Summer Swim Project 2022

At the start of 2022 we took a number of applications from swimmers looking to start swimming front crawl ie. they had no previous experience of front crawl swimming. We ended up selecting 2 swimmers. Both female, aged between 30-40 years. Over a series of 6 sessions head coach Tom went through a number of different sessions, teaching different elements of the stroke, setting ‘homework’ and supervising a couple of mid-distance swims. We then charted the swimmers progress over the summer.

The aim of the documentary is to highlight how much progress can be made with swimming, particularly in the sea (with the additional buoyancy), over a relatively short space of time.

The sessions (roughly), started with breathing, going onto look at body position and leg kick, then arm pull and catch and some time and sessions to then put it all together…

Open Water Front Crawl Breathing

A high percentage of people I’ve coached over the years, that are typically learning front crawl (freestyle) or have learnt to swim front crawl recent to their coaching session, struggle with the breathing aspect of the stroke. One of the major barriers to swimmers progressing is a poor breathing technique and a lack of confidence when it comes to breathing.

So… the best way to typically improve a certain aspect of your stroke is to isolate that part of the stroke and carry out drills on that specific aspect without having to worry about the rest of your stroke. For example, if you want to work on your leg kick, you’d perform leg kick drills and ditch the arms. You’d use a kick float for example. This way your sole attention is on the aspect of the stroke that you’re trying to improve.

Breathing is no different. What I typically suggest is that you work on your breathing in the safest environment possible. This would be the bath tub. If you don’t have a bath, possibly a large bucket outside, on a table. The bath provides you with a safe, warm and calm environment. If you breath in some water, you simply have to lift your head and you’re sat in the bath!

STEP 1 : Start by kneeling in the bath and simply learning forward and putting your face in. When breathing during front crawl you’re not looking to fill your lungs with as much air as possible. Breathing is the slowest and least streamlined part of the stroke. You want your face out (well half out) and your breath to be as quick as possible. Also, if you open your mouth nice and wide and take a massive gulp of air, you’re more likely to get slapped in the mouth with some chop/small wave. So it’s a short sharp breath in and then a short sharp breath out, once your face is in the water. Should take under a second to breath in and marginally longer to breath out. You obviously breath out whilst your face is in the water. You should do so through your mouth and nose. If you don’t breath out through your nose, you tend to get water going up it. You’d want to repeatedly breath in and out in this manner for up to a minute or two at a time. Try this a few times, possibly on different occasions, until you’re confident and/or bored to the back teeth of doing it.

STEP 2 : You could then progress into the open water. Stand at around chest depth or slightly under and lean forward and carry out the same exercise. Again, 1-2 minutes at a time.

STEP 3 : Once you’re confident with your breathing you simply (hummmm), marry up your stroke with your breathing.

POTENTIAL ISSUES : the odd person has real issues with breathing out through their nose. If you have a persistent problem and find water going up your nose, it might be worth thinking about a nose clip. When you first start practicing front crawl, if you can only breath to one side ensure that any chop is hitting you on the back of the head and you’re not breathing directly in the direction of choppy water.

Another issue or problem you might encounter might simply come from you being too eager to start swimming. Always acclimatise and make sure you’re comfortable before starting your stroke. If you simply get in and start trying to swim or try the breathing stroke drills, you may gasp for air as you’re simply not used to the water temperature. Always take your time.

Just remember that the human brain can only really focus on one task at a time. We can multi-task but that’s simply the brain flicking from one activity to another very quickly. This is why it’s important to work on the breathing in isolation and get to a point where you don’t have to think about it. From there, you can then pay attention to the aspects of your stroke that you need to. Not worrying about the breathing aspect should also make you more confident when first starting out.

RELATED ARTICLES :

Pool training guide,

new wild swimming event in Cornwall,

learning front crawl over 1 summer,

selection of safe swimming guides,

Poor hip position

Hip position is an incredibly important part of swimming front crawl. If you drop your hips too low in the water it can force your head into a higher position and you have increased drag…as well as a reduced efficiency when it comes to your leg kick. This unfavourable position may also have the knock on effect of making it more difficult to rotate the body correctly.

The solution to a low hip position can be incredibly easy or not so. It really depends on the swimmer. Typically the quicker and more experienced the swimmer, the easier (in theory) it might be to correct.

The main thing to remember is that although you should be fairly relaxed when swimming, you still need a degree of tension running through your core, as well as your toes pointed and legs straight. We often say that your legs are fairly redundant in open water swimming and some of our clients barely kick at all (in the open water). That said, you still need your legs straight, toes pointed and feet together. You can’t simply forget about your legs.

FIRST : if you’re in the pool or fresh water (without a wetsuit) grab in kick float and hold the float with your hands, at the very back end of the float ie. only your hands are in contact with the float, not the whole of your forearm. You simply then want to carry out some leg kick, with your face in the water. You can do this with just goggles but it works better if you use a snorkel. Water level should be half way across your ears, with your bum just sticking out of the water and your heels just breaking the surface of the water.

If you’re in salt water / wearing a wetsuit, lie on your front in the water, face down. Have your arms full extended, stretching out in front of you, with your legs straight and toes pointed and together (feet touching). In a very streamlined position. Allow the water to hold your weight….and hold it for 10 seconds. This is the position you should be swimming in. Have a conscious think about how this position feels and where your body is in the water. If you’re swimming and your body position differs from this - stop, float yourself in the water (as described above) and then start swimming again. Stop as often as necessary.

Raising your hips in the water (provided you need to) can be as easy as simply thinking about it and consciously doing it! It’s not that easy however, for most. Here are some drills that might help :

DRILLS :

1. complete a series of 25m swims, on your back, arms out in front (flat on the water), swimming flat across the surface of the water. Your going to do fly kick on your back. It’s good to do these with swim fins. Start with shorter distances and build up. You should find this works the abs and core.

2. Kick board (face in the water), with snorkel…as described above.

3. Vertical kick efforts (as often featured in our newsletter). CLICK HERE for video.

4. Work the arms. You can use pull buoys as part of training and can also use a pull buoy with your ankles strapped together with a swimming band.

5. As well as distance, include shorter sprints into your training.

Choose your swimming holiday / activity

We have a range of swims, events and activities, for a range of abilities. This blog post will hopefully help you to decide which option best suits you. I’ll break your options down into what you might swim regularly in terms of distances and speed and your experience level and look at what might be suitable. We’ll start at 1 (which would be a complete beginner) up to 5 (more advanced swimmers).

1.BEGINNER / NOVICE

Just started swimming, possibly don’t swim front crawl or lacking confidence, definitely in need of some coaching…

LOOK AT : 1-2-1 coaching or small group coaching (with some friends), we also run beach you could also safety courses/rip current awareness…

You could also look at our ‘Slow, Short and Social’ swimming holiday option. Short, supervised ‘plods’ in stunning locations…

2. SLOW SWIMMING / SHORTER DISTANCES

Maybe looking to swim further and improve technique. May also want to look at small scale swimming events or take on longer swims safely…

LOOK AT : 1-2-1 coaching or small group coaching (with some friends) & we also run beach safety courses/rip current awareness. Take a look at our Swimfari Events - a non-competitive day of swimming, with multiple swims, based on the days conditions. Ideal as a social day out, to gain experience and fitness and ultimately have a laugh.

Another option might be an assisted swim. We tow a SUP around a longer swim with us. This gives the swimmer the option to take regular breaks or catch a lift around sections of the swim. This option open up a whole new world of swimming options that weren’t possible ordinarily.

You may also consider a ‘Slow swimming holidays’. Chat to a member of staff before booking.

Or again, look at our ‘Slow, Short and Social’ swimming holiday option. Multiple short, supervised ‘plods’ in stunning locations…

3. SLOW SWIMMING / LONGER DISTANCES

LOOK AT : 1-2-1 coaching or small group coaching (with some friends) & we also run beach safety courses/rip current awareness. Take a look at our Swimfari Events - a non-competitive day of swimming, with multiple swims, based on the days conditions. Ideal as a social day out, to gain experience and fitness and ultimately have a laugh.

People often get a little intimidated by swimming holidays. All of our swims are based on the conditions and the average pace of swimmer is generally around 2-2.30 mins per 100m over a distance swim (approx 20-25 mins per km). We obviously have slower and faster swimmers…but we either split the water safety/group up or swim as a group and the faster swimmers double back regularly.

We offer our unique ‘10k Day’ events, taking in 3-4 swims over the course of the day, that total….10km! We’ve stopped this type of event for 2020 (Covid fitness issues) but it will come back. The Swimfari Event follows the same format but with shorter distances.

We also have short-notice / weekend swims or privately book a swim.

4. PUBLIC SESSION MIDDLE LANE SWIMMERS (APPROX)…

You may still look at coaching or water safety courses.

You’ll definitely need to look at Swimming Holidays, all of our events, as well as our one-off swims and private bookings. As well as set-date swimming holidays we also take private group booking swimming holidays (tailoring the holiday to the group), generally starting with as few as 4 people in the group.

5. MIDDLE - FAST LANE PUBLIC SESSION SWIMMER

You’ll definitely need to look at Swimming Holidays, all of our events, as well as our one-off swims and private bookings. As well as set-date swimming holidays we also take private group booking swimming holidays (tailoring the holiday to the group), generally starting with as few as 4 people in the group.

We also cover longer distance swim (up to 10km) private bookings. Either individuals or we’ll take small groups (provided they stay as a group through the swim)….as well as body surfing tuition.

Swimming Course at the Jubilee Pool

We recently ran a 4 week course at the Jubilee Pool. We looked at water safety and rip currents at the beach, the theory behind breathing, arm pull and recovery, body roll, head position, leg kick….we then ran a practical in the pool. The lady featured in the video had never swum front crawl - this was week 3. Not everyone progressed this quickly but we were really happy with all the progress that the participants made.

We’ll look to run further courses like this one over the summer.