Do you have sinky legs in front crawl? Do you get out of breath after a length or two? Or struggle through a few strokes? It’s probably because you’re not balanced and horizontal which could be because your head is in the wrong position. Here are some tips on how to master the head position for easy front crawl swimming.
1. Too high and looking forward
If your head is too high in the water this will make your legs sink. It’s a see saw effect. This could be because you’re looking forward to see where you’re going. As well as making your legs sink it will put pressure and tension in your neck.
2. Head in neutral
The best thing you can do to help your body become more streamlined and horizontal in the water is for your head to be in neutral. This means that your neck is in line with your spine.
3. What do you see?
With your head in neutral your eyes will be gazing to the bottom of the pool rather than forward. This means you can’t actually see where you’re going in front crawl swimming. So take your attention to what you see when you’re swimming. This is useful sensory feedback to help which swimmers often ignore.
4. Human Instinct
It is human instinct to want to see where you’re going. Acknowledge this and then look for other things to help your human brain feel comfortable. In a public pool you’ll see the lines on the bottom of the pool and T at the end to help you know where you are. When you turn to take a breath you’ll see the lane ropes and other things on the side of the pool which will help you know where you are in the pool.
If there are other swimmers in your lane check how fast they’re going before you push off so they have plenty of space. If you’re still worried about crashing into them look out for the bubbles in the water that come off their feet. You should see these quite some time before you crash into them.
Another concern swimmers raise with me is crashing in to the wall. This shouldn’t be a problem in front crawl swimming because your arms should hit the end of the wall before your head does.
5. Don’t press your head
Another common mistake is pressing the head firmly into the water in an attempt to lift the legs up.
Early in the Total Immersion days coaches often taught swimmers to “press the buoy” and “swim down hill”. The buoy being your air chest and lungs filled with air. Swimming down hill as oppose to having sinky legs and a body angled up hill.
However, Terry Laughlin soon realised this was leading swimmers to over compensate and press their head too hard in the water. This is also unhelpful and something that I see regularly.
Pressing the head too hard into the water will cause you to bend at the hips so that your bottom comes in the air and your legs will still be under the water.
It also means that your head may be under the water which is a problem when you want to take a breath because you’ll then have to lift your head up to get far enough out of the water to get air.
6. Resting lightly on the water
Instead of pressing the head into the water we want it to rest lightly on the surface. Think about your face being light as a feather on the water.
7. Have a long and smooth neck
With all the time we spend sitting down and looking at computers or phones a lot of us have poor posture. In particular a forward head, or poking forward chin. If you think this is you then thinking about having a long and smooth neck might help. Tucking your chin in slightly to give a small stretch in your neck is also another cue to try.
8. Be long and tall
Once your head is in neutral then start thinking about being long and tall through your spine. Send your head away from your toes so you grow tall and feel some connection though your torso and core muscles. This will help you to be more horizontal and balanced and also connect up your legs, pelvis and spine so you move as one unit.
9. Breathing
Check your head position on the breath. Lifting your head on the breath will make your legs sink so this is a key part of the front crawl stroke. Keeping your head in neutral while you rotate around your spine to the side for a breath is a key element to the stroke. Have a look here for more tips on breathing.
I can help
If you’re wondering if I could help you to learn or improve your front crawl then why not book a taster session here or if you have lots of questions then get in touch and book a FREE 15min Lets chat here.
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