Hi jyl,
Great that you're getting back in the pool and trying to improve your swimming. I learned at a young age and swam on the team in middle and high-school and now do it as part of my workout routine about 3 to 4 times a week.
Let me see if I can help a little with regards to swimming freestyle.
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Originally Posted by jyl
I will take a lesson. For now, I've been trying to remember my freestyle tips and watching YouTube videos. I've come up with a list of things to work on. Tell me if I'm totally off base.
- arms stretched out when it enters the water
Good start, make sure fingers are together like you're going to karate chop something. If it's hard for you to discipline them, tape your index and middle together and then the fore-finger and pinky together. Then tape the two pairs together. Now you just gotta keep that thumb tucked in.
- bend elbow at start of stroke, palm comes under the center of chest, keep forearm about 90 deg to stroke, the whole forearm is pulling the water, not just the hand, and the pull is a long straight pull along the direction of travel, not a circular path.
A very slight bend is good, just enough so that the arm is not locked. You do not want to do it any more than that, as you are then shortcutting the stroke and wasting energy. Drop that arm down deep, and keep your wrist straight!
- keep body flat, don't roll back and forth during stroking or breathing
Yep, this is the hardest part to master for most people. You want to be parallel to the water as much as possible. Keep those core muscles nice and tight, it will help with form. If you're still having problems, buy a "pull buoy". It's an hour-glass shaped piece of high-density foam that goes between your legs right under your nuts and keeps the bototom half of your torso afloat so you can concentrate on your stroke without kicking.
- keep top of head pointed forward
Yep.
- kick with entire leg starting at hips. Not sure how many kicks per arm stroke. Not sure if you bend at the knee.
There is no kicks/stroke rate. It's dependent on how fast you want to go and how much energy you have. Keep your kicks tight and just at the surface of the water. 8 to 10 inches of white water coming off the back of your feet is ideal. You don't want to bend at the knee, it will slow you down and cause the bottom of your torso to sink. Efficient kicking is done almost entirely by your thighs with your core keeping the body stable in the water. If you feel like your upper torso is moving too much, slow down your kicks and tighten your core. Keep ankles tight with your toes pointing back.
- alternate breathing sides (for open water, want to be equally comfortable each side)
I don't do this, as I'm more comfortable breathing out of my left only, but it is good practice to breathe out of both sides.
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Fly is a tough stroke, because your technique depends a lot on conditioning. You cannot be smooth without strong neck, shoulder, core and thigh muscles. I would forget about it for the time being.
You can try breast-stroke though and it's a good change-up when you're getting tired of free.