Typical behaviours to avoid
12.0 Why do I have bad reflexes at the pool?
When learning to swim, everyone has different levels of ease and difficulty with a technical movement or stroke. But there are a few things that often come up, and which we have described below. There are, of course, other faults in the strokes, but we have included those that have the greatest impact on the ease of the stroke. Because certain behaviours that are adopted actually make swimming more difficult than it really is. Be aware of these behaviours to avoid and link them to your training!
Don't forget that it will certainly take time and repetition to completely correct a fault. Even if you feel that your movement isn't right, sometimes it's difficult to change it in the whole stroke. Don't hesitate to use the educational exercises suggested in your sessions.
12.1 Fear
Every fear has a source, a cause and therefore also a consequence. It is important to avoid creating new fears. Some are present before you start the activity, and are often irrational, but they do exist and should not be neglected. The first step is to work on these fears until they disappear, no matter how long it takes. If you go through the stages too quickly, some fears will become much more entrenched over time and will be a brake on your progress
First of all, you need to define what the fear is. By asking the question and listening to the answers, sometimes it's as simple as that. With children, it's harder for them to verbalise, so you have to look at their behaviour. There will be indicators that define the type of fear involved. I refer you to chapter 3 on fears, where they are defined and classified
Once the fear has been identified, we can work on it. Rationalising them is very difficult, because they take up too much space in your mind. So we'll have to invalidate it, in other words, suggest very simple exercises that will enable us to «test» it.
With adults, it's better to explain. For example, if someone is afraid of sinking, we'll first explain why we don't sink, and then suggest exercises that prove it
With children, from a certain age, you can also explain things to them first. For the youngest children, it's best to propose games that will induce them to behave voluntarily. This behaviour should then be rewarded and explained
12.2 For crawl and backstroke
In front crawl, there is a tendency to look forward, in the direction of the stroke. This behaviour should be avoided because by lifting your head forward, you initially slow yourself down. Your body straightens out and you increase your resistance because your body is no longer perfectly parallel to your direction of travel. Instead of passing over your head, over the nape of your neck, the water will pass into your neck, slowing your body down. So keep your neck extended (as far back as possible)
It's the same for the arms, the more time your arms spend at the back of the body, the more your legs sink. So you need to slide forward and pause for a moment. Don't stop at the thighs, as soon as the propulsion is complete, the arm goes straight back to the front
Often in the crawl, you can also see that when you're breathing on the side, you try to push down with one arm to get your head out of the water. This downward movement is called 'suspension', you reflexively look for solid support. But in swimming, this movement is not effective, quite the opposite. If you push down, your body will rise a little above the water, only to sink back down again. This up and down movement doesn't move you forward in any way, quite the opposite. What's more, it's a sloppy movement that you don't control, so it has no effect (you're not trying to push backwards). When you breathe, lie back on this arm; it should move forwards and not downwards. You'll feel the slide when you pull your head out. Once your head is underwater, you can move your arm backwards
In backstroke, this problem doesn't exist because you're «upside down ». A common behaviour is to protect the respiratory tract, especially the nose. We tend to have our head tilted downwards, looking towards our feet, and our chin in the water. In the same way as with the crawl, you'll create more resistance to forward movement, particularly through the shape of your body (which will no longer be a projectile). What's more, keeping your head down will ultimately bring more water onto your face, so keep your head positioned (chin up, ears in the water)
When it comes to the arms on the backstroke, we tend to observe 2 behaviours very regularly. Firstly, the arms stop at the end of the push (at the thighs). This is the same problem as with front crawl, but even more pronounced with backstroke: the legs sink and you compensate by kicking (which doesn't have that function). Remember to bring your arm straight forward once you've finished propelling yourself. What's more, you won't slide any more if you're not stretched out with at least 1 arm in front when you propel with the other arm
Secondly, many of you think that you have to reach down with your hand when you push backwards into the water. But by keeping your arm straight when you push, your lever arm becomes much bigger and you have much less strength. What's more, reaching for the bottom doesn't steer your propulsion in the right direction. You're trying to push backwards (towards your feet) and not upwards
For example, when you try to get out of the water by the wall, do you keep your arms straight? When you're pushing hardest, your arms are bent because you release more force in this position.
12.3 Breaststroke and butterfly
In breaststroke and butterfly, there's often a big problem: sliding. These are simultaneous strokes, unlike front crawl and backstroke, which are alternating strokes. In front crawl and backstroke, the propulsive phases follow one another and you are always propelled forwards. In butterfly and breaststroke, you have to accept that there are moments when you slide for the stroke to be effective. It's during these moments that the body returns to a horizontal position and takes advantage of the propulsion provided earlier. If you do too many strokes in a row, during the propulsion phases you won't be in the most hydrodynamic position possible and so you'll be less efficient. And so you'll get tired without really being efficient
The second behaviour regularly observed is head movements that aren't strong and fast enough. In fact, in these 2 strokes, breathing is frontal (you breathe by lifting your head forward). However, we have explained that when the head is raised, the body is no longer stretched out and the legs sink, which slows down the stroke. This is why, in these strokes, the tilting of the head, after breathing, must be quick and marked. Quick to prevent the body from straightening too much. And distinct, to compensate for the straightening and allow the body to lengthen completely again
A common mistake is to have a pause when breathing. Especially in breaststroke, the arms stop under the body after the pull and the head is above the water. In reality, the arm movement should be continuous and the head should enter the water following the return of the arms towards the front
In butterfly, it's the tilt of the head that's often not marked enough. This doesn't trigger the undulation and you're almost swimming upright (lots of brakes and resistance in the water). At first, you can exaggerate the movement to feel the effect of a marked tilt of the head. You can readjust later.
