Freestyle is the most common training stroke for swimmers. A few minor changes can be made to the stroke to make yourself go faster. Freestyle is done in both distance and sprint races; it is important to have a fast stroke for competition and training.
Streamline
Streamline refers to the tight position the body is in when pushing off the wall. The biceps are tight to the ears and one hand is on top of the other. A lose streamline position creates drag for the body and can slow it down. When the body is in a tight streamline position, the body can move through the water more quickly. It is also important to keep the body streamlined while swimming by keeping the hips and shoulders in line at all times.
Kick
In freestyle, the kick that accompanies the stroke is called the flutter kick. The flutter kick simply involves alternating your feet with your toes pointed. Strengthening your kick is an easy way to improve swimming speed. In addition, kicking faster will help you swim faster. The best way to improve your kick is to isolate it and kick with a kick board. This will strengthen your legs and increase your freestyle swimming speed.
Stroke
Lengthening the freestyle stroke is an easy way to improve speed for distance swimming. According to coach Emmet Hines, longer strokes mean fewer strokes. Fewer strokes mean you are expending less energy and can focus on swimming faster. Finishing the stroke will help you take a longer stroke. In sprint swimming, your stroke doesn't need to be long but it does need to be efficient. It is important that every stroke pulls the maximum amount of water. This will help you swim freestyle faster.
Tempo
Stroke tempo refers to how fast you move your arms. A slow tempo will generally produce slower times while a quicker tempo will generally produce faster times. Tempo is determined by timing how long it takes to complete one stroke cycle or an arm stroke each arm. Swimmers need to determine for themselves how fast their tempo can be before they lose stroke efficiency. The best combination of the two will be the fastest.
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