I will travel to any pool within 10 miles of Chapel Hill. Three lanes next to the wall are needed to get good side view videos.
I will travel even farther for an additional fee of 50 cents per mile to cover the cost and time of travel. Based on $4 per gallon price of gas.
However, the “Splex” is an ideal place to meet for the underwater filming. The side view footage is best taken three or four lanes away from the wall. Most pools are very crowded, so having three lanes all to yourself is unlikely! The competition pool at the Splex is very open between 9:30am-4pm, and 8:15pm-9pm.
Chris brought his triathlon coach with him for his filming session. After filming, they were able to review the clips together and discuss areas needing improvement:
Chris’s left arm has a nice high elbow during recovery, but his right arm does not.
Chris lifts his head up when breathing rather that rotating the head with body rotation.
body balance (front to back) could be more streamlined.
The videos below are straight out of the camera! Please bear in mind that YouTube compression degrades the quality of the footage. Your clips will be much clearer!
Technique is key in swimming - which is why drills should comprise 10-20% of your pool time! Drills should be performed slowly while concentrating on body movements, NOT speed. Try this during your warm-ups and cooldowns: swim 25 drill followed by 25 freestyle. During the 25 free, focus on how you felt during the drill. Do just one drill per swim session to focus on one element of your swim form at a time (at least that works for me!)
For your convenience, I’ve put together a list of swim drills to help solve specific problems in swimming form. Note: most links go to YouTube or Google Video.
Overreaching (extending arm too far before hand entry and/or arms cross center line)
11 and 2 o’clock. Imagine your head is at 12 o’clock your hands should be in the 11 o’clock or 2 o’clock position when they enter the water. This is roughly in line with your shoulders. They should never cross the center line of the body. Try swimming slowly, and each time your right hand enters, say 2 o’clock. Each time your left hand enters, say 11 o’clock. Or, if it’ easier to remember, each time any hand enters, say ’shoulder’. Try to be aware of where your hands are through out the entire stroke, and do not ever let them cross the center line!
Here are three pages from trifuel.com’s swim section that describe various swimming problems and drills to correct. These are not Youtube videos, but is GREAT info:
Lisa is an age group triathlete with excellent swim technique. Even so, she discovered some areas where she could improve.
Her kick is strong, but her toes knock together.
She tends to veer toward the left as she swims down the lane, and she experiences this in races as well.
She breathes only to the right; however, her head rotates to part way to the left with each stroke.
The videos below are straight out of the camera! Please bear in mind that YouTube compression degrades the quality of the footage. Your clips will be much clearer!
Underwater, Frontal View (there’s a minute of time before she jumps in and starts swimming - so keep watching):
I’ve posted some sample videos to YouTube. ( Please bear in mind that YouTube compresses the video, degrading the quality. Your files will be much clearer.)
$50 Includes filming 400 yards of swimming while capturing both over and underwater views, plus your files to take with you on a CD!
Bring a friend and you each save $5!
Swim Teams - contact me for Group Rates!
Notes:
You will also be required to pay the swim fee for the Sportsplex, which is about $5.
Prices valid at a pool within 10 miles of Chapel Hill, NC. Willing to travel for an additional 50 cents per mile fee to cover travel expenses. Based on $4 per gallon price for gas.
Underwater filming service includes the following:
I will travel to any pool within 10 miles of Chapel Hill, or even farther for an additional fee to cover gas. However, the “Splex” is an ideal place to meet for the underwater filming. The side view footage is best taken three or four lanes away from the wall. Most pools are very crowded, so having three lanes all to yourself is unlikely! The competition pool at the Splex is very open between 9:30am-4pm, and 8:15pm-9pm.
We’ll meet at the Triangle Sportsplex (”Splex”) in Hillsborough, North Carolina. I’ll film you swimming for about 10 minutes. You’ll swim 200 yards while I record underwater and overwater footage from a frontal angle. Then, you’ll swim another 200 yards while I film you from the side. Next, we’ll review your clips to make sure you’re happy with the result. I’ll then burn them to a CD for you to take with you.
You’ll receive at a minimum of four video clips:
one frontal underwater
one frontal overwater
one side view underwater
one side view overwater
The underwater clips are in AVI format.
The overwater clips are in WMV format.
Please note: I am not a Swim Coach. My service only includes the videotaping service. I will be glad to share my thoughts with you on your swimming form; but I am not qualified to offer coaching services. I would be glad to refer you to a coach if desired. And, you are welcome to bring your coach with you!
If you are having trouble viewing the video portion of the AVI files in Windows Media Player, this is due to your computer not having the correct codec to properly interpret the file. There are two solutions:
If the above does not work, you may download and install a free video player that doesn’t have problems with codecs like Windows Media Player. Important note: installing this will REPLACE Windows Media Player as your default player. http://www.videolan.org/vlc/
I offer underwater filming service in the Central North Carolina area to help you analyze your swimming stroke. I came upon the idea of offering this service to other swimmers and triathletes after viewing my own underwater videos. It was so enlightening to see all of my mistakes! Now I know what to work on with my drills to correct them! I’m always happy to learn my mistakes: because with that knowledge comes the opportunity to correct and get FASTER! I’m also happy to share this with you to help you get FASTER!
Please select a link from the menu above or contact me for more information or to arrange a filming session.
Here’s what I learned by viewing my own swim footage from a frontal angle…and what drills I am doing to correct.
My head does not stay aligned with my body as I rotate to breathe. [side kick drill, focusing on head alignment]
I don’t rotate enough when stroking to the left. [fingertip drill]
I thought I had nice high elbows - but I can see that they really drop! [quick catch drill]
My knees bend too much when I kick. [triathlon kicking drills and streamlined kick]
