How to Stop your Feet Sinking

[CoachBrian]

In this video, Kerry Sullivan tries to explain his ideas about how to keep your feet from sinking in the Freestyle stroke. He spends most of his time talking about improving the pull. The take-away? According to Sullivan, if you want to keep your feet from sinking, you're going to have to get stronger and pull harder. You also have to learn an advanced skill, the Early Vertical Forearm.

I think his analysis is flawed and his priorities are wrong.

Balance can be improved regardless of your strength or how you pull. The most important aspects for improved balance are relaxation, comfort, alignment, head position, arm entry and extension, and the proper amount of rotation. All of these are independent of power and pull.

The shape of the pull can affect balance, but these other elements are far more important.

What do you think?

[borate]

Originally Posted by CoachBrian

In this video, Kerry Sullivan tries to explain his ideas about how to keep your feet from sinking in the Freestyle stroke. He spends most of his time talking about improving the pull. <snip>

I think his analysis is flawed and his priorities are wrong. Balance can be improved regardless of your strength or how you pull. <snip>
What do you think?

I think you are correct.

In a post some months ago Terry mentioned that folks of Asian descent tend to balance more easily than others.

Having long legs/short torso, I sink, while a short-legged Japanese gal I work with pops to the surface effortlessly. That is likely not due to a strong pull but rather our individual physical characteristics.

[Zanna]

In my experience, and I have relatively short legs, the only way to keep my feet from sinking in say superman glide is to keep my core and glute muscles activated. Does that mean I am doing this wrong, because "relaxation" is not the key for me?

[CoachDavidShen]

Originally Posted by CoachBrian

In this video, Kerry Sullivan tries to explain his ideas about how to keep your feet from sinking in the Freestyle stroke. He spends most of his time talking about improving the pull. The take-away? According to Sullivan, if you want to keep your feet from sinking, you're going to have to get stronger and pull harder. You also have to learn an advanced skill, the Early Vertical Forearm.

I think his analysis is flawed and his priorities are wrong.

Balance can be improved regardless of your strength or how you pull. The most important aspects for improved balance are relaxation, comfort, alignment, head position, arm entry and extension, and the proper amount of rotation. All of these are independent of power and pull.

The shape of the pull can affect balance, but these other elements are far more important.

What do you think?

there is one thing that he is somewhat correct on, and that is forward motion helps keep your body horizontal in the water. so in some sense, moving at a higher velocity means inertia and water supporting your body will mean your feet will be higher.

but in general, DEPENDING on velocity AS A PRIMARY MEANS for balance is not a good idea.

[CoachBrian]

CoachDavid, you are so right.That is one of the reasons Terry advocates slow swimming. It makes balance more tenuous and requires greater coordination and activation of the muscles required.

Zanna, there is a difference between relaxation and lack of energy expenditure. In my days as a competitive skydiver, the best athletes were the ones that relaxed the most. But a competition skydive is a 35 second sprint in which muscles are constantly firing and reversing direction. A good competition skydive would seem to be very slow, because the team is relaxed in mind, even though we would be breathless after 35 seconds.

In swimming, you ideally want to turn on only the muscles that are required to hold a position or move. And you want to fire those muscles only to the extent necessary. If you train the muscles to achieve the optimal body positions and motion using the least amount of energy for the desired pace, that's relaxation and economy of movement.

[janedoemuc]

I think, he (Kerry Sullivan) is insofar right as CoachDavidShen explains it, as I know some triathles, too who seem to be "well balanced" while swimming but sink like stones when "drilling" (practising the skate drill and similar). They can "pull" themselves into balance while swimming. Only my 2 cents. Cheers. janedoemuc

[CoachDavidShen]

Originally Posted by CoachBrian

In swimming, you ideally want to turn on only the muscles that are required to hold a position or move. And you want to fire those muscles only to the extent necessary. If you train the muscles to achieve the optimal body positions and motion using the least amount of energy for the desired pace, that's relaxation and economy of movement.

another way i like to express this is, what is the absolute minimal amount of energy you can expend in order to maintain your streamlined body position. more than this and you're wasting energy. less than this and your body will lose its streamline and flop around in the water.