The freestyle stroke or the front crawl is among the most efficient swimming strokes. Quite simply, if you want to swim fast, you've got to learn and master the freestyle stroke. However, to master the stroke, you need to learn the techniques and practice them to perfection.
Unfortunately, the techniques involved in the freestyle stroke aren’t the easiest for beginners. As a result, beginners are likely to make certain mistakes, and practising those mistakes repeatedly can lead to flawed learning.
If you’re a beginner who’s getting to grips with various freestyle techniques, this article is for you. In this article, we’ll focus on some of the most common mistakes made by beginners learning the freestyle stroke. We’ll also take you through the ways you can rectify those mistakes. So, without any further delay, let’s get into it!
1. Dropping of the elbow on entry
This mistake involves the elbow dropping to a level below the hand and the wrist. As a result, the stroke’s pull and catch phases become inefficient. Additionally, the dropping of the elbow may be accompanied by fingertips breaking the water’s surface.
To rectify this mistake, you should focus on aiming for a greater depth within the water instead of its surface. You should also pay attention to the positioning of the fingertips, i.e. they should be under the wrist’s level. Also, the wrist should be under the elbow level, while the elbow should be under the shoulder level. Over-rotation is another common problem that involves dropping the shoulder excessively deep, which causes the hand to go over the elbow’s level. The best fibreglass pool to practice swimming in is a fibreglass lap pool!
2. Not pulling the water back
Pulling the water back is one of the most critical aspects of getting the freestyle stroke right. However, many beginners tend to push it to the side instead. This happens due to a flawed internal arm rotation technique. Ideally, the palm should face down and at the same time, the fingertips should aim straight ahead. When the elbow bends in the stroke’s pull and catch phases, the fingertips should be pointing towards the pool’s bottom.
The rectification for this mistake lies in the imagination. Quite simply, you should imagine that you’re pulling yourself with the aim of moving forward ahead of the water. To get this technique right, the hands must work as anchors, and the majority of the workload has to be shouldered by the back muscles. It’s important to remember that the strength of the back muscles is significantly more than the collective strength of the shoulder and arm muscles.
3. Crossing the body's midline on entry
When you enter the water, your left/right arm shouldn’t cross the body’s imaginary midline. However, this mistake involves doing exactly that. The worst part of this mistake is that swimmers committing it rarely realize it. Making this mistake dramatically increases the risk of sustaining shoulder injuries. It also reduces efficiency.
Rectifying this mistake is again down to your imagination. You should imagine you’re a clock and aim for 11:30 and 12:30 with your fingers. This should help you stop crossing the body’s imaginary midline. However, if you still find yourself crossing, aim your fingers for 11:00 and 1:00. You may also need to pay attention to the straightness of your elbow.
4. Moving the arms in a windmill motion
This mistake is a result of initiating the pull phase too soon. When this occurs, the arms tend to move opposite to one another similar to a windmill or a fan.
To fix this mistake, you should practice the catch-up drill with one arm positioned straight and wait for the other arm to catch up. Once the other arm catches up, you can initiate the next stroke. The drill will allow you to rectify not just the windmill motion movement, but also improve breath and stroke timings. Want a pool in your backyard and unsure what’s best for practicing swimming? Find out more about our Fibreglass Lap Pools here!
5. Lack of an early vertical forearm
During the stroke’s pull phase, none of your arms can be long, straight, and reach for the pool’s bottom. However, if one of your arms is doing this, you’ll be slowed down to the drag you’re creating mistakenly. Additionally, you’ll miss out on the use of the back muscles, which can generate a lot of power to reduce drag and keep you moving forward.
For fixing this error, start by bending your elbows at 90 degrees. Doing this during the beginning of the stroke can result in a stronger pull. If fixing the mistake seems difficult, use your imagination and place yourself in shallow water with seaweed near the bottom. Once you’re firmly set in your imagination, try to avoid touching the seaweed.
6. Over-rotation
Over-rotation, in swimming terms, is defined as a situation where the swimmer’s whole face is exposed while breathing and/or a particular shoulder goes excessively deep into the water.
The fix for this mistake lies in preventing yourself from pulling excessively early and taking little time to breathe. If you wear goggles, pay attention to how they’re placed in and out of the water. Quite simply, one of them should be outside water and the other should be in it. Also, aiming the chin and mouth in the direction of the armpit is recommended for better breathing.
7. S-curve under-the-body pulls
There was once a time when S-curves were taught as proper pulling techniques. However, over time, these techniques were rendered obsolete as it was discovered that S-curves result in crossing the body’s imaginary midline (highlighted in the 3rd point). Performing S-curves also tend to result in inefficiencies in the stroke.
For better efficiency, it’s best to maintain a 90-degree elbow bend and at the same time, point your fingers towards the floor. Next, aim for pulling straight back while avoiding situations where the hand goes below the belly. Try thigh scrapes with your thumb when performing every stroke. This is a good drill to prevent S-curves from happening. Rectifying this error can take a long time in swimmers who have grown accustomed to performing S-curves regularly.
In Conclusion
So, those were the 7 most common mistakes swimmers make while performing the freestyle stroke. We hope that you can avoid these mistakes and become a better freestyle swimmer.
The freestyle stroke or the front crawl is among the most efficient swimming strokes. Quite simply, if you want to swim fast, you've got to learn and master the freestyle stroke. However, to master the stroke, you need to learn the techniques and practice them to perfection.
Unfortunately, the techniques involved in the freestyle stroke aren't the easiest for beginners. As a result, beginners are likely to make certain mistakes, and practising those mistakes repeatedly can lead to flawed learning. If you're a beginner who's getting to grips with various freestyle techniques, this article is for you. In this article, we'll focus on some of the most common mistakes made by beginners learning the freestyle stroke. We'll also take you through the ways you can rectify those mistakes. So, without any further delay, let's get into it!
1. Dropping of the elbow on entry
This mistake involves the elbow dropping to a level below the hand and the wrist. As a result, the stroke’s pull and catch phases become inefficient. Additionally, the dropping of the elbow may be accompanied by fingertips breaking the water’s surface.
To rectify this mistake, you should focus on aiming for a greater depth within the water instead of its surface. You should also pay attention to the positioning of the fingertips, i.e. they should be under the wrist’s level. Also, the wrist should be under the elbow level, while the elbow should be under the shoulder level. Over-rotation is another common problem that involves dropping the shoulder excessively deep, which causes the hand to go over the elbow’s level. The best fibreglass pool to practice swimming in is a fibreglass lap pool!
2. Not pulling the water back
Pulling the water back is one of the most critical aspects of getting the freestyle stroke right. However, many beginners tend to push it to the side instead. This happens due to a flawed internal arm rotation technique. Ideally, the palm should face down and at the same time, the fingertips should aim straight ahead. When the elbow bends in the stroke’s pull and catch phases, the fingertips should be pointing towards the pool’s bottom.
The rectification for this mistake lies in the imagination. Quite simply, you should imagine that you’re pulling yourself with the aim of moving forward ahead of the water. To get this technique right, the hands must work as anchors, and the majority of the workload has to be shouldered by the back muscles. It’s important to remember that the strength of the back muscles is significantly more than the collective strength of the shoulder and arm muscles.
3. Crossing the body's midline on entry
When you enter the water, your left/right arm shouldn’t cross the body’s imaginary midline. However, this mistake involves doing exactly that. The worst part of this mistake is that swimmers committing it rarely realize it. Making this mistake dramatically increases the risk of sustaining shoulder injuries. It also reduces efficiency.
Rectifying this mistake is again down to your imagination. You should imagine you’re a clock and aim for 11:30 and 12:30 with your fingers. This should help you stop crossing the body’s imaginary midline. However, if you still find yourself crossing, aim your fingers for 11:00 and 1:00. You may also need to pay attention to the straightness of your elbow.
4. Moving the arms in a windmill motion
This mistake is a result of initiating the pull phase too soon. When this occurs, the arms tend to move opposite to one another similar to a windmill or a fan.
To fix this mistake, you should practice the catch-up drill with one arm positioned straight and wait for the other arm to catch up. Once the other arm catches up, you can initiate the next stroke. The drill will allow you to rectify not just the windmill motion movement, but also improve breath and stroke timings. Want a pool in your backyard and unsure what’s best for practicing swimming? Find out more about our Fibreglass Lap Pools here!
5. Lack of an early vertical forearm
During the stroke’s pull phase, none of your arms can be long, straight, and reach for the pool’s bottom. However, if one of your arms is doing this, you’ll be slowed down to the drag you’re creating mistakenly. Additionally, you’ll miss out on the use of the back muscles, which can generate a lot of power to reduce drag and keep you moving forward.
For fixing this error, start by bending your elbows at 90 degrees. Doing this during the beginning of the stroke can result in a stronger pull. If fixing the mistake seems difficult, use your imagination and place yourself in shallow water with seaweed near the bottom. Once you’re firmly set in your imagination, try to avoid touching the seaweed.
6. Over-rotation
Over-rotation, in swimming terms, is defined as a situation where the swimmer’s whole face is exposed while breathing and/or a particular shoulder goes excessively deep into the water.
The fix for this mistake lies in preventing yourself from pulling excessively early and taking little time to breathe. If you wear goggles, pay attention to how they’re placed in and out of the water. Quite simply, one of them should be outside water and the other should be in it. Also, aiming the chin and mouth in the direction of the armpit is recommended for better breathing.
7. S-curve under-the-body pulls
There was once a time when S-curves were taught as proper pulling techniques. However, over time, these techniques were rendered obsolete as it was discovered that S-curves result in crossing the body’s imaginary midline (highlighted in the 3rd point). Performing S-curves also tend to result in inefficiencies in the stroke.
For better efficiency, it’s best to maintain a 90-degree elbow bend and at the same time, point your fingers towards the floor. Next, aim for pulling straight back while avoiding situations where the hand goes below the belly. Try thigh scrapes with your thumb when performing every stroke. This is a good drill to prevent S-curves from happening. Rectifying this error can take a long time in swimmers who have grown accustomed to performing S-curves regularly.
To Conclude
So, those were the 7 most common mistakes swimmers make while performing the freestyle stroke. We hope that you can avoid these mistakes and become a better freestyle swimmer.
