Why do we swim freestyle on our side?
There are 3 main reasons why we swim freestyle on our side and why we practice it so much.
1) When rotating from side to side we are using our core muscles to swim. Using your core to swim will increase your endurance. You have a lot of strong muscles in your core; they can endure much more use then your limbs. When we rotate from side to side we are creating a turbine motion that helps use move through the water more efficiently.
2) Swimming freestyle with correct rotation will provide a better range of motion. Being able to get to your side allows your freestyle recovery greater mobility. It allows your hand to enter in the correction location more easily (the hand should enter the water at shoulder width and 5 to 6 inches in front of the head). It also allows for your shoulder to clear the surface of the water cutting down on resistance caused by the water. If you are swimming flat on your stomach your arms cannot clear the surface of the water, unless you have hyper-flexible shoulders.
3) The only way to properly breath during freestyle is on your side. The freestyle breath can only be taken once the body has rotated to its side and the head is slightly turned to expose the mouth. A common error in freestyle is to lift the head and turn in order to take the breath. When we lift our head to breath our hips drop and we sink until the head is placed back in to the proper position. Every time you sink you have to reestablish your body position. This can become very difficult if you are swimming a mile and breathing every other stroke.
I’ve included this YouTube clip from Go Swim. It shows really good examples of a basic freestyle drill, “one arm freestyle”, which will help improve your balance on your side and will get you rotating.
Have a great workout,
Coach Dominic Latella
