“I’m raising awareness about Swim Self-Delusion-itis. You could have it now and not even realise.”
You might not even realise that you’re snaking your way down the pool or through the open water. This is one of those bad technique habits you can get into without even knowing you’re doing it.
Is everything just a bit difficult? Are you looking up at the sky when you turn to inhale? Are you swimming off in an unpredictable direction in the open water? Are you trying really hard but not really improving as much as you’d like? Is there lots of splashing and moving and not enough gliding and sliding through the water?
Right now, you’re probably saying: NO this doesn’t apply to me. But how would you know?
You most probably don’t even know that you’re rolling around too far and not keeping your hips steady. You might be bringing your arms under your body in an S-shaped pull and that will lead to over correcting, sinking and not enough strength pushing you forward.
You might be creating a lot of resistance through the water and don’t even realise how good it can feel when you get things right.
You’re probably also be doing a big scissor kick if you are a snaky swimmer, especially on the stroke when you are turning to inhale. This is part of the over-correction and balancing act that snaky swimmers have to perform to stay traveling in a straight direction.
Video is the best friend of the snaky swimmer and the enemy of Swim Self-Delusion-itis, a serious condition impacting millions of people around the world. I’m raising awareness about Swim Self-Delusion-itis because this huge problem can affect even the most confident swimmers. You may not know you have it right now.
So please, get it checked out. A friend watching on poolside might be able to tell you, or show you with a simple video on their phone. A coach is best placed (of course) to give you advice and analyse your technique. But left undiagnosed, this condition can worsen so don’t put your head in the sand and pretend that it can’t affect you.
Being a rolly and snaky swimmer is best diagnosed with video because, when told about it, most swimmers flatly deny it..
“I am staying firm in my core.”
“I am reaching out straight, I’m pulling through straight.”
“My legs are straight and my kick is small and steady.”
Sure. Sure. sure. Let’s fix you up Snaky.
First: Swim down the centre of a pool lane with the line underneath you. Make sure you keep your hands well wide of the line through the entire 360-degree cycle of each arm stroke. That means your hand will never break your view of the line.
Your hands need to point to 11 o’clock and 1 o’clock upon entry. Your shoulders are wider you’re your eyes so you might think you are reaching straight in front of you when you are clearly coming in close to your body’s centre line.
Second: Do some kicking practice. This is important but you probably don’t want to hear it. I don’t like saying it. You don’t need a board, just kick for a few laps. Keep your kicks small, and your legs straight from the hips down to the toes. Practice a fast furious kick and a slower more deliberate kick that still keeps you moving forward.
Third: Buy borrow or steal a swimmer’s training snorkel – This will really help you develop a nice balanced stroke technique.
Try these drills:
The Swordfish – kicking for three strokes on each side is a good one for this. Like all drills it exaggerates the movements we need to develop the good steady core technique that stops snaking.
The John Travolta Stayin Alive drill – that means both your arms should be straight at one point in the stroke cycle. One arm reaching forward to 11 o’clock and one arm reaching back, down near your hips pointing at 5 o’clock.
One arm freestyle – Hold one arm out in front perfectly straight and complete a whole lap of freestyle with one arm. This helps you develop balance and core strength when you need it – during the pull phase. You should be able to swim straight even using just one arm.
Williamstown Open Water Swim Coaching 