In recent years we have been able to give a lot of front crawl technique Lifeguard training. During all those training sessions we also learned a lot about swimming. We are therefore happy to share 5 tips on how you can get your front crawl under control.
1. keep streamlined
Streamline is the basis in swimming. Body position is so decisive. The better your body position, the less resistance and the more efficiently you go through the water. However, things often go wrong in the basics. And many swimmers don't keep a streamline enough.
What is the purpose?
The intention is that you go completely streamlined through the water and that starts with the take-off. You try to take this tension with you in swimming. Especially the trunk tension. At every turn and after a turning point you come back to this streamline for a while before you start swimming again.
Why is it wrong?
Streamlining in itself is not difficult. It just takes some discipline to include it well in your routine. So with every push-off from the wall you make a good streamline and you tighten your entire core and fully extend your arms.
2. Insert straight
Put in your hand is put in your hand, right? Nope, in swimming nothing is 'normal'. How you put your hand in the water determines everything. Many swimmers make the mistake of not putting in straight. But diagonally, not at shoulder width but rather on the line of the center of your head. Or even beyond that. You are crossing, as it were.
How is that bad then?
If you insert diagonally, you will lose your balance. You see that a swimmer often does not swim in a straight line and 'swabs' slightly from left to right. You are constantly correcting. You are also not in the right line for deploying an efficient catch. You start too much under your body.
What is the purpose?
You are supposed to put your hand straight in front of your shoulder. Either your arm/hand is a straight line relative to your shoulder. With this you do not disturb your balance and you move forward as straight as possible. It is also the best starting position for the bet of your catch.
3. Let your legs float
Are you swimming so nice at the front? At the back, drag your legs deep into the water. Like a tugboat. All the energy you put in at the front is held back at the back.
The intention is that you lie as flat / horizontal as possible in the water. That way you have as little resistance as possible and that makes swimming a lot easier.
Why is it wrong?
Sinking legs can have many different causes. Such as lack of torso tension, or your head that is too far up (then you are out of balance and your legs sink). It can also be your leg position, stiff ankles (your toes point too much down) or you make the leg stroke too much from your knees, making your legs go deeper than necessary. Or you swim so slowly that your legs sink. An aid for this can be neoprene pants, these support the buoyancy of your legs.
4. Overuse of the legs
Many novice swimmers initially swim like crazy with their legs. That's where they get the most speed. Not only does it make you very tired, it is also not efficient. Front crawl is mainly an arm stroke. You get the most return from your arms and not from your legs.
Do you mainly need your legs and can't you calm down with your legs without falling silent? Then you have work to do on your arm stroke technique.
How can you improve it
Let the legs go for what they are and keep it calm. Also try to keep your leg stroke efficient (so not too much from your knees). And focus on your body position and being high in the water.
If necessary, use a pull buy to keep your legs still and high and to be able to fully focus on your arms (with snorkel for example).
5. Head Position – Swimming and While Breathing
What is the purpose?
The idea is that you only slightly rotate your head. You lie down (so don't lift your head) and only turn your head to the side to breathe. A good guideline is that ideally 1 pair of glasses should remain in the water. That takes some getting used to in the beginning because you think you are not getting enough air. But it's really enough.
Why is it important?
The less you lift your head, the less your balance will be disturbed.
Another common mistake is holding your breath underwater for too long. Try to exhale slowly while swimming underwater. So that when you breathe, you don't exhale before you inhale.
Swimming head position
Your head position is not only important when breathing. But also while swimming. If you swim with your head up too much, your hips (and legs) will sink. As a result, your body position is no longer in streamline. If you can see the other side of the pool while swimming, your head position is too high. So you look at the bottom, head down. The waterline goes through the middle of your head. You focus on keeping your body as high as possible in the water. So from your feet to your head.
Improving Front Crawl Technique - How do I improve all these points?
You may recognize yourself in one of the above points. Don't worry, you're not alone ;).
There are technique exercises for all individual points. And a lot of questions also just discipline. Thinking about every stroke. And you step by step. So don't try to improve 10 points of attention at the same time. But focus on only 1 point for improvement. Continue working from there.
It is also possible to follow a front crawl course to deal with these points of interest. This course is in a group size of a maximum of 3 swimmers so that learning can be done with each other and from each other. We also film your swimming. This way you can really assess your own swimming stroke during the course and work on your points for improvement.
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