freestyle stroking HELP!!

[D55555]

okay so i started learning how to swim from the TI drills and book, so there's this Froude's law thing, telling me to keep an arm outstretched in front of the body at all times. i breathe to my right everytime i swim freestyle.

so my problem is that i can keep my arm outstretched at all times from my right hand stroke to my left hand stroke, but when i roll up to breathe, my left hand just automatically goes down during that period of time, and my right arm would not be able to reach the outstretched position in time, and i feel that it would make me slower, even though i could still continue swimming.

what is my problem and how do i correct it?

[Alex-SG]

Could be a few things, among which...

1. May be your head is too much underwater. In order to help you find air, the Left Arm pushes you up but that makes you lose balance (head comes up, legs/hips sink)... which leads to drag... energy being wasted... slow and tired !

2. May be over-rotation takes place when you breathe... and your arm tries to help stabilize the body in the water. Typical things that happen is: Legs becomes wide spread to help balance and leading arm also tries to help.

See what happens if you rotate less(arm/hand in front of the shoulder on wide tracks, spear outside (EX 1pm or 11pm).

Also, do not start pulling until the spearing hand has reached the water (same level as the leading arm's elbow). ALEX

[DesertDog]

Sounds like a balance problem.

I would work on zen switches with wide tracks and also read Coach Suzanne's thread on breathing and balance.

http://www.totalimmersion.net/forum/...ead.php?t=1878

[gobbles]

Agreed, it is more related to balance. It is also related to the time you breath in. Wide track is not an ideal balance posture when you are out of air in your lungs. Try the rhythm - skate, breath, anchor, switch. Keep it a continuous smooth flowing cycle.