Learn to Swim - Freestyle
The freestyle is a swimming style commonly
referred to as the front crawl or sidestroke. It
is regularly used in competitions, but there are
no real regulations on how it has to be swum.
Most swimmers chose to swim front crawl during
freestyle competitions as it is the fastest
technique. For individual freestyle
competitions, a swimmer can use any stroke they
want. During medley competitions, a swimmer
cannot use the breaststroke, butterfly stroke or
backstroke.
Freestyle Technique Swimming Tips:
1. Leg Kick: The leg kick will
control the body position in the water, while
the arm cycle will move the body forwards.
Establishing the correct timing between your
legs and arms is vital to perfecting the stroke.
The legs kick in a flutter style ideally 6 times
per cycle. During freestyle try to remain
horizontal in the water, a strong kick will keep
your legs from sinking behind you. You should
only make a small splash with your legs, only
slightly breaking the surface of the water.
2. Arm Cycle: The arm cycle
consists of Pulling, Pushing and the Recovery.
Pulling is the semicircle movement your arms
make from the water level to the chest. The arm
is kept straight and the hand points towards the
body center and downward. As you pull your hands
through the water, keep them cupped firmly, but
not rigidly. Fingers should be held just
slightly apart. Pushing is the completion of the
pull, the swimmers arm is pulled back up to the
waters level. The palm is moved backward through
the water underneath the body at the beginning
and at the side of the body at the end of the
push. The recovery moves the elbow in a
semicircle in the swimming direction. The lower
arm and the hand are completely relaxed and hang
down from the elbow. The recovering hand moves
forward, just above the surface of the water.
During the recovery the shoulder is moved into
the air by twisting the torso. It is important
to relax the arm during the recovery. To
practice the elbow movement try skimming the
water with your fingertips, you should also try
stretching each stroke out as much as possible
without ever stopping the motion.
3. Breathing: The swimmers face is
kept down in the water during freestyle.
Breathing is done through the mouth by turning
the head to the side of a recovering arm at the
beginning of the recovery. The head is rotated
back at the end of the recovery and points down
in the water again. The swimmer breathes out
through mouth and nose until the next breath.
Try to take a breath every 3rd arm recovery so
you will be able to breath from either side.
Different Swimming Strokes:
Lesson 1 –
Breaststroke
Lesson 2 –
Freestyle,
Front Crawl Stroke
Lesson 3 –
Back Crawl Stroke
Swimming with Allergies
|
