Seeking a Freestyle Form Makeover

So here I was, two months before my first triathlon, looking to shed the training fins (as mentioned in my prior post) and put in a respectable swim leg.

While working out the prior summer at the local swimming complex, I met a male swimmer around my age who had competed in college.  I was amazed at how fast he swam for long distances despite his deliberate, methodical cadence.  His freestyle catch created hardly a ripple or splash in the water - and his flutter kick did not particularly stand out either.  While chatting, he suggested I point my web browser to the Swim Smooth site when I got the chance.

Upon entering the site, you'll see an animated figure demonstrating the "perfect" freestyle form.  What a long way I was away from that !  And so many things that needed to be corrected - just like trying to simultaneously overhaul several elements of a bad golf swing.  Shortly after joining the local health club I began to make several changes in form as suggested in the web site, focusing on these five:

1 - Incorporate more body roll to both sides
2 - Correct "overgliding" problem in initial catch phase of stroke
3 - Maintain high elbow position in catch, pull and recovery phases
4 - Lower head position to reduce lower body drag
5 - Focus on reducing drag vs producing propulsion in kick technique

The last change was key for me.  A typical distance swimmer relies on the lower body for only 10% of total propulsion.  I've been told that's particularly important in triathlon, so that legs can remain reasonably fresh for bike and run portions.  So adopting a streamlined ankle and foot, combined with a kick featuring a straightened leg with minimal knee bend, meant noticeable improvements in drag and efficiency of effort for me.


The opening swim lap for the final flight in my second indoor triathlon, November 2011.  I can be seen producing my share of splash near the center of this photo, swimming on the far side of the second closest lane.

Those changes, combined with the many drills the web site suggests, allowed me to hit my swim goal of 600 meters in just under 10 minutes in my first triathlon in March, 2011 (an indoor format where distance is measured for each leg, not time).  Later, I was excited to learn that I'd finished first among all masters athletes in the swim phase!  But I have so much more work to do in the pool - especially when it comes to learning how to breathe on both sides.  More on that later.