This site is devoted to swimming. Why is it called Twenty-Three Seconds? Because my goal is to swim 50 meters within twenty-three seconds. Follow along as I analyze my crawl stroke to death and maybe you'll learn a few things to improve your own time.

Some Alexander Popov

Posted by heathweaver

There are some really nice videos floating around about Alexander Popov. Here are a few that I have found:
 
 

del.icio.us Tags: swimming, freestyle-swimming, video, swimming-video

Hand Position: 31.20 seconds on 35m

Posted by heathweaver

Today I wanted to review the catch position of the hand. I often see people who swim quickly having a very similar hand position when entering the water. Here are some examples from Ian Thorpe:
   
Each of these pictures illustrates the hand position pretty well. The fingers are relaxed and the hand is [...]

Off The Blocks: Freestyle Swimming: 19.07 seconds on 25m

Posted by heathweaver

I was practicing with the blocks today and was completely shocked at my time. I could tell I was swimming fast, so much so that I could tell I didn’t keep my stroke consistent until the end. I have a lot of difficulty getting off the block as I either dive in a way that [...]

Swimming On Vacation: Freestyle Swimming 21.14

Posted by heathweaver

I went to the coast for my holidays and swam exactly twice. It’s almost torture to be walking near the ocean for so long and not be able to swim in it.
It has been a while since the last time I swam in the ocean and it was really nice. I had forgotten how much [...]

Breaking The 20 Second Barrier: Freestyle Swimming 19.17 on 25 meters

Posted by heathweaver

I don’t know what I did differently, but I broke my 20 second block. I haven’t been able to break 20 seconds for weeks. Today I suddenly crushed my score sprinting 19.57 seconds. After a little rest I sprinted again and went 19.17 seconds.
This type of breakthrough is probably normal for more serious atheletes. After working on [...]

Freestyle Swimming: 20.57 on 25 meters, but 50.25 on 50 meters

Posted by heathweaver

Today’s focus was on high elbows. It was really great because I was able to swim consistently at 24 seconds on 25 meters without kicking and not really exerting myself.
I was trying to see if without sprinting I could get a fast speed by using the front quadrant swimming together with high elbows. I found [...]

Alexander Popov Swimming Technique

Posted by heathweaver

I think this is an excellent video that covers many aspects of a proper freestyle stroke.

 This second video is even better. I think you can see so many important parts of a proper technique. Returning to a question I had about using the rotation in your hips to generate power in your catch and pull. You [...]

Swimming From Below

Posted by heathweaver

Ian Thorpe: Watch how he goes.

Posted by heathweaver

Swimming With Your Eyes Closed: Forgot my watch on 25 meters

Posted by heathweaver

I forgot my watch today and so I couldn’t time my sprints, instead I tried to focus on my form. One of my favorite exercises is to swim with my eyes closed. This usually only works when there aren’t too many people in the same lane.
I love the way it feels to just focus [...]