Who Needs to Breathe?

Breathing is an issue. First you get your legs kicking nice straight, fast little kicks. Then you get your arms moving up to the ear and down to your side with a nice rotation. You're pulling, you kicking, you're moving. And then you take a breath. It's easy for your stroke to fall apart when you're breathing. Check out these helpful drills to help your freestyle breathing.

The Triumvirate

When I was a USS swimmer, my coach would give us open ended drills. She'd say, "4x100 (swim, kick, drill, swim)" and it would be up to me to choose a drill. More oft than not I would pick the stereotypical catch-up, fists or 3-3-3 drill. Before I teach you these tried and true drills, let's look at a few under appreciated drills that deserve a bit more of our attention.

Slow Arm Recovery with Hesitation: This drill requires proper body position in order to balance with your arm paused out of the water. The body should be rotated onto its side with the shoulder and hip in line. It requires a strong core and kick and will pump your stroke up a notch by helping to nail down the basics of front crawl.

Quick Catch: The catch in freestyle is quite possibly one of the most important pieces of the stroke (hence the last posting on sculling). Aside from the kick, it is what really propels the stroke. So what would make your stroke faster? Well, a faster kick but, too, a faster catch. This drill is perfect if you are looking to speed up your stroke.

High Swingers: High Swingers is another excellent drill for developing proper body position. The arm cannot possibly swing up and around without injuring the shoulder if the body is not rotated. If the body is flat in the water, the shoulder will be pinched during this drill. It will definitely nip your little habit of under rotating in the bud.

How Do you Feel the Water? Scull It!

Louisiana State University Swimming and Diving Coach Adam D. Schmitt writes that:

Sculling is arguably one of the most underused swimming drills to increase good feel of the water and improve the initial catch and thrust of all strokes.

The hands are the key to sculling. A strong stroke starts with a strong catch in the water. To have a strong catch, or feel for the water, the hands need to be strong against the water. While you scull, take notice of how your hand is angled as well as the pitch of your hand (the downward angle). Slide only your hand back and forth in eight- to 10-inch sweeps while also tilting your hand to the appropriate angle.

Think of your hand as a canoe paddle. If you want to go sideways, you would pitch the paddle in such a way that would move you the best way possible. You will NOT go fast doing these drills correctly. This is sculling, NOT pulling! Keep your kick minimal and concentrate on propulsion just from the scull. Your hands and forearms will begin to feel the focus.

Don't scull near the surface. The surface of the pool is not where your stroke is most efficient in moving forward. Correct position feels a little awkward. It is like you are sculling over a big oil barrel, reaching around in an arch with your shoulder blades lifted up, elbows high and finger tips to the bottom of the pool.
Don't go for Speed. I mentioned before, with drills, you do not want to rush them. The point of the drill is to increase your hand strength and the feel and catch of the water.

Don't let your legs override the purpose of the drill. Don't use your kick for propulsion during sculling. Also don't allow your legs to drag down behind you. If body position is an issue, you can put a pull buoy on and let your legs float behind you staying even with the surface of the water.

Check out the video below for a helpful sculling drill.

Freestyle Kicking

Swimming is like a house: if the foundation is unstable, the house will fall apart. In order to develop a strong stroke, you have to develop a strong foundation. The foundation to your stroke lies in the body position and the kick.

Kicking on your side helps you to find your balance while practicing your kick. The key to a strong kick is flexibility in the ankles. The kick, which originates at the hip, has a slight bend in the knee and a pointed toe. When kicking on your side, reach one arm forward so that it rests at the surface of the water. Keep the other arm at your side. Your belly button should be facing the wall. Your knees should be facing the wall. Your toes should be facing the wall with a horizontal kick rather than a vertical kick. You can use two different heads positions, but I recommend looking at the bottom of the pool with the water hitting your head in the middle of your cap. To see Michael Phelps talk about kicking on one's side, check out the movie below:



You can also practice your kick in a streamline position. To learn about pop up breathing while kicking in a streamline, see the video below: