Video Session

Suzanne

Issue: Posture - head position. Looking forward forces you to carry to much of your head out of the water, which makes your hips sink and limits rotation.

Recommendation. Except when breathing, keep your head neutral on your spine and look straight down at the bottom. See the Head Position page, and have a look at how Karlyn Pipes-Neilsen keeps her body aligned in the first clip on the Video Clips - All Around Good Swimming page.

2

Issue: Breathing - head position. This is another aspect of the above problem. Because you are looking forward, you have to lift most of your head out of the water to begin your breathing cycle. This gives you a bounce in your stroke that is wasting energy.

Recommendation. Keep your head neutral on your spine except when breathing, and roll your face into the trough of your bow wave to breathe. See the first video on the following webpage: Video Clips - Breathing and look at how Karlyn Pipes-Neilsen breathes on the first clip of the Video Clips - All Around Good Swimming page.

Issue: Kicking - compact but excessive. Your kick is nice and compact, but for a distance swimming pace, you are kicking a lot in this clip.

Recommendation. I am guessing this isn't an issue and that you have both a solid six-beat kick and a solid two-beat kick. If not, have a look at the the Swim Smooth article: Leg Kick in the Freestyle Stroke.