review my video - help my TI

[Jbparis11]

it's ugly...but i'm hoping you can offer tips and suggestions.
now 10 months of reviewing TI videos, but my first workshop is coming up. I'd like to refine some of the basics before getting there...so fire away!

thanks in advance for any guidance
jb

http://youtu.be/IypLwi4THzg

http://youtu.be/7AWu0hNn7Bg

[borate]

Originally Posted by Jbparis11

It's ugly...but i'm hoping you can offer tips and suggestions.

Not ugly. Balance looks good, but legs aren't in the clear so no comment on the kick.

If you have the flexibility, try leading with the elbow during the first-half of recovery, letting the forearm and hand dangle loosely directly below - just above the waterline. This is the relaxation phase of the stroke.
Some visualize the forearm/hand as being marionette-like. Then gently pierce the water as if entering a mail slot.

Under water, keep that high elbow as you pull. Feel water pressure not only one the hand but on the forearm as well.

[Jbparis11]

One quick note...you might notice the poor flexibility in my right shoulder, as my arm does not come as high. I severely broke it when I was younger And cannot rotate it much more than you see. I've tried to adapt a bit to compensate, but it does cause me to list to the right a bit.


Also, i was swimming at a brisker pace than I normally practice. I had just finished a timed mile. I will shoot more at a slower stroke rate.

[andyinnorway]

Looking good generally, I think you will get a lot out of the workshop in terms of adding in the relaxation phase of the stroke cycle.

Your arms look a little straight and wide underwater as if you are not breaking the elbow to keep it high during the pull. This might be causing tension and fatigue.

[Jbparis11]

Originally Posted by borate

Not ugly. Balance looks good, but legs aren't in the clear so no comment on the kick..

Thanks for the advice.
My 2bk is miserable, so I'm hoping for some training on that. It's more like a right-side favored 2bk. I do well if I just let my legs trail, but without some pace they are hard to keep up and I lose that form once fatigue starts to set in during a longer distance swim.

[Jbparis11]

Any other feedback?

I'm curious if I should be rolling more into my streamline.

Also, very interested Andy's comment on the arm being too straight...should it be flexed more?

Lastly, I've read debate on the high elbow during the pull. Can someone explain the benefit over a longer, deeper pull? Keeping my elbow high seems to be more straining on my shoulder.

Thanks

[CharlesCouturier]

Originally Posted by Jbparis11

One quick note...you might notice the poor flexibility in my right shoulder, as my arm does not come as high. I severely broke it when I was younger And cannot rotate it much more than you see. I've tried to adapt a bit to compensate, but it does cause me to list to the right a bit.

Yeah yeah, I was going to comment on that one.

The thing several swimmers ignore, is that arm recovery should be a consequence of the combination of a simple arm lateral raise, coupled with body rotation that places that arm correctly, allowing to clear it off the water.

By lateral raise, I mean this very simple gym exercise here.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gun1oH-QrpY

Notice that in this case, the arm is not trying to draw a circle, not spinning toward the back.

When beginner swimmers look at other people swimming, we fall into this optical illusion that the arms are rotating so to speak, whilst the recovery is a mere lateral raise, which requires very little shoulder flexibility really.

Now the problem I see in your execution, what makes it a bit uncomfortable to look at, is that we feel that your arms themselves seem to lead the body rotation, instead of it placing your arms in the perfect position to recover without challenging your flexibility limitation.

As for the kick, you issue a scissor like, like most people learning 2b and not getting it right at first shot. This I'm afraid, is better solved with a coach (your best bet) to try and find what causes this gesture you do.

Other than that, there are good things in your stroke. Not the most patient ti swimmer I've seen (with skate position), especially with the right arm, but you seem to like to keep the momentum going so I donno, I like it. But we can read some tensions in this stroke though. I think I'd work on that first, but a bit of coaching to settle your scissor kick may come handy, otherwise just go through a succession of video session, trying to improve each time you get a video feed back. But it's hard by your own, especially if it's caused by action reaction process involving some flaw somewhere else.

Now wait for a TI coach to correct all this. Just my uneducated opinion.

[Jbparis11]

Charles - the video you linked showed someone flutter kicking with a board. I'm guessing it was the wrong link.
"By lateral raise, I mean this very simple gym exercise here.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gun1oH-QrpY,

[CharlesCouturier]

Originally Posted by Jbparis11

Charles - the video you linked showed someone flutter kicking with a board. I'm guessing it was the wrong link.
"By lateral raise, I mean this very simple gym exercise here.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gun1oH-QrpY,

Cross post, I was posting on two forums, and mixed the links up.

Time to go to bed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7oINxPhOaU

I'm not suggesting to mimic this gestion. It's just to illustrate that normally, the top part of your arm whilst recovering should not rotate to the point that it goes toward your back. Just a mere lateral raise should do.

Also, I forgot it earlier, once you get all that done, I'll be time to try and lower your hand closer to the surface whilst recovering. I truly think for now that when you swim, for you, recovering the arms is more like recovering the *hands*, where a hand drives the whole side of the body to move up (thus performing half a rotation), then the other hand once it finished pulling also does the same which brings the other body side up. Body rotation should work independently from the arms.

[Jbparis11]

Same link? Hehe. You know you're tired when...


Thank you for all the input. I really appreciate it.
You gave me lots to work on, especially the body rotation.

I will work on that and repost when, hopefully, I have the body engaged correctly.