I recently wrote about how I’m becoming a better swimmer, but apparently I have a ways to go.
After our warm up swim, my coach walked toward me shaking his head and said, “I’ve gotta get you to stop your hips from shifting around so much, and your head is coming too far out of the water when you breathe.”
Then he through me a race belt.
“Tie that around your ankles.”
Uhh…. okay.
So I wrapped the elastic band around my ankles, then hopped back into the water and started swimming. My legs immediately sank straight below me and I was cranking my arms at ridiculous speed to stay afloat.
I was in a mild state of panic, and of course, that is the last thing you want to experience as a swimmer. I struggled out to the buoy and held on for dear life before sucking it up to swim back in.
Not gonna lie, it wasn’t easy, but by the time I got close to shore I was much more relaxed. My stroke was longer and felt more powerful, which subsequently kept my legs and feet higher in the water.
Coach also told me that one eye should still be under the water when you breathe, which took me a while, but eventually I “sorta” got it down. I was also swallowing less water . . . which was nice.
In summary, this is a great way to work on body position and keeping yourself higher in the water. In fact, I loved it so much I’m thinking about trying it with a potato sack down at the YMCA.
[follow_me]