Sensational Freestyle - Homestudy #1
Introduction to the Home Study
Congratulations on completing the first week!
This week will have likely presented you with a range of new feelings both in and out of the water. You may be feeling challenged or frustrated by one or two skills we've covered. You may also feel energized, excited and intrigued by moments of breakthroughs. Most likely, what you've been going through with us is a combination of these feelings and perhaps some others.
At the early stages of this course, looking to get things perfectly accurate in the drills we've covered (kicking, glide, air exchange and buoyancy) will inevitably create some degree of frustration. Why? Because for the most part you have not spent nearly enough time working with this materiel in the water to achieve 100% accuracy.
What you need most now is experience or time in the water, in order to develop the tool of discovering what works best. Focus your attention on discovery. The more time you spend discovering a range of possibilities in a drill or focus point, the faster you will feel efficient in the water. Not only that, this valuable tool will help you as we build the stroke from the ground up.
Remember: Your goal is to increase your awareness of your body in the water. This is the most important skill you will improve over the next few weeks. Perfecting your tools of self-awareness will enable you to improve your skill in the water everytime you practice.
How to Practice
Dry Land: In addition, to a focused 10-15 minutes on the dry land skills below at home and also before going in the water, we recommend doing short 5 minute explorations at different times throughout the day. The more often you explore your awareness of swimming postures overall, the easier it will be to develop your awareness in the water.
Pool: So far we have done most of our practice within a short distance of the pool. We highly recommend that you remain within that distance or less to ensure that your focus is clear and you don't get too tired or our of breath. Feeling fatigue or the urge to breathe at this point will lead to rushing through things, which will compromise your focus. Spend 10-15 minutes on each of the skills below. Explore what we covered in the session in more depth. Be daring with your experimentation!
Dry Land
- Standing Kick Postures: knee press, pointed toes, and straight (relaxed) leg returning to start position.
- Standing Glide Position: Practice getting into the glide position on each side in an instant. Also, try with your eyes closed, then check yourself in a mirror.
Remember that any movement in swimming involves a series of postures. Eventually they are melded together in a flowing movement (ie. kicking). The more confident you become with knowing each static posture, the more you will be able to fine tune and make adjustments in the water. This greatly speeds up the learning curve in the water.
Pool: Kicking
Start on your stomach, working through each of the main focus points:
- Knee press
- Toes pointed
- Straight leg to return to neutral position
- Flowing kick
Now try the same sequence on your back and in the glide position.
Discovery: Your mission, should you choose to accept it (please do, we insist!), is to find an additional focus point that impacts your streamline and posture in kicking. The impact can be negative or positive. Be ready to let me know what else you discovered when I see you at the first session next week.
Pool: Glide Position (Kicking on one side, then the other)
- Spine & head alignment
- Degree of rotation
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Arm positions:
- back arm snug and relaxed again the hip and inner thigh
- lead arm extended for optimal streamline and comfort
Discovery: Find an additional focus point that impacts your balance and streamline in the glide position. Be ready to let me know what else you discovered when I see you at the first session next week.
Air Exchange
- Amount of bubbles released from nose, controlling rate of exhale
- When completing exhale employing mouth and nose
- Finding balance between rate of exhale for comfort and buoyancy needs
Have fun!