Breast Stroke Hand Technique

Hey, guys! I'm back with more splashy content and we are still on breaststroke. I hope you enjoyed my latest post, my post before this one, and I hope it helped you on swimming. Because breaststroke s one of the easiest styles to learn yet hard to master, I here am going to help you master it. As I said in my previous post, breaststroke hands are much more complicated than the feet. That is why I'm here to help you. I hope you learnt which strokes you might specialize in. I am not such a hardworker so I tend to play with my hands. My largest assets are my hands; although feet take most credit on breaststroke, I still enjoy doing hands better. Sometimes my coach takes some special stopwatch to get our strokes in a certain rhythm but I recommend you to get a tech toc. A tech toc maintains a steady beat without you needing to remember it so it would be really useful in training.

Breaststroke hands took me a long time to learn. At first, all I was thought to do was spread my hands abide, pull my hands down, then propel myself by pulling it backwards. Now that I learnt that it isn't very efficient, my more evolved coach, my more advanced coach thought me to maintain a new pattern. It was very difficult for me to adapt to the new technique. I wasn't used to it and I complained to my coach that it didn't help me; instead, it slowed my time. At a competition, (Do Not Try This at Any Cost) I tried that technique and my old 47 second PB was beaten by two seconds. I was surprised. Accidentally, my experimental technique propelled my time, by two seconds. That is really good. So now, I'd teach you about it. So, the scenario is, your hands are on the surface. You quickly push them down and turn them. Remember to move your head to the front while doing so. Remember to do it quickly and with a lot of power.

Ideal training gizmos (Note the fancy language there) for the breaststroke hands are paddles. Finger paddles would help with  the placement and you would get used to where your hands should be after using that gizmo. Hand paddles just make your hands more powerful so you could move your hands faster. Thanks for reading, guys I hope you'd enjoy it. Come back for more swimming tips!

Breast Stroke Foot Technique

Hey, guys! I'm back with more swimming tips. Today we are reviewing a new style, breaststroke. I should've posted this stroke before butterfly since it is less complex and advanced, but I forgot about readers that have just learned to swim. The first stroke I trained in was breaststroke, and I really enjoyed doing the frog legs. I remember when I used a board to float, my training to adapt to the water without a helping tool like the board or anything. Breaststroke is my favorite stroke, and it is my best stroke when compared to other competitors. My time for the 50 meter dash is 41.53 seconds, which is above average in my region. If any of you are confused at why I'm giving tips about the foot technique before the hand technique is because the breaststroke feet is easier and simpler than the hands. The hands are much rather complicated. The feet are just powerful forces you should reckon with, if used wisely and correctly, you can skyrocket your time just by improving your feet.

As you can see, a lot of amateur breaststrokers keep their feet at almost 90 degrees down. That does a lot of drag but I'm not saying it's easy to fix it. Always tend to stay straight and flat like paper on the water for any stroke. Develops a way better streamline and your moves are more defined. Breast stroke feet are the most complicated and in my opinion, the most powerful feet a foot movement can deliver you and that is why you should train on your breastroke feet, pay attention to it more than your hands. Breaststroke, in my opinion is also the best stroke to relax with, and it isn't tiring. After shortened, it is my favorite stroke.

From what I have observed, all my swimming friends with larger and fatter bodies than me aren't the best at breaststroke. They get tired easily and they get some cramps after doing the feet. Unlike me, a swimmer with a rather slender body, they have a better butterfly stroke. People with different body forms specialize at different styles. Phelps, Lochte, and Le Clos are amazing fliers; they are very buff, they have an amazing form because the butterfly stroke focuses on your belly and your biceps. Freestylers like Grant Hacket or Ian thorpe are tall and not very buff. Breaststrokers like Gyurta or Hansen are tall with not really visible pecs because their arms are moved by palms and the belly are just powered by feet so they don't come in good packets.

Breaststroke feet move in a circular motion. How beginners do their breaststroke feet, they just extend and contract, the worst two things. If all you do is contract and extend only your hands would power you on the move. When your feet contract, they pull you back a bit. when they extend, they push you forwards but not very far. That is why you should stay flat on the water and your feet should move in circular motion. The key is, don't contract too fast, forr it will drag you back, and push powerful in circular motion.

Thanks for reading my blog, come back for more tips!

Butterfly Overall

Hey, guys! I'm back with one of the final butterfly stroke tips, the overall. I'll start a new blog in some short period of time and I'll think of the content while you readers read my current posts. So, I hope you liked my posts before, cracking up some sarcasm and some jokes some of you may find cheesy, and I really do apologize for any grammar mistakes that some of you may find a bit embarrassing. However, I intend to impress me, myself with my posts which I haven't really done, but I think myself that my posts weren't very bad. As I said in my older posts, butterfly is very complicated and tiring, but in my opinion, it is the one that looks best and it shows how deep someone has been training swimming because it is one of the last stroke some people learn to master.

If you read my older posts, you would know how to swim a perfect butterfly stroke. Now I'll teach you about the correct use and timing. You should also master a cycle that proves a faster time. Butterfly starts with a quick start, maintain a steady streamline, and while gliding underwater, kick butterfly a few times, quickly. When you reach the surface, start moving your butterfly hands, don't breathe yet. Remember quick hips and feet not so powerful. Don't let a tiny time period interfere; move your hands again, and start a new cycle. Your head should only breathe at your chin, looking forwards. Remember to clang your backhands with each other, don't drag the water. After your hips go up, elevate your feet and kick to the water.

Swimming instruments for the butterfly stroke are finger paddles, paddles, buoy, board, fins and monofins. Finger paddles help keep your hands at place while regular paddles just make your hands more powerful. It is best to use paddles for hand practice; use a buoy to go with it. The board is best used for feet practice but it is recommended that you place the buoy between your hips for hand practice at one 25 yard lap, and use it as a board at the lap home. Fins and monofins are just used for feet practice.

I hope you enjoyed the blog, come back for more tips!

Special World Cup Edition: Upsets and Conclusion

Hey guys! I'm back with more swimming tips. Life isn't so bad to me, luck is on my side. This month has been an amazing month to me and probably every active German fan. The whole world cup was amazing with a lot of great underdogs and surprising wins. I didn't watch Uruguay-Costa Rica but I was just so stunned about the results. Costa Rica were amazing, a clear shocker and so was Colombia and Belgium. Spain, Italy and England were shameful, not being able to go through the group stage,  qualifying as favorites. I understand Italy and England's condition of being in a hard group but the only challenge Spain can see is Netherlands, they took Chile a bit too easy and paid the price. From what I have seen, there aren't any double winners since Brazil enjoyed that moment during 1958-1962. The most consistent team last 24 years are Germany. They went on to win the cup in 1990, reached the quarter-finals in the next World Cup, reached another World Cup when France grabbed their first, reached the finals but then beaten by Brazil in a thriller, and grabbed secured themselves in third place in the next two cups. As you can see, they've now won the cup with a golden squad and that cup win is without Marco Reus. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention Brazil that now emerges with a fresh history since their cup win in 1994. They reached the finals in the next world cup although embarrassed by host country France, went on to win in the next cup, reached the quarter finals and yet again to be stopped at it tracks by France, opened a window at the quarter-finals just to lose by the Dutch's one goal squeeze but yet stamped on by a powerful Germany.

It was an amazing World Cup. The matches were great, except for Argentina-Netherlands. James Rodriguez was amazing, we saw Schweinsteiger at his best during the finals, and Manuel Neuer kept up with the attacker by showing off his amazing goalkeeping skills. Ochoa, the remarkable goalkeeping we saw against Brazil wasn't even recruited yet. Ochoa's performance against Brazil made it look like Gordon Banks took just enough pills to play again or maybe Lev Yashin was called from the dead. Neuer put up an amazing performance; it was as if he was a keeper, sweeper, defender, and score keeper. He was the one that kept the net unshook, with a brilliant series of amazing saves. Thomas Muller maintained a great pace for a person that played six full matches. Honestly, I say Muller deserves the golden ball more than Messi, but I can't go against FIFA.

The saddest thing is that Phillip Lahm has retired at such a fashion. His career ended at a high note, keeping the defense very stable. Schweinsteiger deserves a praise, he was the engine of Germany's offence, and if you watched the finals, he survived two tackles at the same time and a scratch that bled him by Aguero. He didn't mind though; he just needed a titch to get back on the field. Keylor Navas was also amazing, and managers have shown the masterpieces. What Van Gaal did during the Netherlands- Mexico match was amazing, turning the tables by scoring two goals in the four final minutes, the best comeback I've seen in a few months. What he did against Costa Rica was also brilliant, switching Cilessen with Krul in 120+1, an amazing game changer that was. He also upsetted defending world champions Spain, by turning a 1-0 loss into a 5-1 rout. Although the game against Argentina was the most moring match of the World Cup, you really couldn't argue with that. No one could really do anything. It's also very sad to see Klose's last World Cup, but I myself was overjoyed when he scored his sixteenth goal. His most memorable moment for me was his equalizer against Ghana, 36 years old and still doing somersaults, although he may have slipped.  Joachim Low was also amazing, keeping supersub Schurrle, a savior of a few matches and his performance was just stunning as a substitute. He scored a brilliant goal during Germany's masterclass rout against Brazil and saved them from African side Algeria.

There were a lot of great players, but my starting eleven goes like this: GK, Neuer
LB, Blind CB, Ron Vlaar CB, Hummels RB, Lahm
CDM, Schweinsteiger CM, Kroos LW, Messi RW, Rodriguez
RF, Robben LF, Muller

Goal of the tournament: James Rodriguez' volley.

Thanks for reading!

Butterfly Breathing

I included butterfly as one of the most complicating strokes and one of the hardest to do but today I have learned in the pool and also from swim coach brain that it would be a really nice stroke and it would be really enjoyable if you could do it correctly. Actually, butterfly really lives up to its name; you really feel like flying in the air. Butterfly looks and is exhausting but it won't be until you learn my ways. The breathing is a ig trouble, for first learners, all you would really do is swallow water til' you get CPR'd til' your death (Note the facts and exaggeration doesn't include here) and you would have a hard time at the mortuary so listen close. You'd better listen close. I won't buy anyone mortuaries and I won't pay any hospitals so don't blame me for any lifeless bodies falling into the bottom of the pool. This post could cost your life or anyone's life and my very useful tips can be used by beginners or advanced learners. Butterfly breathing could be vital not only to your speed but also to your life because no, chlorine does NOT taste good. I really don't want to turn this to chem class, but this is vital for your health. As far as I know, chlorine is a dangerous chemical to consume and is used to keep pools hygiene, but also known to ruining your skin, making it dry and don't even think what's gonna happen if consumed. I once drank pool water and I puked after the unfortunate series of events, but I think I puked not only because of the chlorine, but because of the urination people take in public pools so either way, you do not want to drink pool water.

You should read earlier posts before reading this. But it's all up to you. Butterfly takes a generous amount of timing. You would always tend to breathe low, to drag isn't created by your chest. Always remember a not breathing patter to speed you up, but it is not recommended for beginners. The highest you can breathe is just on your chin and always look front to accelerate you forwards. Always remember long, loose arms to go with the breathing to go much faster. Maintain a steady rhythm to go with your butterfly stroke so you don't mess your stroke up. Always breathe forwards, not up. Always remember that you tend to hang your heads low, not to high or some drag would be created. Always try to take an early breath, before your hands, and drown your head before you throw your arms to the front.

Coordination is vital for the stroke. Your belly would take a heavy beating after feet practice but that's when you know that you should keep going on if you want some pecs to be formed. Accelerate through your pull and let your arms take you forwards. This stroke takes a lot of patience and with the correct timing, you've got it. Thanks for reading my blog, come again for more swimming tips, I hope you enjoyed it!

Butterfly Hands

Hey, guys! Today we are starting a brand new stroke after we completed the freestyle stroke. Since we finished with freestyle and I covered all the aspects I can cover, I decided to come up with quite a hard style that not much people can master, the butterfly stroke. For me, the butterfly stroke is the most tiring stroke but it is one of the fastest. I don't have a terrible personal best for this stroke, my personal best is 35.67 seconds and that is quite good in my country. If we compare it with freestyle or backstroke, it would be much less tiring but this is a much more complex stroke that I learned after a year of professional swimming. Here in my country, we mostly depend on practicing tools but if we don't have practicing tools then so be it. Unlike you people that are reading this, if you are in a far more developed country like the states or somewhere in Europe you would start using electronic devices to track your time, find the correct beat, but here, the Finis Neptune (an underwater mp3 player) would look weird. Today we are discussing about hands and how to train them and also ideal drills for our hands.

The butterfly stroke is ideal for enlarging your hand muscles if you're a body builder, but it is a good endurance test. Trust me, a few hundred meters of hypoxy in this stroke would make you come back blowing your livers so I wouldn't recommend you to do drills over 500 meters. It takes a lot of bicep power to work this stroke and if your biceps aren't strong then don't swim. To start a smooth stroke but of course, a bit tiring since it's butterfly, keep your head beneath the water and your hands in a pose as if you were going to slice the water, then contract your elbows to pull you forwards. After you are moved forwards, take you arms for a maximum pull so you're pulled even farther forward. After that, you head should rise up to take a breath and with your palms facing out, throw your straight arms and before that, pull your arms forward.

The ideal tools to help you enhance your training are the paddles for your weak biceps, although it may be very heavy, fins for feet support and the snorkel to keep focusing on your hands without interruption for breathing. Please come back for more swim tips, and please leave the comment box below full! Remember to leave your comments down below just in case you could help me improve in how I should say anything.

Freestyle Overall

Hey, guys! I'm back with even more swimming content. Now that covered all basic aspects, I would like to give an overall tip that includes coordination, hand work and footwork. Freestyle is the fastest stroke, but it doesn't mean if your freestyle is faster than your breaststroke or backstroke or even butterfly, it doesn't mean that your freestyle is better than any of your other styles. Here in Indonesia, the average for a 50 m freestyle in a competition is 32 seconds for the 11-12 age group. My personal best for freestyle is 31 seconds and even better when doing relays. You are always faster when doing relays because you are more prepared for a jump. My time can increase by a second if I'm not the first person in the relay. If you think 'Oh, I can't swim this certain style. Now I don't need to train for it.' Never think that way. An individual medley is something not much people join because it's tiring and very little people are specialized in different styles.  

Without the correct timing and power, your swim will be messed up. Also remember a good posture when swimming. Keep your head down and balance your body. If your feet are underwater in a 90 degrees pose, there will be a lot of drag. That's why you should stay flat 180 degrees facing the water for less drag. When you just reach the water in a streamline position, kick butterfly for three to five times. After that, start your explosive swim. Remember to kick your feet deep down underwater. Always make a consistent, steady beat to imperfect your stroke. Make an upside down 'L' shape with your hand and slice the water when you reach the surface. After that, execute the 'L'.

Instruments for freestyle are the buoy, paddle, fins, board, and snorkel. The snorkel is used for enlarging your lung capacity and head position the paddles for hand practice with the buoys; remember to stop moving your feet when using buoys. The board and fins are used for the feet. The ideal way to use these tools are quite easy. Paddles are used by slipping your fingers inside the bands of the paddles then just swim normally with it. Fins are just like shoes, and the buoy is slipped in the middle of your hips, below your crotch.

This freestyle series was an amazing experience. It was great to share with you guys, although I didn't get any suggestions from comenteers :/ but it was great anyway. I hope I helped, see you again for butterfly!

Butterfly Feet

As I said before, butterfly is one of the most simple yet most difficult and tiring styles for me. It has a beautiful short cycle and it isn't complicated. Just with a thin, crisp armor of timing, you'll master it in no time. This beautiful style very much requires coordination and timing; without it, you'll look like a person trying to float, not being able to survive in the water. Butterfly is also one of the least competitive styles if you're below 10 years old; not many people are able to do it. Every part in the butterfly stroke should be done  correctly; if the mechanics mess up you either get disqualified or get a bad time. Remember, every second counts and so does every millisecond. If you miss just a smooth, tiny bit, your style is ruined. It is best that you practice butterfly for a few months first, if you only learned it for a week or two, you might most likely get disqualified.

I remember my first butterfly competitive race, it was a 50 meter dash, and I was 9 years old at the most. I still remember very much that my coach that signed my name in mistaken my 100 meter breaststroke for a butterfly dash and my time was below a minute. Sadly, I finished with a hand before the other and I got disqualified. The main disqualification points in butterfly are your start, you need to do a butterfly underwater and of course, don't go before the whistle. I used to master my start jumps, jumping just .10 seconds after the whistle is blown. Whistles are blown 3.00 seconds after the whistleblower says ready. So just remember this pattern: 'Ready... Bang!' or any other sound like a whistle or a gun. Remember your underwater, it has to be butterfly. Most underwaters are done in butterfly like freestyle and backstroke so why not butterfly, the main stroke. Don't do any other feet other than butterfly whilst swimming, that is a clear disqualification. Hands should also be butterfly stroke. Everything should be butterfly. Remember the finish too, two hands, align. If it isn't align, disqualification. They should also tap the wall in the same time.

The butterfly feet are quite simple, join both your feet and kick. Don't bend your knees; bend your hips. When your hands are about to hit the water, your feet should be in the air so the timing isn't late. The large, black rubber band should be useful to bond your feet. Your hips should contract and afterwards, contract your knees just a little bit and whip the water. Remember to keep your whole legs straight or else unnecessary drag would be created and your foot power isn't optimal when whipping the water.

The best training accessory for butterfly feet are fins, monofins, and a pullbuoy. Fins are used for practicing with the board and monofins are just easier tools than fins. A pull buoy is used to keep your crotch floating so you can get more used to playing your butt.