Massive difference between using pull buoy and not

Ingo23

Using a pull buoy I can swim front crawl 1km straight in about 20 mins. Without it I struggle above 250m. When not using the pull buoy I feel like I have difficulty breathing and don't relax into a rhythm whereas with it, the swim feels completely different.

I have stopped using the pull buoy for my swims now as it felt like too much of a crutch. I wanted to know whether anyone else has gone through something similar and whether there were any drills I could be doing to help bridge the gap?

Thank you

WeeBushy

The pull buoy is basically giving you very good body position in the water, keeping your legs and hips high and horizontal with low drag i.e. the perfect body position - hence why it's going to feel so much easier.

You're dead right not to rely on it as a crutch as it's never going to teach you how to have that position by yourself. Without seeing you swim it's hard to say what's causing your poor body position, sadly there are loads of reasons that can cause it! This is a good video that demonstrates some of the more common causes of poor body position, might be something to think about and see if any of it applies to you. https://youtu.be/w7ETlhaMsEk

Hope I don't sound rude but chances are there are a whole host of problems in your stroke and posture if you're noticing such a big difference with and without the buoy. It would be well worth your while getting a coach/experienced swimmer to have a look at you swim and point out 2 or 3 of your biggest problems to focus on fixing. Once you know what they are you can then look at what drills will help you improve them.

But on a positive note, most problems with body position are usually quite easy to rectify once identified and you notice such a big difference when swimming correctly. Poor body position causes so much drag and slows you down more than pretty much anything else.

Ingo23

Thanks for getting back to me. Not rude at all, very constructive. Good to know that it might be simple enough to address and rectify. I was really surprised that a poor body position (together with possible other issues) would have such a drastic effect on how far I could swim.

I will check out the video. Could you recommend a coach/instructor I could contact? (PM if you'd prefer)

Thanks

WeeBushy

Yeah makes a big difference. Think how difficult it is to walk/run in water. Obviously not that extreme but the more vertical your body is, the more drag you're getting.

Don't live in Ireland anymore so can't give any recommendations unfortunately, maybe someone else can...

There are people who will video your stroke from various angles, head on, straight above, underwater etc, and give you the video and feedback to take away. I know there used to be a Swim Smooth lady based in Dublin but I think she's moved to the UK.. there are others I'm sure.

Ryder

I went to Anthony Christie in portarlington. Found him very good. Will go back later in the year

cavan4sam

Hi Op I'm in the same boat as you and would love to hear how u got on ?