General tips: Breathing

Hello guys, and welcome back to my swimming blog. Before we start going into all the content of what this post is containing, I need to give you guys a small introduction about this swimming post. Remember when I said back then (actually, “back then” was basically just a day ago, but OK, we'll just call it “back then” anyways)? You know, when I said that we've already gone through all the swimming styles? Freestyle, breaststroke, backstroke, butterfly, all DONE. Every single possible (actually, in this bit I may be a bit exaggerating, because I didn't actually discuss about EVERY SINGLE detail about tips for swimming the following styles, but you get the idea) detail, component to improve, it's all done.

“So what now?” I asked myself. “I can't let my swimming blog turn into an editor-less blog. I've got to come up with something else... But what should it be?” (remember, I only had a day (actually, less) to decide what I was going to do for my blog) I wondered. But hold on... If I've already done everything about tips about the main strokes, why don't I start way back in the beginning (yes, I KNOW it sounds a bit idiotic to start back at square one, but what else will you have done with such short time to think of the next topic for your blog? And if you DID come up with something, remember that I was desperate to come up with an idea, no matter how bad it was)?

So basically from this post on, I'm just going to use these posts of late for the more “general” tips to improve your swimming skills, regardless of the style or such that you're currently swimming at the time. So these are tips that can apply to ALL styles, so feel free to add them to your everyday (come to think of it, not everyday; more like every occasion you swim. Yeah, that's the right word). So anyways, let's just get straight down to business.

As usual, you'll find the video here, feel free to use it in combination with the post, if you don't watch it you'll have difficulty understanding the post, blah blah blah, OK, you know what? Let's just skip that stuff, you already know how it goes (at least, for those of you readers out there who consistently read my posts. If you do, you already know how it goes because I say it every single time I'm about to get to the “video” part), so let's just cut that and get straight to it!

As you may have seen in the video (for those of you who... Never mind, I promised to skip that part, that's old), one of the problems with swimming is that often, you don't get enough air from your breathing periods. Here's how it usually applies to every style:

• Freestyle: The breathing pattern of the typical guy is usually 2 hand strikes (let's just call that “H” for short), 1 breath (call that “B”). The recommended breathing pattern is 3H-1B or even better, 5H-1B (the truth can sometimes be painful).
• Breaststroke: The typical breathing pattern is 2F (for feet)-1HB (Hands and Breath). The advisable pattern is actually 1F-1HB.
• Backstroke: Honestly no breathing rhythm here, since you spend the entire backstroke with your head on the water's surface.
• Butterfly: Normally the breathing is 1F-1HB. The proper method is 2F-1HB.

That should be all for today. Hope this post helped in improving your swimming skills. Until next time then guys. See ya!

Freestyle reflection

Hello people, and welcome back to my blog about swimming. In this post we are going to be discussing about all the stuff we've learned over the past few (some other freestyle posts not exactly “past few”, since a few of the posts about freestyle were just posted way back a few weeks ago before I remembered that I forgot to do the rest of the freestyle posts), it really just serves as a “reflection”, since there is nothing else left to discuss about freestyle, except to look back at the things we've talked about, and how you guys can use these skills in swimming freestyle. So without further ado, let's just get straight to it!

Since this is pretty much just a reflection about all the things we've learned about freestyle this week (come to think of it, there were actually some posts about the freestyle that were posted way back a few weeks ago, but those count as well), I'm very and truly sorry to say this, but (takes in deep breath, exhales) unfortunately for you (the reader, and possibly me), I'm not going to supply you with a video for you to use in combination with today's post. Now don't go raging at me, because I have my own reasons for not providing you with a video for today's post.

The reason I didn't put a video link in this post (and as I have said, I truly apologize for that, I'm not trying to do this on purpose (OK, I AM doing this on purpose, but for a good reason, that's what I'm trying to say. I'm not trying to get you guys flying off the handle for not posting a video link on this post, that's what I meant), I have my own reasons to do this) was mainly because after all I've taught you in this “week's” worth of posts about freestyle and the tons of videos to help support the advice I've given to you, this is a reflection and honestly, it'd be a bit crazy if I went and put a link for a video that showed you guys a brief overview of the freestyle. No. I've already done that; that's old.

I also couldn't post multiple video links about the stuff we've learned in the freestyle (that basically means I'm going to have to paste EVERY SINGLE video in different links, and as you know, that's a bit “unprofessional” and not my style). So briefly in conclusion, I'm very sorry for not posting a video link for you to watch alongside the post, because that would be insensible and unnecessary (for those of you who don't watch my videos, take this lightly/don't accept it as an offense at all because you've never watched any of my videos anyway). So anyway, let's get straight down to it!

First, we had a brief “interlude” of what the freestyle was like. We also learned some basic movements to execute the freestyle and a few tips to help you swim freestyle faster. Then we learned about the breathing technique for the freestyle; how high you should tilt your head after completing a hand strike, and the recommended amount of hand strikes you should do before you take a breath. Then we learned about the right and monotonous methods to execute the freestyle hand and leg movement. Then for the “finale” (if that's the right word), we learned about the general tips in order to maximize the speed of your freestyle swimming speed.

Well ladies and gentlemen, that wraps up everything that we've learned this week (or at least, everything we've learned this week and the weeks before when I did the long-lost posts about freestyle), I hope that it was somehow useful to you. Pray for me to come up with more ideas on tips for swimming, because right now I've got to admit, I'm stuck. So anyway, see you until the next post! Bye!

How to swim faster in freestyle

Hello everybody, and welcome back to my swimming blog. As most of you may know (the readers of this blog, that is), This week I'm STILL doing posts about the freestyle, despite the need of these posts about freestyle being posted on my blog a few weeks ago already. For those of you who don't read my blog, I'll just tell you that the reason I'm doing these posts about freestyle right now is because there wasn't any other convenient time to do it other than right now, since there are no other swimming styles to be discussed about and there are still some “loose ends” to tie up.

Now, where were we after that post about the freestyle? Let me see... (leg movement, hand movement, ah yes, here it is...) Oh yeah, the ultimate freestyle post; how to compile all these techniques we've learned about freestyle (including the ones I managed to do a few weeks ago before I somehow forgot to do the freestyle posts. Remember that time? By the way, this question is for the people who actually read my posts. For those of you who don't/don't always read my posts, well, all I can say is this; it was a long story) into this one, final post about using all these techniques (in fact, those posts were all to prepare you for this final topic: to swim faster using all the techniques you've learned in this style) to maximize your skills in swimming freestyle.

As usual, although I'm quite professional in the business of the freestyle (not to brag, of course), I will, however, require the aid of (drum-roll, please!) a video! And an impressive video at that, too (although, I have to admit, it's not very “official” (you know, professional-looking), but for damn sure it's bound to spark more interest in you more than the other videos I've posted... Hopefully). Other than containing some interesting video transitions, titles and the like (as plain as they are), they're still bound to at least interest you more than those other videos in my other posts. Anyway, here's the link.

Readers, I'm not forcing you to watch the video (not like I usually do by patronizing you guys in my other posts about swimming), all I'm saying is that it'll be great if you do. Although not the most “professional-looking” videos in the business, I guess my enlightenment in swimming faster in the style will (probably) help assist your (probably) confused mind. If you don't watch the video, however, well, I guess you'll be heeding my advice, which is more trustful now that it's assisted with the video. So anyway, enough chitchat, let's get straight to it!

As you may have seen in the video (for those of you who've watched it, that is), in order to REALLY maximize your swimming speed, you need to maximize the following components (I said “following components” because these are the components of the freestyle that matter the most if you're trying to maximize your swimming speed in the freestyle): Your balance, body position and rotation, the pull of your hands and the strike of your hands. Perfect all this and you should have no problem maximizing your freestyle swimming speed.

Well guys, that should be it. Sorry for the small advice, but honestly that's the whole point of the video (and honestly, I'm suddenly reconsidering to change the “usefulness rating” of that video I showed you guys in the link). By next time, I'll (probably) think of something else about swimming. So until then, I'll be seeing ya!

Freestyle leg movement

Hey guys, and welcome back to my swimming blog. As most of you (at least the people who read my posts about swimming, that is) may have known, due to a chain reaction of mistakes- Okay, you know what? I'll just tell you the whole story so you know what went wrong and how. So here's the story behind this repetition of posts about the same style...

So basically, I forgot to complete my posts about freestyle, which led me to make posts about breaststroke, butterfly and backstroke with no idea that I ever forgot one of updating my posts about most important styles in the art of swimming: the freestyle. So by the end of the week (of making posts about freestyle, that is), I only managed to complete (wait, hold on, let me check... One, two, yep. Only two posts, as it turns out) two posts out of the six posts about swimming freestyle I was supposed to do.

I do NOT remember the cause of my missing out on those posts, and it doesn't look like I'm going to remember why anytime soon. Maybe because I forgot to do them? Maybe because I thought that I was doing some other style? I don't know why, but one thing's for sure: I'm going to let by-gones be by gone by finishing up something I was supposed to finish up weeks ago. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the reason behind the creation of this post. So anyway, enough missing out; let's just get this topic over with.

Maybe I should have told you this long ago, back at the the beginning of my VERY FIRST post about swimming freestyle. Maybe I should have told you that I'm kind of what you'd call a “semi-pro” at the freestyle, having been taught this style for so long (the reason I said “semi-pro” and not “pro” or “master” is because although I've been taught the freestyle for years (almost a decade now), there was still some pretty laughable flaws that I need to fix up), so I guess you guys could trust me on the tips I give during the duration of this post.

But nevertheless, being the “semi-pro” I am at swimming (and not the “master”), I WILL require the assistance of a video to help support my tips about the freestyle hand movement. So here's the link to the video. This particular video is pretty “official” (as I like to call it), and you will want to use it in combination with the post. If you DON'T watch the video, however (whether you don't want to/can't because of any technical difficulties/whatever), I guess the information you'll be relying on is from my years of swimming and tips from my trainer. So without further ado, let's get straight to it!

As you may have seen in the video (if you watched it, that is), while swimming freestyle, the leg movement is often underestimated. Mostly it's the hands that do (almost) all the work, while the legs do some extra propulsion for the body, albeit little amounts of propulsion. The truth is, the legs can actually be “upgraded” to give you much better propulsion (this way your feet actually matters more than it originally was, being almost useless for helping your freestyle-swimming body through the water). Most successful athletes out there make use of their legs to become such great swimmers we know today; Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte, these are just one of the many athletes who make use of their legs when swimming. That's what makes them so good.

That should be it for today's post, hope it was useful. Maybe this tip will (probably) give you some advice on how to use your legs to the best extent. But for now, that should be all, thanks for reading and see you by the next post (probably)! Goodbye!

Freestyle hand movement

Hey people, and welcome back to my swimming blog. As most of you may know (those of you who consistently read my blog, that is), another week, another different swimming style. Now let me do a small “checklist” to see what styles we've done/not yet done so far. OK... (Breaststroke? Check. Butterfly? Check. Backstroke? Check. Freestyle? Che- wait a minute, I just remembered something...) Hold on guys, I just remembered something critical about the consistency of my swimming blog so far.

But before I go misleading you into all that “new swimming style” stuff, unfortunately I need to breakI know that you guys are (probably) already excited to discover what other newfangled swimming style I'm going to teach you guys about, but I've got some bad news to you guys (how bad the news is, that's up to you how bad you want to accept it as). Brace yourselves my dear readers...

Remember that time back when I used to create posts about freestyle? Remember when there were only a few posts about freestyle? You know, how to swim faster in freestyle, what I know so far about it, that stuff, you know? Turns out it wasn't complete (obviously), and it was missing a ton of important posts. Hand movement, “reflection” and other posts.

So in this post, we're going to discuss about the freestyle hand movement. We probably should have just discussed this sooner, but I guess we've got no more opportunities to do this yet. As usual, I cannot call this a swimming post without any proof that my theories are true, can I? You can find the video here. You might want to consider watching the video, as it is an official one that you can count on as your ultimate guide to learning about the freestyle hand movement, so I highly recommend you guys to watch it in combination with the video for maximum effectiveness.

If you cannot/don't want to watch the video, however, well, all I can say is, good luck actually making any sense from the post, as it's supposed to be used along with the video. You're free to read the post alone, of course, but you won't understand it for the most part (note: I said for the MOST part. Fortunately for you non-video watchers out there (if that's the right word), the blog also consists of some theories that I stated myself). That's all I'm saying. So without further ado, why don't we just get straight to it?

As you may have seen in the video (for those of you who have actually watched the video, that is), the freestyle hand movement is one continuous movement throughout your entire period of time swimming freestyle; it's the same movement throughout the entire period of time swimming freestyle. No changes, no change, it's just this order of monotonous arm movement; back and forth, back and forth, back and forth until the end of time (just kidding, only until the period of your freestyle swimming is over) One mistake, and the whole cycle is broken, so be sure to keep a steady pace throughout the entire period of time swimming freestyle.

Honestly, I think that should be it for the freestyle hand movement. Maybe it's not much, but it should be the one basic tip that I should put in if I wanted to tell you the ultimate trick to swimming the freestyle (or at least executing its hand movement). So I'll be back with more freestyle soon. But for now, goodbye and see you until then!

Backstroke swim faster

Hey people, and welcome back to my swimming blog! As most of you (at least those of you who have constantly read my blogs about swimming) may have known, this week we're still focusing on the backstroke and tips on how to maximize your skills in it.-In this post, we are going to learn about something all the skills we have learned will apply to. All the things we have learned will help us in today's topic. The topic for today is how to maximize your swimming speed when you're in a race or a competition or whatever. It's going to require all the skills we have learned over the week, since all of those skills we have learned were mainly to maximize your speed in backstroke and the energy efficiency of swimming this way. So without further ado, let's just get straight into it!

As usual, I WILL still require a video to help support my “theories” about how to swim faster in backstroke (remember, as most of you may have seen in my previous posts, being the idiot no-brainer swimmer about swimming theories does not exactly arise a feeling of confidence that you could trust me that much with a swimming style I don't know). I suppose this video should be “official” enough to become safe proof on how to swim backstroke as fast as possible, so I highly advise you to watch it.

If you don't however (whether due to an error in your computer/Internet connection whatsoever or if you just don't want to watch it), don't blame me if you get any difficulties whatsoever trying to understand the rest of this post starting from the next paragraph (like I always say). For those of you who want to/are able to watch the video, good for you. You'll understand the rest of this post as easy as one, two, three. So enough chit-chat, let's just get straight into it (And by the way, here's the link to the video)

As you may have seen in the video (for those of you who've watched it, that is), the first tip to swim faster in backstroke is to keep your belly button underwater (not TOO deep, that will affect some aerodynamics in your body's glide through the water. Just a few centimeters below the water's surface should suffice). In addition, your hips should also be a few centimeters below the water's surface, just like your belly button.

Keeping your body like this will create a body position that resembles a straight body floating on the water, and that is the best position when swimming through the water in backstroke; high up the water enough for your hand strikes to be easily executed and also for your leg strikes to be much more effective than if it is submerged, unable to kick the water powerful enough. Most swimmers who spend their period swimming backstroke mostly let their hips sink down into the water, creating a “bowl” that gathers water and increases drag, making the swimmer go slower and require more energy to advance.

Well, that should be it for today. Hopefully this post has proven helpful to you, despite the (at least according to me) small amount of advice given to you. Nevertheless, by the next post we will be doing the final post about the backstroke, which is basically a “reflection” about the things we've learned so far about this style. Until the next post then, guys. See you until then!

Backstroke leg technique

Hey guys, and welcome back to more of my posts about swimming. As you know, this week we're focusing on the backstroke, which used to be one of my most hated styles (it just got “promoted” from “one of my most hated styles” to “not-very-hard-to-do-style-but-still-a-bit-difficult-to-do”, as you may have discovered in my recent posts about backstroke). In this post, we're going to learn about the leg movement and how to maximize your leg speed while doing so. So without any further ado, let's just get straight into it!

As usual, you'll find the link of the tutorial video for the leg movement here. Although much shorter than my other tutorial videos in my other posts, Hopefully you'll find the whole video useful paired alongside the “narration” of this post. Of course, you're free not to watch the video, and honestly, that's not too bad since it's only a 38-second video and doesn't show you much anyway (the cream of the crop is in this post). But if you watch it, it will give you (albeit only a little) enlightenment about the art of the backstroke kicking technique. OK, enough chit-chat, let's just get straight down to it!

As you may have seen in the video (for those of you who have actually watched the video, that is), when executing the backstroke leg movement, it's just going to be a constant movement of the feet (and NO, this does not mean that it is like in every style, where the leg movement is constantly the same. “Constant movement of the feet” basically means unlike other styles (which require proper timing to move the leg, such as after the hand strike), the legs keep moving throughout the entire duration of the backstroke, ignoring the hand movement and such. I suppose you get this, right?). Your feet just keeps moving. Nonstop. During the entire duration of the event. No matter what. I suppose you get what I mean, right? Right?

Okay, sorry for the potential incomprehensibility in the previous paragraph, let's move on to the other components of the backstroke leg movement. For the power of your legs as you do the backstroke though (as stated in the video), is that (despite being the equivalent of the freestyle leg kick turned 180 degrees upside down) unlike the freestyle leg kick, while swimming backstroke each of your leg strikes should be powerful, although this will result in less leg strikes being executed per second.

The reason for prioritizing power over speed over the leg strikes while swimming backstroke is because remember, you're doing the backstroke with your body turned 180 DEGREES UPSIDE DOWN. And when you're swimming upside down, you want to keep your body on the SURFACE of the water, where there is plenty of oxygen to breathe, guaranteeing you a smooth swim without any choking/suffocating until you reach the finish line/wherever you go when you're done with the swimming. Believe me (I've been in this situation may times before), you do not want to spend the entire period of the backstroke underwater, gasping for air and trying to stay alive. And that, my dear readers, is why in backstroke, you should have powerful leg strikes instead of fast ones.

Well, that was one long post. I do hope it was useful for you, and I hope you get what you need from it. Next time, I will still be doing posts on the backstroke and tips on how to be better in it. Until the next post then, See you!