How To Build An Effective Freestyle Pull

Summary

This video script offers expert guidance for swimmers seeking to enhance their freestyle speed. It emphasizes the importance of an effective pull, utilizing the upper body to generate propulsion. The script outlines strategies such as power pulls with a buoy, underwater recovery, and various drills to improve technique. It also discusses the use of resistance, different hand postures, stroke counts, and arm isolation to refine swimmers' skills, making them more aware of water interaction and pressure application. The ultimate goal is to help swimmers develop a larger range of motion and acceleration for a more efficient and faster swim.

Takeaways

• 🏊 Freestyle swimmers need an effective pull to create propulsion and speed, which is crucial for performance.
• 📏 A comprehensive approach is necessary to build the skills that create speed, rather than just telling swimmers to keep their elbow up or get a vertical forearm.
• 💪 The upper body, particularly the arms, is responsible for most of the propulsion in swimming, making it essential to optimize arm movements for speed.
• 🔄 A great pull is characterized by moving a lot of water with each stroke, achieved by using a large surface area, maintaining it over a large range of motion, and accelerating the limb.
• 📉 The effectiveness of a pull is not just about speed but also about maintaining pressure on the water throughout the entire stroke.
• 👀 There are differences in stroke technique between sprint swimmers and distance swimmers, highlighting the need for personalized coaching.
• 🧩 The challenge in coaching is to account for individual differences in anatomy, range of motion, strength, and power, which all affect a swimmer's ability to create propulsion.
• 🔄 Swimmers must maintain awareness of their hand path and make micro-adjustments to maintain pressure on the water, which is difficult to observe and coach.
• 🏋️‍♂️ Executing a great pull is counterintuitive to land movements, requiring swimmers to learn new movements that feel unnatural.
• 🔑 Solutions to improve the pull include using drills like power P's with a buoy and underwater recovery, as well as strategies like resistance training, different hand postures, stroke counts, and arm isolation.
• 🌐 The use of resistance and different hand postures can enhance sensory awareness and challenge swimmers to find more effective pulling patterns.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the video script?

The main focus of the video script is to discuss and demonstrate methods to create an effective pull in freestyle swimming to increase speed.

Why is creating propulsion with the upper body important for swimmers?

Creating propulsion with the upper body is important because the arms can move more water than the legs, resulting in more propulsion and speed.

What are the three key aspects of an effective pull in freestyle swimming?

The three key aspects of an effective pull are creating a large surface area, maintaining that surface area over a large range of motion, and accelerating the limb throughout the stroke.

How does the script differentiate between the techniques used by distance swimmers and sprint swimmers?

The script differentiates by showing that while both types of swimmers use the same basic principles of an effective pull, sprinters may have a more rounded stroke and hold their arm deeper throughout the back of the stroke.

What challenges do swimmers face when trying to learn to create more propulsion?

Challenges include individual anatomical differences, varying ranges of motion, different levels of strength and power, and event specificity which requires slight adjustments in technique.

Why is it difficult for coaches to determine the most effective pull for each swimmer?

It is difficult because swimmers have unique anatomies, ranges of motion, and strength capabilities, which interact in unpredictable ways, making it hard to predict the optimal path or adjustments for each individual.

What is the purpose of using resistance training in the water for swimmers?

Resistance training helps swimmers become more effective with each stroke by requiring them to move more water backwards to move forward, and it also provides sensory feedback that can aid in skill development.

How can changing hand postures help swimmers improve their pull?

Changing hand postures forces swimmers to use different parts of their arm, primarily the forearm, and changes their sensory perception of the water, which can lead to more effective pulling techniques.

What is the benefit of using stroke counts as a training strategy?

Stroke counts require swimmers to change their technique to achieve a specific count, providing clear feedback on performance and encouraging more effective and longer strokes.

How can isolating the arms during training benefit swimmers?

Isolating the arms forces swimmers to focus solely on their upper body and pulling technique without the ability to compensate with their legs, which can help overload skills and improve fitness.

What is the overall goal of the training sets described in the script?

The overall goal of the training sets is to challenge swimmers to find more effective pulling patterns by combining drills, stroke counts, hand postures, and speed in various ways.