Ok. Since I began swimming (maybe 2 months) I determined to get better at it. Once of my weak points is the turn around at the end. I SUCK at it. I talked to a fellow at the pool who actually teaches swimming...got pointers..I'm working at it but I still SUCK at it. I have no doubt that whatever it is I'm doing looks laughable from the surface. I often do so poorly that I end up just standing up after an attempt, pointing myself in the right direction and taking off again. Sheesh.
Anyway..is it just me? Or is the flip at the end a bitch to master?
To prepare for the flip at the wall, you must prepare your breathing cycle for a longer period in the water and energy expended compared to your surface stroke. This seems to effect some people, even if it is on a subconscious level.
To prepare for the flip at the wall, you must prepare your breathing cycle for a longer period in the water and energy expended compared to your surface stroke. This seems to effect some people, even if it is on a subconscious level.
I still have a hard time with that one. I rarely ever do the flip turn but, like Jimbo, I want to learn it. I just need to practice it more... a LOT more!
I don't know how the guy at the pool told you, Jimbo, to do it but I was recently shown a fairly simple way in theory. Just approach the wall and do a somersault. Push off from the wall upside down and turn over as you move away from the wall, Make sense? It seems easier than trying to do the somersault AND turning over at the same time although I have to give it a lot of thought to pull it off.
It took me awhile to master the flip. Suffice to say I inhaled quite a bit of water for the first few weeks. (Ahem. Months.) As TG mentioned, it's all about preparing your breathing.
After choking and sputtering for long enough, I decided to move into a slower lane while I was learning to flip - namely because I found it easier to perform the flip slowly at first, so I could nail the technique before I sped it up. It really is a lot like doing a somersault; with the exception you have to expend energy pushing away from the wall and learn to control your breathing.
I'm sure you'll have it down to a fine art in no time.
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It took me awhile to master the flip. Suffice to say I inhaled quite a bit of water for the first few weeks. (Ahem. Months.) As TG mentioned, it's all about preparing your breathing.
After choking and sputtering for long enough, I decided to move into a slower lane while I was learning to flip - namely because I found it easier to perform the flip slowly at first, so I could nail the technique before I sped it up. It really is a lot like doing a somersault; with the exception you have to expend energy pushing away from the wall and learn to control your breathing.
I'm sure you'll have it down to a fine art in no time.
I'm sure I'll get it. Honestly the breathing is not an issue. I take a good gulp of air before getting to it..I just can;t seem to manage to have my head pointed in the opposite direction afterwards. I came up in the next lane once.:p "Uh hello, just wanted to visit your side a while" (flippin idiot)
Just approach the wall and do a somersault. Push off from the wall upside down and turn over as you move away from the wall, Make sense? It seems easier than trying to do the somersault AND turning over at the same time although I have to give it a lot of thought to pull it off.
That's exactly how he desribed it. In fact, he said to not worry about turning over on my belly at all..just master the flip. One step at a time.
I feel better just knowing I'm not the only flippin idiot.
Another thing I read over at TI was, when you're drilling, just do some laps practicing somersaults all the way down the pool. I sometimes will swim a little and then flip 180 degrees, swim a little more and flip, and just keep it going. It's supposed to get you used to the feeling I guess because I also get disoriented sometimes.
I'm not sure exactly what your set up is at the pool, but I would advise separating the swimming of lengths from tumbling to begin with.
If you can set your self at the shallow end away from the people doing laps I'd practice swimming in tumbling, pushing off to a distance of about 8-10 metres, stopping and doing it again. When I swam competitively we used to spend half an hour a session doing this.
As mentioned don't worry about turning mid tumble..... this will come in time. Just concentrate on swimming into the wall, making the last stroke exaggerated, strong exhalation through the nose (many people worry about water going up there nose and this is a major stumbling block). Flip (take your time) push off whilst on your back.
Really the only thing that will help is practice... It is very much a 'feel' thing and cannot really be taught. Just go for it over and over again, hence why you should only be swimming in from about 10 metres.
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yea, we did the same as kingkop did with the flip turns while at practice. started about 5 yards behind the flags so we could build up a little speed, swim in and do a flip, kick out and do it all over again.
when i help my friends learn to swim and they want to learn the flip, i tell them don't worry about turning on the flip and tell them to concentrate on the last stroke they make and when they are ready to flip, bring the arm down with you as you flip. i see a lot of them trying to the the flip starting with both hands the at the sides and they have trouble getting the momentum to finish the flip and kick off the wall. i also teach them not to take a breath right before the flip either, it slows you down and forces you up instead on going down into the flip.
its much easier to teach in the water when i show them
i also teach them not to take a breath right before the flip either, it slows you down and forces you up instead on going down into the flip.
Well that's good info to have! I'll have to try that one for sure!
Quote:
Originally Posted by kingkop182
I'm not sure exactly what your set up is at the pool, but I would advise separating the swimming of lengths from tumbling to begin with.
My set is whatever I decide it is at the time. :p If I decide to do some somersaults down the pool, then I just go ahead and to them. Wasn't my idea really... it came from a Terry Laughlin post on his forum. I don't do it often but I can see how just initially getting more comforatable with the motion could benefit someone even before they try it against the wall. Maybe not. I think you are right on though that it's something that simply requires a lot of practice.
I attempted these last year before the triathlon I was doing. After catapulting myself into the bottom of the pool I decided they were not a necessary part of my repetoire.
Og.
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I attempted these last year before the triathlon I was doing. After catapulting myself into the bottom of the pool I decided they were not a necessary part of my repetoire. Og.
Let's see...Running I hurt my knees, Lifting I hurt my back..swimming...yeah. I see it coming now. :p
Start off by performing summersaults in one spot. Do a summersault and put your feet straight down. Perform 10 and then rest for 60 seconds, and repeat two more times. Try to tuck yourself into a ball but keep your knees soft and your feet a few inches apart. We don't want to be too tight. PS these are done in the shallow area of the pool.
Next you would want to keep yourself a float in one spot by using a flutter kick and sculling technique with your hands straight out in front of you. Once you have that balance and you’re moving try pulling with your arms very quickly and doing a small and quick **dolphin kick to get yourself over. Remember you want to be tight but not too tight. (when you’re doing a turn off the wall, it’s like performing a vertical jump. If you’re too tight and your ass is on the wall it’s like trying to jump while being in a fully squatted position with your feet together.)
** Dolphin kick – it’s an actual dolphin kick. Once the technique is mastered it’ll come natural to you. It feels like you’re jumping on a trampoline, and your legs will just bounce off that water and turn right over!
Once you're ready: try pushing off the bottom and gliding forward for about half of your body length with both of your arms above your head. Pull through with both arms like in the drill above(Butterfly pull) and then perform the same summersault (flip your self over) with your feet going over and down so you cant stand up. Here is the trick, before you flip your feet over try to get your legs to bounce off the water as if it was a trampoline. You would do this by performing a very small and quick dolphin kick. This will help you turn yourself over quicker. Practice this for a while.
Next progression would be to try this with a few strokes. Again push off the bottom, do no more than 3 strokes and put everything together and flip. Depending on your level of comfort in the water I would recommend keeping your head down and not breathing into your flips. PS you’re no where near the wall yet!
Once this is all mastered my friend.
Get on the wall and grab on to the edge. Start kicking (flutter kick) as fast as you can for about 10 seconds. You want to get into a good rhythm, and then again lets put everything together on this one, dolphin kick, arms down and flip yourself over! On this one you will have to keep your head above water when kicking, take a breath before doing the dolphin kick and dropping your head down.
This is a great drill on getting the “feel” for the distance between you and the wall. You will jam the wall on the first few tries, that’s ok, rookie mistake. Do no push off the wall on this one, just slightly brush the wall with your toes and point your feet straight down. Get the feel for the wall and how far away you want to be from it.
Let me know how this works out, I will then tell you what to work on next.
Holy crap. I haven't been in here for a few days. Been working. Thanks for the guidance Ruslan. I will be doing some of these standing flips tomorrow morning. (at least I hope there is room in the pool) It often feels pretty crowded in there lately. I even walked away without getting swim last time to the gym. Ended up cycling and lifting only. There was one lane that had a single person in it..but he wasn't sharing with anyone.
All other lanes were doubled already. I waited around as long as I could. rant rant rant...I feel better now.
Anyway, I'm going to start with the standing flips in the shallow end you suggest! I know this will help. I am so uncoordinated at the flips.
Based on the amount of good info/suggestions you gave...I'll be asking for further guidance in about 3 months. I have no confidence in my flippability.:p
Holy crap. I haven't been in here for a few days. Been working. Thanks for the guidance Ruslan. I will be doing some of these standing flips tomorrow morning. (at least I hope there is room in the pool) It often feels pretty crowded in there lately. I even walked away without getting swim last time to the gym. Ended up cycling and lifting only. There was one lane that had a single person in it..but he wasn't sharing with anyone.
All other lanes were doubled already. I waited around as long as I could. rant rant rant...I feel better now.
Anyway, I'm going to start with the standing flips in the shallow end you suggest! I know this will help. I am so uncoordinated at the flips.
Based on the amount of good info/suggestions you gave...I'll be asking for further guidance in about 3 months. I have no confidence in my flippability.:p
Start off by learning how to have fun in the water and being able to feel comfortable and relaxed. As silly as this may sound, can you bob in the water? Can you relax while bobbing? Can you hold a breath with out thinking about it? I guess I could start a new thread on this topic - Relaxation and Swimming?
Start off by learning how to have fun in the water and being able to feel comfortable and relaxed. As silly as this may sound, can you bob in the water? Can you relax while bobbing? Can you hold a breath with out thinking about it? I guess I could start a new thread on this topic - Relaxation and Swimming?
Yeah, I'm comfortable in the water. I love it. Just not comfortable doing a flip. But I'll get there!
I'm not sure if it's been said yet...but thank you so much for posting in here.
Yeah, I'm comfortable in the water. I love it. Just not comfortable doing a flip. But I'll get there!
I'm not sure if it's been said yet...but thank you so much for posting in here.
My pleasure Jimbo!
How's it going so far with the flips? Let me know how it turns out for you.
PS here is another good that I've used in the past. As you're swimming freestyle flip yourself right over every 5 strokes and continue on with your swim. You need to make sure that they're isn't too many people in your lane, you don't want to be getting in the way with this one.
It shouldn't take more than a few practices to get your flip turn down, if it is, you're trying to hard and we need to trouble shoot.
PS here is another good that I've used in the past. As you're swimming freestyle flip yourself right over every 5 strokes and continue on with your swim. You need to make sure that they're isn't too many people in your lane, you don't want to be getting in the way with this one.
.
do you flip & change direction - or flip 360 and continue in same direction?
PS here is another good that I've used in the past. As you're swimming freestyle flip yourself right over every 5 strokes and continue on with your swim. You need to make sure that they're isn't too many people in your lane, you don't want to be getting in the way with this one.
excellent tip
i have my friends do this too. some are afraid of slamming into the wall, so i would have them do this drill.
Here is a link to a site that shows a cool drill to try, to give you the sensation of using the water to your advantage while swimming into the wall for a flip turn....if this link is not allowed..Moderator(ODB) please delete it with my apologies.
Here is a link to a site that shows a cool drill to try, to give you the sensation of using the water to your advantage while swimming into the wall for a flip turn....if this link is not allowed..Moderator(ODB) please delete it with my apologies.
Again, not to be done in the shallow end of the pool.
Good drill, but......people will need to work up to the water fall flips. One of the reasons why this drill may be good and they don't mention this, when it comes to flipping yourself underwater. When you're performing this drill on any other "flip turn" drills in this case, you should be using your arms underwater to help you turn your legs over quicker. None of the photos in that article show this portion which completes a good flip turn. Would i use this with my swimmers? I think that there is a better way to learning how to execute a flip turn.
Here is a link to a site that shows a cool drill to try, to give you the sensation of using the water to your advantage while swimming into the wall for a flip turn....if this link is not allowed..Moderator(ODB) please delete it with my apologies.
Again, not to be done in the shallow end of the pool.
Good drill, but......people will need to work up to the water fall flips. One of the reasons why this drill may be good and they don't mention this, when it comes to flipping yourself underwater. When you're performing this drill on any other "flip turn" drills in this case, you should be using your arms underwater to help you turn your legs over quicker. None of the photos in that article show this portion which completes a good flip turn. Would i use this with my swimmers? I think that there is a better way to learning how to execute a flip turn.
Those dreaded flips
:p
(flippin idiot)
:p
I have no confidence in my flippability.:p
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