Our next stop on our road map is the flip turn for free. What are you looking for here? Simple answer is a clean efficient transition into the next leg of your race, a transition that will sustain your momentum with the least amount of energy. In other words hold your speed off the wall so that you don’t have to go to your reserves to bring that speed back up.
THE FLIP TURN- - - - Do you use your arms/hands to help you propel yourself into that flip turn? It might feel good and the right thing to do, but it actually slows your rotation at the wall and causes you to pause before you push off in order to get your arms back in your streamline to maximize your speed. Think of your abs/core as you go into your flip turns that is your power source for fast rotations.
Coach Paul would tell you that foremost you need to maintain your speed into the wall, this is definitely not the time to go into a slow down. If you decrease your speed into that turn the results could be disastrous, and in swimming we are talking about hundreds of a tenth that reflect on that scoreboard. Stop looking at your walls as a obstacle and instead look at the walls as an area to maintain and increase your speed over your opponents. Own your Turns. Your goal should be to get in and out of the flags as fast as you can, any time spent on the wall is wasted time. The watch keeps going while you are napping 😴 on the wall.
Train yourself with the markings on the pool to help set up your turns. That black line on the bottom of the poolhas a T at each end, use it to time that last pull into a strong flip. Don't use it for a signal to breathe, your last breath should come between the flags and the T after that a breath only slows the whole process down. Go into that wall strong with your chin down.
Use your core to bring your legs over the top (legs right over shoulders) toes pointed upward, not to the side and feet separated a little bit. How much? Here is an exercise, make a fist with both hands and place them between your knees. That would be a great place to start. As you rotate over the top chin is down, legs have a slight bend in them (90 degrees). Think of jumping on land, your feet are squared with a slight bend in the knees, no different when doing a flip turn. This sets a good solid foundation in order to get a good push off the wall.
Some simple exercises for your abs and core you can do anywhere. If you spend a few minutes 2 or 3 times a week doing these you just might improve your flip turns. It takes work away from practice to get better for any athlete
NEXT UP: THE PUSH AND BREAKOUT
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