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Freestyle - Active Gliding

Posted by Glenn Mills on Oct 13, 2009 06:46AM (19,697 views)

Wanna swim fast? Wanna swim for a long time efficiently? Experiment with cutting out the dead spots; it may be for you.

Many swimmers, when they strive for the most efficient stroke, introduce huge pauses, or glides, in their stroke to make sure they're not spending too much energy swimming. Don't forget: If you're not propelling, you're slowing down. That's just the way water works.

Why Do It:
While gliding isn't exactly bad for swimming (in fact, it's a very important part in drilling and for some swimmers it works well), don't get caught in the mindset that gliding is the best kind of stroke for every swimmer. In this drill, you'll be experimenting with "active" gliding. This means that as you extend, you will move your hand directly into the catch. The difference between gliding and active gliding is subtle, but if you get the hang of it it could be something that works for you.

How to Do It:
1.  Refer to the drill called "Eyes Up Catch," and keep it in mind during this drill.
2.  The best way to experience this is to put on paddles and pull buoy. This tool combination will isolate the arms and make them responsible for your power. You'll need to keep pulling to keep moving. If you're a triathlete, somebody may have told you this is cheating; it's not.
3.  Start with short swims... 25s or 50s... feeling the hand PRESS into the catch DURING the extension. Rather than extending the arm forward and holding, or gliding, use the width of the paddle to feel the hand pressing down as you reach forward.
4. You may initially feel a shortness in your stroke. If you do, you may be pulling immediately, rather than pressing, or allowing your arm to slightly press during the extension. This isn't a pull back, but rather a subtle press that gets your hand into the catch position sooner.

How to Do It Really Well (the Fine Points):
Focus on continuous movement with the arms. Keep that in mind, but you'll need to accomplish this without sprinting. Try your best to maintain a strong, slow, smooth turnover without chopping into the catch. Also, this would be considered just a bit more advanced level drill, so if it's not working for you, step back a bit and continue to work on the basics. You'll be here soon.

freestyle, pull, catch

Responses

Paul	Responded Oct 13, 2009 12:35PM Glenn, Nice drill but I noticed something with the male swimmer which I beleive is you. His (your) hands are not going straight back after the catch. They flare out and then in losing a porting of the catch and having to quickly fully reestablish it.
Glenn Mills	Responded Oct 13, 2009 12:41PM Thanks Paul... but the focus of the drill is the constant movement of the hands... not the direction of the hands. If we only put "perfect" swimmers in these drills, we'd never be able to publish anything.
Gee	Responded Oct 13, 2009 03:37PM I've finally graduated to taking a beginning college swim class, after 3 summers of adult beginner learn-how-to-swim classes....the coach makes us do a stroke, glide, stroke, glide, etc....which I can do and it seems like it takes a lot of energy, but it seems more natural for me to keep my arms moving....what is the benefit of my coach's drill vs. keeping the arms moving & the hand pressing? Thanks!!!
Glenn Mills	Responded Oct 13, 2009 03:45PM Swimming is about rhythm. To maintain good rhythm with those "pauses", or "glides", you better be REALLY good, and REALLY balanced. Many people lose balance between strokes, which makes for a very mechanical stroke. Give it a shot and let us know how it feels. Whether it's right for you or not won't be known until you try it. :)
Tomás	Responded Oct 13, 2009 05:28PM Gee... In my experience the key is the kick. If you have a strong and propulsive kick to keep the rythm with those pauses or glides, you are going or you already are a very good swimmer but if you don't have it try this drill and focus on a continuos movement of the arms.
tenstars	Responded Oct 13, 2009 10:36PM Here is a video of Ian Thorpe that I thinks shows all these points - the glide/extension, head up, catch, body position, and kick. Edited Oct 14, 2009 10:17AM
James Stuart	Responded Oct 15, 2009 01:02AM He is blessed with swimming gene cos he has huge feet acting like flipper and also he is considering greatest freestyler ever you can argue who is better - him or Phelps
dcoughman	Responded Oct 15, 2009 01:28AM Very nice drill!! Keep up the good work!! Is it acceptable to keep kicking when using a buoy? I thought you were supposed to keep the feet together and not kick when pulling with a buoy.
BillySwims	Responded Oct 15, 2009 09:09AM DC, it depends on what you are using the buoy for. Traditionally swimmers use it for "pull" sets and so are told not to kick. However to me a pull buoy is just a balance/buoyancy aid. Glenn's using it here because he doesn't want to bother/worry about his balance and _needing to kick to keep that balance_ whilst doing this drill. He wants to think about the drill and what/how his arms are working at the front of his stroke. So by using a pull buoy - he gets (better) balance for free and can concentrate on the task in hand. So from that stand point, what Glenn's legs are doing is just what they'd do naturally (i.e. kicking in sync with his stroke). This drill isn't about _not kicking_ so in this context kicking is fine - the buoy is just allowing Glenn to focus on what's important. (Sorry Glenn for assuming your role here!)
Glenn Mills	Responded Oct 15, 2009 09:17AM No worries at all Billy. Perfectly said. :). Thanks.
Juliette	Responded Oct 15, 2009 09:32AM smoooooth....I really like how swimmers glide during the stroke.......Question....as you seem to be able to push douwn,...what would happen if in the last fase you push up???...Juliette's dad!!!
Glenn Mills	Responded Oct 15, 2009 10:19AM You're not totally pushing down, you're allowing your hand to fall, or press, into the catch. You're using the momentum, and using the water to help set up your hand into the catch. If you push UP at the end of the pull, I don't see that as being advantages. In fact, most of the swimmers are releasing a bit earlier to get back into a rapid recovery.
Juliette	Responded Oct 15, 2009 10:43AM I also didn't think so as well...and for the early release...Sorry to say I see it to much as well. Here is when good coachin comes aroud the corner!!!!...
steve	Responded Oct 15, 2009 03:22PM I would like to see the point in time of glide for this person's stroke: http://www.goswim.tv/system/uploads/Image/... Probably a very early and brief glide. She must have lot's of flexibility and rhthym to be in the position showed in the pic. I heard rhthym comes from relaxation and breathing.
Glenn Mills	Responded Oct 15, 2009 05:14PM That pic is of Sara McLarty. You can buy her video and watch the trailer at the following link: http://www.goswim.tv/entries/5745/go-swim-...
tenstars	Responded Oct 15, 2009 06:42PM Here's a video of Michael Phelps that I think also shows an active glide Edited Oct 15, 2009 06:45PM
JZ	Responded Oct 18, 2009 06:23PM I've noticed that even swimmers who have a long gliding phase in their stroke (say, Vent, Jensen, Thorpe) really don't glide as much as it seems: they never let the front arm to be in an idle position. Go to youtube and watch them. Usually this is not evident if you look at their hands, but look at their shoulders and upper arms. Another question is that the arms may move sideways, which because of usual the camera angle is not always noticeable. Thus, you can get the impression that nothing is hapening in the front end of the stroke and that there is a sudden transition to the pull-push phase. I was fortunate enough to swim in the same pool with one of our national olympic swimmers, a freestyle sprinter. That's much better than watching videos at youtube. The most striking feature that I saw in his stroke was this active gliding, even when he was swimming at slow paces. It was hard for me to conciliate this feature with which at that moment was my preconception of the perfect stroke. [I hope you understand my English]
James Stuart	Responded Oct 19, 2009 09:49PM How come your teammate move like active gliding while swimming slow paces JZ?
JZ	Responded Oct 19, 2009 10:01PM Just like Glenn in the video above.
rockstarpenguin	Responded Nov 10, 2009 10:43AM hi everybody, im new here. i would like to ask, what would be the most efficient way to swim freestyle for a person born with one arm. swimming almost sideways?maybe adulating like butterfly stroke would help?? plz suggest yr ideas?. my cousin, he can swim but he wants to up his speed. secondly, maybe u could post some videos on para swimming.maybe previous races.. i cant find any on class s8.i think understanding technique of these swimmers would help us all improve our performance. thank u.(sorry this has not much to with the topic above but i don't know where to post my questions, sorry!)
James	Responded Dec 29, 2009 02:11PM Glenn, is this what the top sprinters are doing these days? It looks like they start their pull as soon as their hands enter the water. Their arms seem to start travelling down as soon as the hand enters. Is this an active glide (pressing) or do they start pulling as soon as their hand enters? I tried the latter once, but it put lots of pressure on my shoulders. I have the Schoeman video, and he does not seem to do this because he goes into an evf catch. What about the guys that pull through with a straighter arm?
Chris	Responded Feb 16, 2011 06:55PM Love this! I would think having an active glide would lower your stroke count, too.

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