Freestyle Swimming – 10 Tips to Improve Your Technique

Anyone who loves swimming spends a lot of time watching it on TV, reading about it in magazines, or participating in online betting. Online betting is not only a great way to keep up with your favorite sport, but there are also sites that make it more exciting and fun. For example, many people complete their Bet9ja Registration and get great bonuses! However, once you are done with observing from a distance and showing support online, the next step is getting in the pool and practicing swimming yourself! No matter if you are just learning to swim or trying to improve your technique, these 10 tips can help you master freestyle swimming in no time.

1. Head position

To avoid straining your neck or slowing yourself down, you should keep your head in a neutral position. This means that you shouldn’t look forward when swimming but down so that your head is in line with your body. 

2. Good balance

If you are having trouble with your balance while swimming and your legs tend to sink, you should try pushing your chest down. When you push your chest down, your body and legs do up, which creates balance and allows you to maintain that horizontal position that you need.

3. High-elbow position

At the beginning of a stroke, you should keep your elbow high in the water before extending your arm. This way, there is less resistance and your stroke becomes more efficient. 

4. Extend your arms

Many swimmers try to swim faster so they shorten their movements. This isn’t really a good technique because even though you are moving your arms faster, doesn’t mean you are swimming faster. Instead, extend your arm as much as you can with each stroke.

5. Keep your hand flat

When your arm is in recovery, don’t forget to keep your hand flat. You want to make sure you don’t push the water forward since that will add resistance to your stroke and slow you down considerably. 

6. Body Rotation

Instead of staying in one position, you need to rotate your body slightly with each stroke. This way, you add more power to your stroke and less resistance which makes you move faster. 

7. Breathing 

When breathing, turn your head to the side so that it is parallel to the surface of the water. Many swimmers make the mistake of lifting their head forward which isn’t the best technique as we mentioned when we talked about the optimal head position. 

8. Exhaling

After you inhale, turn your head back down to exhale in the water. Your inhale should be quick, but your exhale should last several seconds, so exhale until your lungs are empty. The reason for this is that there isn’t enough time to inhale and exhale above water.

9. Two-beat kick

If you are practicing long-distance swimming, you should use a two-beat kick. This means that during one stroke cycle, you kick twice with your legs (once with each leg). This way, your arms and legs are moving in the same rhythm and you are saving a lot of energy while swimming. 

10. Six-beat kick

For shorter races, when you need to swim much faster, you should use a six-beat kick. Unlike a two-beat kick, a six-beat kick consists of six leg kicks for one complete stroke. Obviously, since you are moving your legs faster, you will be swimming a lot faster.