Elevating Your Swim: Techniques to Practice Freestyle with Your Head Out of Water!
Introduction:
Welcome to our comprehensive guide on mastering the freestyle stroke with a unique focus: keeping your head out of the water! If you’re looking to enhance your swimming skills, especially in preparation for open water and triathlon swims, you’ve come to the right place. In this blog, we’ll delve into effective techniques for swimming freestyle with your head above the water’s surface. Additionally, we’ll explore three essential open water sighting techniques to boost your confidence in challenging aquatic environments.
Swimming Freestyle with Your Head Out of Water:
Embracing a New Perspective:
Traditional freestyle technique often emphasizes submerging your head for maximum efficiency. However, swimming with your head above water can provide numerous benefits, including improved visibility, breath control, and overall comfort in the water.
Technique Tip #1: Neck Positioning:
Maintain a neutral neck position to keep your head comfortably above water. This not only reduces strain on your neck and shoulders but also facilitates better breathing.
Technique Tip #2: Controlled Breathing:
Practice rhythmic and controlled breathing, syncing it with your stroke. Breathing in through the mouth and exhaling through the nose can help you maintain a consistent breathing pattern.
Technique Tip #3: Core Stability:
Engage your core muscles to keep your body streamlined. This will enhance your buoyancy and reduce drag, allowing you to move more efficiently with your head out of the water.
Open Water Sighting Techniques:
Navigating the Open Waters:
Open water swimming presents its own set of challenges, including unpredictable currents and limited visibility. Mastering sighting techniques is crucial for success in open water and triathlon swims.
Freestyle Sighting Technique #1: Lift and Look:
Regularly lift your head to sight forward, aligning this action with your breathing pattern. This technique allows you to maintain your course without sacrificing speed.
Freestyle Sighting Technique #2: Sighting and Immediate Side Breathing:
Regularly lift your head to sight forward, aligning this action with your breathing pattern. This technique allows you to maintain your course without sacrificing speed.
Freestyle Sighting Technique #3: Sighting Between Breathing Every Three Strokes:
Coordinate your sightseeing moments with your breathing pattern, lifting your head to sight in between breaths taken every three strokes. This ensures a balanced approach to maintaining direction and oxygen intake.
Freestyle Sighting Technique #4: Sighting, Then Immediate Breathing on 1's:
For a more frequent breathing pattern, incorporate this technique by sighting and immediately taking a breath on every first stroke. This method offers regular intervals for course correction and efficient breathing.
Dive into Swimming Success with SWIMVICE:
Looking for a structured program to elevate your freestyle skills? Explore the SWIMVICE freestyle program online. Our program recognizes that executing effective sighting techniques hinges on having top-tier form, and this includes mastering the art of controlled breathing. If you find yourself struggling with excessive resistance and difficulty in breathing, the SWIMVICE program is designed to address these challenges systematically.
Program Highlights:
SWIMVICE prioritizes form refinement to ensure that every stroke is executed with precision. Our comprehensive approach addresses issues related to resistance, breathing, and body positioning, laying the foundation for effective sighting in open water.
Form Focus:
SWIMVICE prioritizes form refinement to ensure that every stroke is executed with precision. Our comprehensive approach addresses issues related to resistance, breathing, and body positioning, laying the foundation for effective sighting in open water.
Breathing Mastery:
We understand that controlled breathing is the key to success in both freestyle swimming and open water navigation. The SWIMVICE program guides you through progressive exercises, enabling you to overcome breathing difficulties and achieve a harmonious breathing rhythm.
Long-Term Success:
By focusing on developing proper form and breathing techniques, the SWIMVICE freestyle program sets you up for long-term success in your swimming journey. Our step-by-step approach ensures that you not only learn to sight effectively but also maintain optimal form throughout your swim.
Private Online and In-Person Coaching with Coach Mandy:
Ready to take your swimming to the next level with personalized guidance? Coach Mandy offers private online and in-person coaching sessions tailored to your individual needs. Click here to book a consultation or inquire about online lessons by reaching out to lessons@swimvice.com.
