding. From the perspective of a person watching, it is still an s because of body rotation. But, relative the swimmer, it is almost straight back. Also beginners usually could engage lats more, but getting them to think about rhomboid and abdominals gets even more muscles engaged, balances their stroke and helps with shoulder injury prevention.
Why baffle the beginner with talk of muscle groups? Are you teaching anatomists??? Why not just tell them to keep their head down - inhale to the side - to help keep legs close to the surface? A minimal straightish-leg kicking action (toes straight) ensures body profile is as streamlined as can be whilst adding a tiny amount of propulsion and using a minimum amount of precious energy. It kind of keeps it simple. Ideal for the beginner.
@@NeilMalthus What about the shoulder + hips rotation you seem to voluntary obliterate? @miscellaneousstuff2901 explains well why it is necessary, except maybe for a 50 meters freestyle race, whatever the swimming level. I think it is important to take the right posture including that, even at beginner level. It is a major part of the muscle memory to assimilate, the sooner, the better.
@@JustinaZenOnDVD We're talking beginners, yeah? I guess I should have mentioned "don't forget to use your arms" but I thought that too obvious. I think shoulder / hip rotation is a little _next level._ Apart from the obvious use of the arms in front crawl, I think maintaining the most streamlined body shape has to be up there with any half-decent coach's number 1 concerns. And to facilitate that, you want your face down in the water as much as possible with your legs rising naturally as a result (desired for that best body profile). I'm sure I'm teaching you to suck eggs here. You don't ever really need to talk muscle groups, I'd say, which was the point of my comment. Why go down the technical route? To impress your students with your knowledge of anatomy? To over-complicate things and drive the nervous swimmer away? It makes zero sense. IMHO.
I hope that explains the 'voluntary obliteration' _(cough)_ for you.
@@NeilMalthus Really sorry if my words were too critical, not fluent enough in english. This matter of knowing which technical progresses a freestyle beginner should be aware of and practice is interesting anyway! Wishing you lots of fun swimming.
Are you all doing six kicks per stroke also during training? I find I’m lazy with the kicks and definitely guilty of the old technique shown here. Lots to try now :-)
6 beat kick? For a distance swimmer? I don't see Katie, SunYang, or the Thorpedo using this. Maybe their last 50 or 100.
Right, those distance freestyle swimmers seem to use the four beat kick mostly, during the majority of a 1500, and only use two beat momentarily for reducing workload and heart rate.
Depends on the swimmer.
Long live Terry and Total Immersion!
I think Ralph was ahead of his time when is came to stroke analysis right? Nice job Susie.
0:53 he’s over-gliding, creating a dead spot in the stroke cycle. 😉
Was it a slow-mo section?
The "S" pull is inefficient .....now they try to enter the water more from the top, so create momentum with a hand and arm moving more back to straigh line and avoid the "S" turbulence.
You can see that in the olimpic: relentless move of the arm, as moving in slow motion to enter with the hand digging
Of course, swimers need to have strenght to do a stright line arm recover, but hey!...that why they do gym exercices specifically for that.
Tip for the master's coaches: they must include specific gym resistant exercises and they should relax the water trainning session following that
Text box should v been at bottom corner...it's obstructing view
Thank you, we'll let the video editor know.
What happened to early vertical forearm? That's all I hear about on other youtube swimming channels for freestyle. And i remember reading how Cokie Lepinski said to pull as though we were swimming over a barrel. If EVF is now outdated, why don't you mention it as outdated? You mention the S-pull (which is really outdated), which Doc Counsilman not only created, but also discovered in elite swimmers, I believe, your point that the hand enters and exits the water in the same location. I am a U.S Masters swimmer.
EVF is basically described in other words at 3:33: "bend and lift your elbow" and " point fingertips to bottom..."
Cool, I doggy paddle so arms never come out of the water and face never goes in the water.
Thank you! Apparently im doing everything wrong😅
Keep swimming. Learning a new technique takes time.
Holy cow I’m younger but my swimming was always made fun of by even younger people now I understand why.
I feel kivking slows me down. I only use it for stabilizing.
Sorry... which part of this is new?
People are STILL teaching the kick to be important and not a mere adjunct, remarkably.
,😂😂😂😂😂
A flexible back seems like an Olympic swimmer skill. The major issue is a kick without any torque. This kick is quick but without any grip on water. It is not efficient except for cardio. Many swimmers kick fast at the beginning and move their legs outside the water. Olympic swimmers curve their back, which looks like the motor trim on an outboard engine so yoga can make myself a faster swimmer.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
For modern flutter kick 0:34 I think the script should have read introduced in 2012, not 1912.
😅
I think I can't swim because my body weight 😕
Don't give up on swimming technique, it can be challenging!
Outdated? Like when the lady had her first swim or from when?
The technique has evolved over time. 😉
Good vid. Real quick, there’s no reason to put “straight line” in quotes.
is real quick quicker than quick?
@@AndrewWebber66 whatever dude. Just saying that straight line was literal. No need for quotes.
Hi USMS, do you do video analysis? I am trying to improve my freestyle swimming. If you have a couple of minutes to point out my biggest problems and how to solve them would be highly appreciated: watch?v=S6DL16aHY0Q
Good piece. I disagree with not using your calves. I speak from experience.
TriMLS, I am curious about how you use your calves when you kick? I swing my lower leg and to the top of my foot down when I kick.
Swimming is a whole boy exercise.
@@USMastersSwimming That went right over my head. LOL
@@gary4451 With the posterior chain. Up kick with freestyle.
@@TriMLS Okay...thanks.
The modern day flutter kick is "muscle-driven"?
How can a kick be anything else???
(Joint-driven makes zero sense)