One of the hallmarks of inefficient swimming is the ‘wiggle’.
You’ve probably seen it.
The shoulders are going one way, the hips are going the other way, and the legs are going another.
It’s like a snake moving through the water.
Even someone with zero swimming experience can recognize this issue as problematic.
Of course, people try to fix it.
You’ll see a lot of advice about keeping the ‘core tight’ or ‘strengthening your core’.
That’s not going to work.
It’s not a core problem.
It’s an arm recovery problem and a rotation problem.
If your swimming flat to the water, you’re not going to be able to recover the arms higher over the water.
If you’re recovering the arms low over the water, that’s going to cause your shoulders to move side to side, which will create a chain reaction in your hips and legs.
Now, you’re wiggling.
Try it right now.
Stand-up and swing one arm over arm up like you’re doing a jumping jack, then swing the opposite arm.
One goes up as the other goes down and reverse it.
All of a sudden, you’re upper body is going to start swaying, and it’s going to be worse in the water.
Let’s fix it.
The Solution
You need to start rotating more and you need to get the arms recovering HIGH.
Try this exercise.
It might be really uncomfortable at first because you’re not used to recovering the arms high, and rotating a lot to do it.
Do it over short distances until it feels more natural.
That alone might do the trick.
If not, start doing this exercise.
It will help you learn to translate that rotation into freestyle, and it will help you learn to create arm recoveries that are straight rather than sideways.
All of a sudden, the wiggle goes away.
Once you can do it with these exercises, it’s just a matter of translating it into your regular freestyle.
Rotate to recover and you’ll be set.
Have a problem you want fixed? Send me your suggestions and I’ll set it up.
Whenever you're ready, there are 2 ways I can help you take your swimming to the next level:
1. If you’re looking for do-it-yourself solutions to improve your swimming, check out my resources Freestyle Made Simple and Addressing Adult-Onset Swimming.
2. If you want a more personalized learning experience, we can work together to analyze your stroke or develop a technical training plan.
Exit the Water…
Andrew
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