front crawl - head submerged or not?

tommo200

Hi ,
2 friends , both very good swimmers are giving me conflicting advice!
One says head totally submerged - eyes looking straight down , the other says water at forehead level - eyes looking more foreward .
I think I kick better with head submerged but seem to go faster with water at forehead level!
Any ideas?

mad m

Everyone is different hence you got two different views from the good swimmers you know....

I for instance don't look straight down, but look forward or at a 45 degree angle. It was drummed into me that your head is like the weight of a bowling ball and if your head is out of water while swimming your back will drop and create drag....Then I suppose I agree with this one

tommo200 wrote: »

the other says water at forehead level - eyes looking more foreward .

Hope this helps....

interested

tommo200 wrote: »

Hi ,
2 friends , both very good swimmers are giving me conflicting advice!
One says head totally submerged - eyes looking straight down , the other says water at forehead level - eyes looking more foreward .
I think I kick better with head submerged but seem to go faster with water at forehead level!
Any ideas?

Water level should be at your forehead. Makes the whole turning head slightly to breath a whole lot more energy efficient that if your head is buried and eyes looking straight down.

You might feel your going faster with your head buried or able to kick better (most likely because if you bury your head your hips are higher than normal) - but its not a great idea. At a guess Id say your friend who you've said is a very good swimmer doesnt swim so fast over long distances.

Anyhow ... just my 2 cents worth

tommo200

cheers guys , i suppose it makes sense for me to go with the fastest i.e. water at forehead. BTW my head submerged friend says its the 'Total Immersion' method.

Clseeper

Actually thinking about it now, I’ve given totally contradictory teaching points to swimmers. It all depends on where they are on the stroke progress I’ve in mind for them and what their end goals are. The main one being focus on “slow, long powerful strokes” and then later in the year telling him to “speed up the stroke rate and swing”. But at this stage, his feel and power through the water had dramatically improved and now we had to work on dropping the times and sprints.

But back to your question regarding head position. Firstly I’d ask if both friends have seen you swim or are these just general pointers? In the grand scheme of things the actual head position isn’t the most critical component but all teachers use it to correct body position. With your head completely arched forward, your legs can drop and it’s a very awkward and placed strain on your shoulders/neck region. But if you put your head too far down, submerge it, water will cover your back, sink your whole body and create much more frontal resistance.

So in summary, it all depends. I’d say take the centre ground with mad m and say as long as your head is relaxed and in the slightly extended position [~45 deg]. I think the total immersion may be based on the Alexander Technique which teaches something similar to that.

trashcan

I started swimming in May and this is something I'm having a lot of difficulty with. I can swim ok with my head in the water, but when I try to lift it to take in air my legs go down, my co-ordination goes to pieces and I have to stop. The result is that I can only swim for as long as I can hold my breath (just over half a length). Anyone got any tips on technique ? (Similar problem with the breast stroke btw)

tommo200

clsleeper , they have seen me swim, thanks , i'll go with the middle ground.

trashcan : regardless of my original question on head position , you should not be really lifting your head out of the water so much as just turning it to the side . lifting your head too much will thrown you off balance alrright so dont lift it , turn it to the side, juts so much that you can grab your air.

voxpop

trashcan wrote: »

I started swimming in May and this is something I'm having a lot of difficulty with. I can swim ok with my head in the water, but when I try to lift it to take in air my legs go down, my co-ordination goes to pieces and I have to stop. The result is that I can only swim for as long as I can hold my breath (just over half a length). Anyone got any tips on technique ? (Similar problem with the breast stroke btw)

Im not a swimming couch but have started the front crawl this summer and have gone from not being able to breath during the stroke to now doing 3 lengths.

The best advice Ive gotten is to keep your head straight, ie dont move it around, and keep in a natrual position ( like the position it is if you are standing looking straight ahead. Also strech out your body when you turn to breath - so your kind of on your side with one arm straight out (if that makes sense).

On the breast stroke - the end of the stroke should be popping your head out of the water - after the pull part, your hands should be coming together, palms facing each other. This action pushes your whole head/shoulders out of the water.

WithCheesePlease

voxpop wrote: »

Im not a swimming couch...

Ha, now that I'd like to see

WeeBushy

trashcan wrote: »

I started swimming in May and this is something I'm having a lot of difficulty with. I can swim ok with my head in the water, but when I try to lift it to take in air my legs go down, my co-ordination goes to pieces and I have to stop. The result is that I can only swim for as long as I can hold my breath (just over half a length). Anyone got any tips on technique ? (Similar problem with the breast stroke btw)

This is the best video for breathing techniques I've seen. Hope it helps.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4APU3XMip8&feature=PlayList&p=DADD13DFA6A89370&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=25

mrshappy

I have the same question for the breast stroke. Was happy out doing the b/s last week swimming with hubby who is a v strong swimmer, he corrected me saying my I should lift myself up more out of the water to create less weight and move faster - (I am quite slow on this stroke) is he right?

sock puppet

mrshappy wrote: »

I have the same question for the breast stroke. Was happy out doing the b/s last week swimming with hubby who is a v strong swimmer, he corrected me saying my I should lift myself up more out of the water to create less weight and move faster - (I am quite slow on this stroke) is he right?

Yep. Try not to just bob your head up and down out of the water.

sogg

if you're not a strong swimmer yourself than don't worry too much about it, as lifting your head too high could actually slow down the motion of the stroke, especially if it causes your hips to drop.

personally i'd always aim to get fairly high out of the water at the point my hands come round to my shoulders, and then shoot my arms forward quickly so as to maintain body position.