2012’s first swim lesson

I say the first because I’m sure there will be more.

Issues reviewed and worked on, in no particular order:

1.       My left arm still sweeps under me. The elbow bends and passes directly under my chest.

2.       My left arm when in front of me comes down too early and instead of being forward propulsion is instead upward in an effort to lift my head.

3.       My head is lifting up and pointing the “laser line” upwards instead of parallel with the water surface. This causes a curved, banana shape and drops my hips.

4.       My hands aren’t anchoring in the water.

Things to be thinking about:

1.       Arms to the outside, not under. I should still be on my side when the pull starts and not flat in the water. Done correctly, the outside motion is not out to the wall of the pool but instead out to my side and thus towards the bottom of the pool.

2.       Keep the left arm out in a neutral position while breathing.

3.       I don’t need to lift my head, so think about keeping the head down and trust the rotation.

4.       Think about throwing my weight/momentum forward over my shoulders. Instead of sweeping the hand back, leave it as an anchor and move the weight up and over it. The “rock at the end of a string” drill from a few Master’s ago has helped with this, but without an anchor the drill will only help so far.

5.       Practice the drill of letting the recovery arm “hit” the back of the head. This resulted in a full extension of the shoulder and what felt like a longer line in the water, but I think it was also to make sure my head stays down with my arms instead of coming out of the water to breathe.