Do I continue to prioritse Front Crawl over Breaststroke

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  • Of course slowing it all down and relaxing may not mean you swim slower, it's unlikely you're getting much propulsion from your feet anyway. The improved technique that should come from slowing it all down may mean you end up swimming a bit faster for less effort, which is the aim obviously.

     

  • YKWYKW ✭✭✭

    So to give everyone an update ...

    I have bought a pool buoy and have been practising using both the 2pm and skewer training techniques, I am finding the skewer one better. I feel myself improving but it's slow. I have slowed myself right down to the point where I am not getting tired at the end of the length (although I normally practice withhalf lengths). Iam finding the breathing more natural.

    I also found that slowing down helped by breaststroke too, I did a 100m non-stop one week and next week 300m and this week 400m in 14 mins. This is slow for most but it's a real milestone for me. I know there is bags of improvement in the breaststroke too. I feel fairly happy I can bring that to under 12 mins which is the time I put down on my Sprint Tri application

     

    In the meantime I will continue to try improving on front crawl

     

     

  • good stuff YKW... thats decent, steady progress.

    I'm another that has made big gains from a similar starting point to you... I won't offer advice as you've already had plenty... just encouragement that the the journey is very possible... I breastroked my first tri, and have in the last few weeks set a 400m PB for myself of 7:14... still a long way to go for me, but I promise... you WILL keep getting better!

    keep it up!

    edit... I fibbed... one little bit of advice... the heart of progress is consistency.. no matter how much you focus on technique, if you don't swim regularly, the progress will be either slow or non existent... my breakthroughs have all happened on at least 3 swims a week...

    lets be honest.... its all prep for an Ironman on my 100th birthday
  • Great work YKW!  I'll echo what others have said

    - focus on a small number of things instead of trying to change everything at once

    - being relaxed is key

    - breathe out underwater (that will help with the relaxing thing too as you're not tensing holding your breath)

    - one drill that would really help you is the superman drill - it teaches you to keep your body long, swimming on your side, breathing properly and also bilateral breathing

  • YKWYKW ✭✭✭
    Ironshas wrote (see)

    Great work YKW!  I'll echo what others have said

    - focus on a small number of things instead of trying to change everything at once

    - being relaxed is key

    - breathe out underwater (that will help with the relaxing thing too as you're not tensing holding your breath)

    - one drill that would really help you is the superman drill - it teaches you to keep your body long, swimming on your side, breathing properly and also bilateral breathing

     

    That was actually very helpful - I searched for the superman drill and that has highlighted some of the flaws I do. Currently I am almost windmilling my arms but not in a straight line, my arms stay bent all the time. I am going to practice this drill to try and stretch out more. 

     

    Most of the clips I saw on the Superman Drill have the arm in the water most of the time whereas my 2 arms are never forward at the same time. 

     

    Lots to practice.

     

    Also found this clip - which is aimed at kids but highlights how simple the crawl *should* be

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysT8ufNl16A

  • How about this one:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTAF3OFhzdA

    It looks really good - especially if you're the "trying to do everything all at once/panicking/easily confused" type - like myself!

     

  • YWK, Please stick at it, I breaststroke my first Tri which was about 6 years ago, at that time I couldn't complete a 20m length of a pool using front crawl, like you I would run out of air. I made little to no progress despite loads of lessons and 4 years later I could only do about 75m before having to spend 90 seconds resting. However, in the last two years using a combination of bouys,snorkels, drills, dropping bilateral breathing, I've had a eureka moment when I stopped fighting the water, relaxed my arms,engaged my core, got those legs up in the water and began to feel the water and metronome pattern of my stroke. I'm still a slow swimmer (2.20 per 100m is my stock speed) but I've gone from 4 years of struggling to swimming half Iron distances every session without any hassle. 

  • YKWYKW ✭✭✭

    So still been trying to progress front crawl, tried that link that ladystumpy put up - and did the first few drills from there

    @Maccydee what causd the eureka moment? what actually changed? I am keep to avoid 4 years of swimming problems too!

  • This is going to make me very unpopular but I gave up on bilateral breathing, and instead just went on the same side. The biggest break through came when I switched from breathing every stroke over my left shoulder which seem to be natural as I'm left handed to over my right shoulder (I'd never previously tried that in 4 years believe it or not). It instantly felt 10% easier, suddenly 50m was done as 25m was before, from this I was able to build up and up. In my mind, I'd also though if I get to 200m then I'm there. Ands that what I did, swimming loads of 50m reps with 30 seconds rest, then 20 second and then pushing my distances up. It just seemed to come together over weeks then.

  • YKWYKW ✭✭✭

    Thanks Maccydee

    I have always been very "meh" about bilateral breathing ... to me it's a bit like heel vs forefoot striking where one might be technically better it's not really anything too serious. 

    I will be happy with being able to do it on one side if I can do it in a reasonable time and comfort.

  • funnily enough, I had the same conversation with the regular group in the pool only last week.

    I've always read that you should bi-lateral breathe, and I've always struggled with it once I go at any pace. Like you say, as long as you can get round in a time  you're happy with, then no problem. I will just re-iterate the following risks with not bothering with bi-lateral:

    1. Your stroke may end up lop-sided. To avoid this, I try to do my drills and easy recovery sets breathing bi-laterally, despite how uncomfortable it may seem. It's amazing how easily bad habits can develop when you only do things to one side. My main / hard sets / races will revert to breathing one side though.

    2. Choppy waters. If the chop is going in a particular direction, I've seen alot of comments where being able to breathe to the other side comfortably allows you to continue without drowning. It may be my having played water polo for years, or crappy breathing technique - but I've never actually found this to be an issue, despite having swum in some pretty choppy stuff in Tenby and elsewhere over the years. Yes, I may take on the odd bit of water, but not panicking, coughing underwater as required, and just getting on with it doesn't ever seem to be a problem.

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