Your #1 front crawl advice?

[badger2005]

I'm about to go to the pool and do a few lengths.
But I've recently realised the power of learning stuff rather than just bashing away.
Has anyone got just one piece of advice - like what is the mistake that everyone makes when they do front crawl?

Great idea for a thread!

Your elbow should be bent when your hand enters the water, hand flat thumb first.

Not kicking their legs? But then I've seen high level swimmers have minimum leg kicks. What issues are you having? I use one of those 8 shaped floats between my knees to work on my arms

I recently tried swapped to breathing every second stroke up till then was breathing on my third stroke but having watched the olympics they breathe on the second stroke so will practise this more! It does mean Im breathing in at same side is that ok? I will persevere good luck Op

I am building up to going back to swimming after quite a big break of a few years.
im a bit nervous about it as I’m quite fat and disabled but that’s why swimming would be so helpful

i only ever had the basics you learn at school so iv never actually been taught about strokes at all.

all advice greatly appreciated.

brilliant idea for a thread @badger2005

My son's swim teacher said when doing the breathing turn your head as if you're going to lick an ice cream that's on your shoulder ... sounds mad but it worked for getting him to do it!

Look down at the floor when you breathe out so your neck won't hurt and your breath will stay even.

When you first practise new techniques go SUPER SLOW (so slow that you basically stop for a millisecond) you can go faster when your technique is correct

You’ve inspired me to have a lesson !

Get your catch right, the yellow finis paddles are good for this. Pull, then push. Breathe in as you roll, don't move your head, so you'll have one eye out and take in air by opening your lips on that side. Breathe out underwater through your nose. Head down will keep your hips up and stop your legs sinking. I flutter kick as it is less tiring for long distance.

Do an adult lesson or 2. They are, generally, great for getting the technique right and very supportive.
Or follow Swim Gym on Instagram. Useful tips and entertaining content

Draw a line with your thumbnail from your thigh to your armpit to practice getting your elbow in the right place - swimming advice from c. 2004 but works for me.

Look up bilateral breathing.
It really really helps keeping you streamlined as you breathe and you can get into a lovely rhythm.

Definitely agree with the breathing advice-don’t try to keep your head above the water, wear goggles so you can put your face in the water, turn to the side to breathe in and breathe out underwear while looking at the pool floor.

You want to be as flat and extended in the water as you can be-I always think of myself stretching forward. Use the leg float to practice your arm movements, then switch to an arm float to practice your kicks.
I usually do a few lengths with them to warm myself up before doing crawl.

Your head position will impact the rest of your body position.

Another recommendation for adult swimming lessons

Make sure you’re rotating

Yup, I was taught to imagine you are pulling up a side zip with your thumb all the way from your thigh to your armpit.

I second the suggestion to get some adult lessons. Worth every penny.

Just to add try to make an ‘S’ with your arms. It’s hard to explain over text but it helps streamline your movement and conserves energy.

Might help you

Why don't you use a snorkel and mask.

Quite few people do at our pool. I've got neck issues and it helps massively. Masks and snorkels are cheap, don't leak and are comfortable. I use mine with blue tooth headphones and because my head stays stable my Bluetooth works well so I can listen to podcasts, music or the radio when I'm swimming.

You shouldn't breathe one side when training or recreational swimming - you should use bilateral swimming.

I know they don't during the Olympics but that's one race as part of a very skilled race plan.

Practice breathing out slowly from your nose as you do your 3 strokes and take your breathe when you turn your head. Sounds deftly obvious but you'd be surprised how many people do a quick breath out and in when they turn their head or expel the air quickly before turning for another breath.

Yes, as 'itsgettingweird' says, breathing out is key! Loads of people I see don't breathe out properly, then try and take a big breath in, find they can't, and run out of air.

I would also say arms are 80% of front crawl, legs 20%, and the other tip that helped me is to imagine you are swimming downhill - it gets you into a much better position in the water.

The one about swimming downhill is a good one! It is worth doing some swimming with a float between your thighs to get the feel for a good body position, particularly if you aren't going very fast to begin with.

Don't windmill your arms. One hand should be stretched out in front and it shouldn't start the next stroke until the other hand has entered the water in front of you. You can practice by holding a float in front of you and not letting go with one hand to do a stroke until the other one has grabbed hold of it.

Don't try and swim 'flat' on your front. Your hips and body should rotate from side to side more than you think.

Another thing I was told was instead of bringing your arm right over, practice 'trickling' your fingers through the surface of the water until you reach full stretch. It helps you learn to keep your elbow high.

Oh wow this is amazing - thank you!
I went for my swim after the first three replies, so I was mostly focused on whether I was kicking my legs, and trying to make my thumb go first. Not sure I managed either great!
I was also thinking about my breathing... I usually breathe every 4 strokes, so trying to train myself to breathe every 3 strokes to even things up. I find it a lot harder on one side than the other. So am someway off breathing every second stroke.
I'm going to keep adding one of your tips in each time I go! Think I'm going again on Saturday.

My local pool does an adult “stroke clinic” which is basically a half hour lesson for people who can swim but want some tweaks. It was transformative for me, and ironed out some bad habits I’d picked up and for the very first time I was able to do butterfly! Properly!
it was a 6 week set of lessons and it was great to see how much we all improved in such a short time, just because we had a fresh pair of eyes on what we were doing.