Really feeling things beginning to click in the swimming. I still get too breathless and uncomfortable with it and that limits my efforts and speed, but that’s probably not a bad thing because it forces me to focus on improvement. OK, I’m still a *rap swimmer but timed 500m at 11:45 mins so can now look forward to reducing that significantly.
Interestingly I noticed information on the web about the “Combat Side Stroke” taught to US Navy Seals because it is more efficient and can be used with or without fins. Perhaps I’ll look into learning that and then if I’m struggling with the crawl can always use that instead. It’s a combination of breast stroke, side stroke and front crawl. I only wanted to learn crawl to be able to compete in triathlons but if this is more efficient and saves energy then it might be a better option because I’ll never be a fast swimmer anyway.
I’m noticing now as I learned in “Master The Art of Swimming” that one arm is entering the water as the other drops into the “pull” position and the hands pass each other just in front of the head. It’s happening to me now instead of being just another theory or contrived robotic action. The feeling of lifting the elbow, anchoring the arm and pulling the body though the water is becoming clearer all the time. If I wait until the pulling arm is at about chest level before really using power then I can properly feel the core muscles. Instead of just pulling the arms though the water I’m waiting until in position and pulling from the core instead of with the arm muscles. Doing this with the arm anchored in the water you can feel the body rotate and slide past the arm in a single action – it feels almost like pushing yourself through a tube and by rotating the body the arm is able to stay anchored while the body slides by. Very hard to describe. The core muscle use however is very clear – the core is either active or it isn’t – and the arm feels relaxed.