The wider scissor kick actually slows you down, and just using a flutter kick will speed you up. This effect is some what similar to what was done with breast stroke when switching from the old frog kick to the more modern whip kick. I swim over arm side stroke. When I switched to the flutter kick instead of the shorter 'snap' kick, I took 3 seconds off of my 50 yard sprint time the first day. I can swim a 7:50 for a 500 with the over arm side stroke, which is considerably faster than the combat swim side stroke. I am 70 years old in November.
@@robohippy my sidestroke isn’t considerably faster atm as well. I’m hoping I can get my css competitive as well. It’s definitely less work, but the breathing is what is getting me at the moment that and I need a proper mask for css. I can swim Side Stroke without.
Thanks for this, I have been trying to go for the slow long CSS, due to me finding videos of swimmers being taller than 6'0. I'm going to give it a try with more strokes.
Yes I do. I'm happy to help you with that. Post a video 100Y minimum shot so I can see the kicks and pulls clearly. Leave the link to it here and I'll study it and let you know what I'm seeing.
@@fargo007 th-cam.com/video/be_3V-13fvo/w-d-xo.htmlsi=kygNPmGF5FoI68Sq Here is a 50yd clip. If it’s not long enough I can get a longer clip during tomorrow’s workout. Thank you.
I definitely prefer this style of swimming for the CSS (more kicks and strokes).. The whole glide concept taught by smith seems to work with longer and taller guys. I'm 5'10 and using this technique brought me down to a sub 8 from a 8:30.
It depends on the effectiveness of the kick. Someone with an amazing kick can get away with that , but most will just overglide it. The swimmer in this video turned a 7:18 at swim PT this Sunday. I am really proud of him and his amazing progress. This was at the end of the workout, after 3 hours, immediately after a 30 min tread with weight belts. Good technique, hard work, and a little help with coaching is really all you need.
He is mostly focused at this point on his fin swimming, and is showing superior times at that as well. Turning low 17's for his 1000M at this point. His overall conditioning and strength is excellent. Running over 35 miles a week and lots of swimming as well.
Hello, I've found this video very very helpful. I've been practising CSS for one year, but 'm still stucked on 10:48 per 500 m. I'm 5'5 too and I've always focused on gliding a lot and reducing the stroke rate. Your priorities on "Quick recovery, Short second pull and Maximizing speed into and off the wall are illuminating. I would ask for a critique by you. I'm non American, could I sign on the SEAL forum as well? Or how can I send you my video?
I'm happy to critique a video for you regardless where you are. You can register on sealswcc.com and message me there under the same name, or figure out how to sent private msgs on youtube, and provide a link to the video. Or just put the video up on youtube and post the link here.
Thanks a lot! Here's the link! 29 seconds per lenght (25 meters), I don't know how to reduce this time... th-cam.com/users/edit?o=U&video_id=-MVdgtr7ouE You can post the critique here or below my video. Just for info, the double arm pull is missing because I was trying the dolphin kick instead of the pull.
Stew Smith frequently talks about minimizing flutter kicks between scissor kicks. Do you recommend keeping 2-4 flutterkicks between each stroke. This video is motivating for someone who's 5'6''.
I agree with minimizing "excessive" flutter kicks, but adding kicks that are controlled and productive isn't a bad thing. Usually when we see frantic kicking like that it's the swimmer compensating for a balance problem. If they are good kicks that aren't that expensive to the body and they are helping, that's fine. You also don't have to use them the entire time either. For instance, you can pour it on a little toward the last 150Y or so.
+fargo007 would you recommend those of shorter stature to adopt the technique of more strokes and a tweaked underwater pullout to cut down on time in the PST? I currently swim a 9:06 but that was with me doing long pullouts and trying to keep it 4-6 strokes per lap. I was thinking maybe I could maintain the slower, streamlined style for long swims and adopt this style for my PST And sprints.
That's exactly what I would recommend Tom. Cut your stroke count down by performing off the wall better, not by artificially extending the stroke out. Remember, that with a faster turnover rate, you also get to breathe more. The basis for this is that a shorter swimmer needs to spend an absolute minimum of their time "short" in the water - with nothing out front. We need to keep you tall in the water as much as possible, and all the tuning we did was focused on that: keeping him long in the water for most of the time. 1 - Quick recovery 2 - Short second pull 3 - Maximizing speed into and off the wall That swimmer turned a 24 minute ocean swim mile in a race yesterday, and swam a 7:26 500CSS this morning. Right beside him I had another guy turn a 7:13, and another guy just dropped from a 9:25 to an 8:56. If you have a video let me know and I will be happy to critique it.
Hello, I sent you a private message with a link of a 100 Yard split. If your able to take a look, please let me know, I look forward to hearing your analysis!
This is how you're going to get there. Shorten the second pull and speed up the recovery cycle so you are long in the water as much as possible, and get far & fast off the wall every time.
One of the worst things you can do is assume that stroke count == fast time. Artificially extending the stroke count with constant flutter kicking, holding your breath and doing a "fool's glide" or things like that don't work, and actually do harm. Stroke count matters for underwater swimming. It does NOT matter for CSS, with one caveat.... Your double arm pull should be getting you 1/3 to halfway across the pool. If it isn't, your performance off the wall needs work. You can reduce your stroke count naturally and efficiently by simply reducing the amount of CSS strokes that are required to begin with. Watch any sub 7:30 swimmer and you will agree. They are fast mostly because of how effective their double arm pull is, and how well they retain energy in a streamline off the wall.
fargo007 what swim workouts would you recommend to increase ones ability to do the double arm pull? I can swim a 500 in 9:20 but I can only do the double arm pull for the first 100Y and then I’m too gassed to continue so I simply kick off the wall right into the stroke for the next 400Y. I figure if I can get the double arm pull down for the whole swim I can be in the 8 min range.
@@nikscanlan8838 There's absolutely an issue with your training plan also if you're swimming that much and not improving. Please do send one, and make sure it's 100Y minimum. I'll do my best to help you get sorted out.
@@fargo007 th-cam.com/video/Ly_SfwbIh-4/w-d-xo.html here is a second link, with a 2nd 100yd swim with a different variation. i used more of a glide here. In the first video I use more of a sprinter side stroke because I feel it’s more comfortable as I am a lot more used to doing freestyle (prior triathlete)
Hi! I support these videos a lot I have an Army diver contract, I come from no swimming backgrounds and need to get ready in 4 months I do not know many swimming techniques, do you know anyone in Greensboro North Carolina?
No, not by name but but I'd send you to heroesoftomorrow.org or stewsmith.com. I'm working with them also and a lot of guys have found me that way. Best of luck!
@fargo007 Thank you for your content and support of these important communities. Is there a mentor in SD you would recommend? PST: 9:07 500m, 8:58 run, 85 pushups, 85 situps, 18 pullups.
You're welcome! Your swim could come down, but the rest is good numbers. I don't know anyone specific in ND. You might check stewsmith.com and see if he's got someone out there helping guys out. If you want a swim critique, I can look at a 100Y video anytime you want.
CSS video for critique 4-25-22 th-cam.com/video/UrHwlQ4AG4M/w-d-xo.html here’s a link to my css. Unfortunately the video got cut short. After my turnaround I also got interrupted by another swimmer. Please give me any feedback I really appreciate the help
th-cam.com/video/nFeNlqDi1xE/w-d-xo.html if so, please let me know if you have any tips. i am guessing i need to shorten the second pull based on what you said
@@lukenassif5057 I took a look. 1 - Swimming on one side. Might feel good now, but it won't work through the pipeline and you won't hit your best possible time. Start developing the other side by swimming it 2:1. 2 - Your head is coming WAAAY out of the water, and with a great suddenness. Every time you do this, your entire body see-saws with your hips and legs dropping. The breathing shouldn't be that "aggressive." You should just be rotating to breath, with your head remaining on the same axis the whole time. 3 - Breathing too late in the stroke cycle. You should be breathing with one arm straight out. If you're pulling that second arm before your face is back in the water you are late. 4 - Yes, shorten the second pull as described earlier and often. 5 - Streamlines are great in the beginning, but they start turning to shit a couple laps in. Keep them consistent. The last one should look as great as the first. 6 - Hard to gauge kick effectiveness because there's too much going on after the kick. Start relying on that one good kick and then keep the legs hidden behind your moving torso. I suspect you are doing all the kicking because of the balance problem pointed out in #2. Fixing that will mostly fix this one if I'm right. You have a lot of good stuff going for you as well and I can tell you've put some time in. After getting your other side strong and fixing this, I wouldn't be surprised to see you crack into the 7's.
For this particular swimmer who is strongly built at 5'5, it does more harm than good to his time. The point of this video is that you can tune the stroke to exploit a particular swimmer's strong points. If I had a slender 6'5 swimmer, I'd have him gliding like crazy, but NOT for this swimmer. It's not a one-size-fits-all approach, and our goal here was to shatter a myth that I *knew* was wrong before we even started.
@@SethMorrison-m2e That's not necessarily "fast" at all. It could be that your technique is bad and you are swimming against drag. This is why I really need to see a video to be able to give any real help or answer to how you should be planning a workout.
Put a video up and post the link here and I'll critique it for you within 24 hours. 100Y minimum continuous, with a good view of your arms and legs the whole time please.
@@juanramos1016 Got ya covered. Not surprised you're turning that kind of time. There's a lot of very basic mistakes here. 1 - Get a jammer type suit. It's worth at least 20 seconds. 2 - Streamline is very loose. Not even close to tight/strict enough. 3 - Double arm pull geometry is wrong. You're doing the rainbow instead of a keyhole shape. See my video on this. th-cam.com/video/6m_LtMCx9QI/w-d-xo.html 4 - Not swimming on both sides. You can get the fastest turn possible until you do this. 5 - Breathing late in the stroke cycle. You should be turning to breath WITH that first pull. As it is now, you have a dead spot where you sink straight down. 6 - Your second pull is pulling you down, not forward. Change the geometry so that your forearm is level and you're sculling water straight back, not down at all. "sprinter's sidestroke." 7 - Your recovery is way too slow. You want to spend as little time in recovery as possible. 8 - Recovery geometry is wrong. You are running your top arm WAY out wide, creating massive drag with the bicep. All of these are big issues, so it's hard to assign a priority. You need to stop swimming for time, and start doing 25/50's of very focused work on each of these. For where you are at right now (and anyone else with a stack of similar issues as this young man): *If you get out of the pool physically exhausted, you're doing it WRONG.* *If you get out of the pool MENTALLY exhausted, you're doing it RIGHT. *
Of course, I do that for people all the time. Put the video up on youtube. Minimum 100Y and swim it just like you'd swim on the PST. Post the link here and I'll give you a thorough critique. Have your photographer try to emphasize keeping you in the frame so I can get a good look at the arms and legs. Walking along the edge of the pool usually gets the best video to work with.
@@DocJacob Good copy. Give me till tomorrow with it because I have company over. I see quite a few things right off the bat but I want to be complete and accurate.
Coach Freddy - not sure if you'll see this but I'm based of the philly area. Was wondering if I could get in contact with you for some possible coaching for the NSW 500Y screening test.
@@joelee4986 Got it. There's a lot going on here. First, you're not slow in the water by any means. You have the potential to hit the low 8's or the 7's. This was a good video, and it was easy for me to give a meaningful critique. Buy your photog the beverage of their choice because they did you a solid. But you're making terrible mistakes here that are holding you back. I'm not gonna sugar coat it. 1 - You are taking a FOUR SECOND BREAK at the end of every length. There are 19 turns in a 500Y swim in a 25Y pool. You're adding a minute and sixteen seconds to your swim time by doing this. It's outrageous waste. I can't condemn this strongly enough. 2 - The turn needs to be a single plane open turn. Look up the "open turn secquence" on YT here. Learn it and live it. If you ever see the far wall on a turn, that's a bad turn. 3 - Looking forward. Absolute poison for body position. This is dropping your hips and explains why your head is so far out of the water on breathing. Freeze it when you are inhaling, and look how far your ass is underwater at that time. This is equivalent to slamming on the brakes! You are also looking almost straight up. Should be only two places: down, or at the side of the pool when you are breathing. 4 - No streamline. Your hands just go out front, after what amounts to a very poor and drag-heavy recovery too. Run your hands along your belly and hide them under the chin. You're giving your bicep to the water as braking force on every recovery. You need to hit a perfect streamline on every single stroke apex. After the kick, you should be in a perfect SL, and riding it until you slow enough to initiate the first pull. It's missing so badly off the wall there are times when you are pushing off with your hands at least 3 feet apart. 5 - Not swimming on both sides. You won't be able to turn the fastest way, and you won't hit your best time if you don't swim on both sides. You'll be made to do this in prep too, and you also need this skill for open water swims as well. Start developing the new side by favoring it 2:1 on every swim you do. So back to the drawing board for you, with: 1 - Study. Look here for really good tutorials on the open turn, streamline, scissor kick, and body position. Freestyle techniques are the SAME in this regard. 2 - Mindful practice. The hard work you have to do happens between your ears, not in your arms & legs. Discipline, discipline, discipline. 3 - Watch the video on sealswcc.com that's 17 mins long and goes over the entire stroke. There are drills shown and taught in that video that are in my opinion, pure gold. Again, I see the speed underneath all this, and I see the heart. These bad habits stand between you and success. I look forward to another look at your progress in a month or so. /Coach Freddy
+Dylan Dotson I took a look at it. You are swimming on both sides, which is very good. You are also keeping your head nice and flat in the water. Also good. In terms of problems, there is a lot to work on. What you've got is a CSS that is assembled with parts that are all broken in some way: Technique: Streamline loose (hands aren't even together most of the time) Scissor kick ineffective Double arm pull geometry wrong Breast stroke kick ineffective "Crazy Legs" Furious kicking in the back (this is balance compensation) Stroke rate is too slow for your kick Turns that could be timed with a calendar Timing: Breathing too late in the stroke cycle most of the time Is the exhale underwater? Recovery is too slow. You have a dead spot and are sinking straight down after the second pull. It looks like you are artificially trying to cut the stroke count down. Don't do that. Speed up your recovery instead, and you won't need the crazy legs. Prescription: What I would do with you is take you apart and polish up each component, then put you back together again. Start working your kick with a board on both sides. Stew has a good video on how to hold it. Keep fine tuning it until it is propelling you strongly. Research & Monkey-see Monkey-do: Streamline, my double arm pull video, my underwater swim stroke video (for the streamline front/back) youtube open turn sequence. Change that second pull to the sprinter's sidestroke pull shown on the NSW video. Doing that, and speeding up your recovery (snappier) will get you back out front faster, and fix the dead spot. You need to hit a real streamline at the apex of every single stroke cycle. That, and the kick work would be the first thing I had you doing. Based on that video, your next swim workout should be something like: 500Y warmup (every stroke you know) Drills: 4 x 50 easy pace kick sets alternating sides with a board working on form and effectiveness. Streamline checks: Push off the wall and hold a strict streamline front/back. See how far you can go. Turn practice: (look up the open turn) Double arm pull practice 2-4 x 50 hand lead, scissor kick drill, EACH side. Vertical kicking: Like treading water but you use a scissor kick vertically in the deep end. You can rest as much as you want in between. This is about getting it technically right, not doing it tired. Once we get you tuned up then we start conditioning. Let me know if you have any questions. I'm happy to help.
fargo007 Thank you much for that, i do believe I'm exhaling as and upon surfacing with my head no quite sure I understand the timing of my breathing ? I will start this work out tomorrow morning after my run.
What are your thoughts on the 3 second pull stroke rhythm? From an unbiased perspective why do you think some people coach this and what makes the 1-2 second rhythm more efficient? 1:21
Are you referring to the glide time in streamline? If so, that is completely individual IMHO, and needs to be tuned to the swimmer because everyone has different buoyancy and different drag. If I misunderstood you, show me an example and I can comment more intelligently.
@@fargo007 one Stew Smith preaches a 3 second pull stroke. So basically yes a glide time in between kick and top arm. My kick feels underwhelming so I think I will need to compensate by stroking more per lap. I always am struggling to get the time from breath to kick to glide down pat.
@@LemulRichardson If you can post a link to your video (min 100Y, good angle where I can see the arms & legs) I will critique it for you. It could be a lot of things, including a timing problem. This is kind of something I need to see for myself in order to provide detail on.
@@fargo007 Couch, Are you still out of Central Jersey or FL now? I'm in South Jersey. Asking because I saw some of your comments annotating that your in FL now. Thank you.
Typically no. Most people don't flutter kick correctly so you need to learn the stroke without it. Once you hit the low 8's you can start bringing it in, but until then you should be primarily focused on the scissor kick.
@@johnlopez2028 If someone came to me swimming a 9, they'd ship swimming in the 7's. Or that's what I'd shoot for. You'll see guys swimming in the low 7's when you start PST'ing. There's always something that can be done to improve. And almost always, it's NOT the correct answer to just kick and pull harder.
I'm in NW Florida. Who to recommend depends on where YOU are, what your current skill level is, and what your timeline is before you intend to ship on an SO contract.
@@fargo007 I live in Connecticut, I'm in decent shape but my form is awful. I want to make sure I can score competitively on the PST as soon as I meet a recruiter
@@ryansoucy9848 My advice is to find a good, local swim coach who can teach you how to at least swim a competent freestyle. Ask around at pools where there is a masters swim team for instance. Get good enough so that you can swim a competitive time on the 500Y with freestyle. 8:30 or lower. At that point you'll have the fundamentals down that switching to CSS will be a lot simpler than trying to learn it on your own from the ground up. You also want to be learning the eggbeater kick for treading. It's a 100% necessary skill. If there's ever something specific you want me to take a look at, please let me know.
@@ryansoucy9848 Yes, assuming you can not turn anything but a 10 or 11 at CSS right now. The fundamentals in the water are totally the same. If you can't find someone to teach you these through CSS, then find someone to teach them through FS.
Hello. I know this is an older video but would you still critique my CSS if I post a link? I'm also a shorter swimmer and looking to turn a competitive time. Thanks.
@@jaydongovender4143 Took a look at it, and there's a lot going on: 1 - Horrible streamline (front & back). This needs to be PERFECT. And held to maximize the distance your push off earns. Also there's no streamline at the top of each stroke cycle, and the legs are just dangling in the back. They need to be still, and fully hidden behind the torso. 2 - Not swimming on both sides. Inefficient, and contributes to #3. Fix this first, by swimming 2:1 on the new side. If you go to prep swimming on one side, they will eat you alive. 3 - Terrible turns. Because you're swimming on one side, you can't turn in a single plane. You are turning in TWO planes, and i t's costing you 1-2 seconds (19 to 38 seconds) off your swim. 4 - Timing - Breating a little bit late. Not as bad as I typically see. First pull should end with you at breathing position. 5 - Recovery - Your top arm is just hanging in the water, creating drag, and the recovery is very wide apart from the body. You r upper arm is pure drag. Hide that recovery under the chin. 6 - Double arm pull geometry is wrong. I have a video on this. 7 - I liked the body position, and the second pull, and you are bringing the right amount of energy and presence to the stroke. Good work on those. Once this is all fixed, we can start talking about a stroke rate that fits you like we did for the swimmer in this video. You have a lot of work to do, and most of it is in your head (discipline) and not in your muscles. I don't see any reason why you can't hit the 7's if you really go after this stuff hard.
Hey Coach, I'm wondering how much power you should be putting into the kicks? These guys look like they're not putting that much into the kick which probably gives them the energy to keep a high stroke rate. When I do kickboard drills, I really need to put in a lot of effort to make myself glide for 2-3 seconds.
You are kicking to GENERATE motion, while they are only kicking enough to maintain their inertia. Basically the answer is that they don't have to. It has the added benefit of saving the legs for the run too.
You are allowed to. Whether you should or not is a different question. Most people who don't know what they're doing will do a bunch of frantic kicking that does more harm than good, and they do it to compensate for an underlying balance problem that they never wind up fixing.
@@jose_villagomez What does that mean? Look - if you want me to review your swim, upload the video like hundreds of others have done and stop playing games. I donate my time for this and don't have room in my schedule for BS.
@fargo007 Is there an e-mail I can contact you at? I've got some questions/advice seeking along these lines of being a shorter swimmer; also some general PST questions :)
The wider scissor kick actually slows you down, and just using a flutter kick will speed you up. This effect is some what similar to what was done with breast stroke when switching from the old frog kick to the more modern whip kick. I swim over arm side stroke. When I switched to the flutter kick instead of the shorter 'snap' kick, I took 3 seconds off of my 50 yard sprint time the first day. I can swim a 7:50 for a 500 with the over arm side stroke, which is considerably faster than the combat swim side stroke. I am 70 years old in November.
@@robohippy my sidestroke isn’t considerably faster atm as well. I’m hoping I can get my css competitive as well. It’s definitely less work, but the breathing is what is getting me at the moment that and I need a proper mask for css. I can swim Side Stroke without.
way to go Smurf making us look good
Thanks for this, I have been trying to go for the slow long CSS, due to me finding videos of swimmers being taller than 6'0. I'm going to give it a try with more strokes.
Hi, do you still give critiques of CSS? I’d love to get feedback on my stroke.
Yes I do. I'm happy to help you with that. Post a video 100Y minimum shot so I can see the kicks and pulls clearly. Leave the link to it here and I'll study it and let you know what I'm seeing.
@@fargo007 th-cam.com/video/be_3V-13fvo/w-d-xo.htmlsi=kygNPmGF5FoI68Sq
Here is a 50yd clip. If it’s not long enough I can get a longer clip during tomorrow’s workout. Thank you.
I definitely prefer this style of swimming for the CSS (more kicks and strokes).. The whole glide concept taught by smith seems to work with longer and taller guys. I'm 5'10 and using this technique brought me down to a sub 8 from a 8:30.
It depends on the effectiveness of the kick. Someone with an amazing kick can get away with that , but most will just overglide it.
The swimmer in this video turned a 7:18 at swim PT this Sunday. I am really proud of him and his amazing progress. This was at the end of the workout, after 3 hours, immediately after a 30 min tread with weight belts. Good technique, hard work, and a little help with coaching is really all you need.
+fargo007 what does his weekly workout consist of so he can hold that pace? Does he do more interval/speed work or distance training?
He is mostly focused at this point on his fin swimming, and is showing superior times at that as well. Turning low 17's for his 1000M at this point. His overall conditioning and strength is excellent. Running over 35 miles a week and lots of swimming as well.
fargo007 d
My apologies for that comment, didn’t meant to.
Hello, I've found this video very very helpful. I've been practising CSS for one year, but 'm still stucked on 10:48 per 500 m. I'm 5'5 too and I've always focused on gliding a lot and reducing the stroke rate. Your priorities on "Quick recovery, Short second pull and Maximizing speed into and off the wall are illuminating. I would ask for a critique by you. I'm non American, could I sign on the SEAL forum as well? Or how can I send you my video?
I'm happy to critique a video for you regardless where you are. You can register on sealswcc.com and message me there under the same name, or figure out how to sent private msgs on youtube, and provide a link to the video. Or just put the video up on youtube and post the link here.
Thanks a lot! Here's the link! 29 seconds per lenght (25 meters), I don't know how to reduce this time...
th-cam.com/users/edit?o=U&video_id=-MVdgtr7ouE
You can post the critique here or below my video. Just for info, the double arm pull is missing because I was trying the dolphin kick instead of the pull.
That link doesn't work. Looks like an editing URL.....
Sorry... this one should work
th-cam.com/video/-MVdgtr7ouE/w-d-xo.html
Stew Smith frequently talks about minimizing flutter kicks between scissor kicks. Do you recommend keeping 2-4 flutterkicks between each stroke. This video is motivating for someone who's 5'6''.
I agree with minimizing "excessive" flutter kicks, but adding kicks that are controlled and productive isn't a bad thing.
Usually when we see frantic kicking like that it's the swimmer compensating for a balance problem.
If they are good kicks that aren't that expensive to the body and they are helping, that's fine. You also don't have to use them the entire time either. For instance, you can pour it on a little toward the last 150Y or so.
+fargo007 would you recommend those of shorter stature to adopt the technique of more strokes and a tweaked underwater pullout to cut down on time in the PST? I currently swim a 9:06 but that was with me doing long pullouts and trying to keep it 4-6 strokes per lap. I was thinking maybe I could maintain the slower, streamlined style for long swims and adopt this style for my PST And sprints.
That's exactly what I would recommend Tom. Cut your stroke count down by performing off the wall better, not by artificially extending the stroke out.
Remember, that with a faster turnover rate, you also get to breathe more.
The basis for this is that a shorter swimmer needs to spend an absolute minimum of their time "short" in the water - with nothing out front. We need to keep you tall in the water as much as possible, and all the tuning we did was focused on that: keeping him long in the water for most of the time.
1 - Quick recovery
2 - Short second pull
3 - Maximizing speed into and off the wall
That swimmer turned a 24 minute ocean swim mile in a race yesterday, and swam a 7:26 500CSS this morning.
Right beside him I had another guy turn a 7:13, and another guy just dropped from a 9:25 to an 8:56.
If you have a video let me know and I will be happy to critique it.
Hello, I sent you a private message with a link of a 100 Yard split. If your able to take a look, please let me know, I look forward to hearing your analysis!
Hey Tom, A message here on youtube? I'm not seeing anything.
Get it to me somehow and I'll definitely critique it for you.
As far as being stealthy the taller guy is making less ripples in the water. The short guy would ella have been dead.
True, but that's not really a consideration on a PST swim. The clock is what matters the most.
Put a video up and send me the link. I am sure that I can figure it out.
Just swam a 7:31, looking to go sub 7 one day
impressive...I'm 5'6 and am doing a sub 9 right now...working on a sub 8
This is how you're going to get there. Shorten the second pull and speed up the recovery cycle so you are long in the water as much as possible, and get far & fast off the wall every time.
Man 8:40 isn't a shabby time either, but 7:30 is pretty beast! As someone with similar size ill try those tips.
As long as you're pressing the basics (good streamline, fast turns) I'm pretty sure it will help you out.
Do you have a tutorial on the pulls? Thanks for the video.
In fact I do! Check my channel for the double arm pull vid.
I was looking for the side stroke pulls. I did enjoy the double are pull.. Thanks
2 things glide.glide and glide....after utilizing css stroke glide...using 4- 5 strokes per 50 yds will get you sub 7:30
One of the worst things you can do is assume that stroke count == fast time. Artificially extending the stroke count with constant flutter kicking, holding your breath and doing a "fool's glide" or things like that don't work, and actually do harm.
Stroke count matters for underwater swimming. It does NOT matter for CSS, with one caveat....
Your double arm pull should be getting you 1/3 to halfway across the pool. If it isn't, your performance off the wall needs work. You can reduce your stroke count naturally and efficiently by simply reducing the amount of CSS strokes that are required to begin with.
Watch any sub 7:30 swimmer and you will agree. They are fast mostly because of how effective their double arm pull is, and how well they retain energy in a streamline off the wall.
fargo007 what swim workouts would you recommend to increase ones ability to do the double arm pull? I can swim a 500 in 9:20 but I can only do the double arm pull for the first 100Y and then I’m too gassed to continue so I simply kick off the wall right into the stroke for the next 400Y. I figure if I can get the double arm pull down for the whole swim I can be in the 8 min range.
Jonezy 35 I have the same issue, you ever figure it out?
can I send you a swimming video to critique tomorrow?
currently putting in 7-8000 yards per week, and only hitting a 9 minute 500yd. I think there are definitely some underlying issues with my technique
@@nikscanlan8838 There's absolutely an issue with your training plan also if you're swimming that much and not improving. Please do send one, and make sure it's 100Y minimum. I'll do my best to help you get sorted out.
@@fargo007 thanks coach, i should be able to post a video tomorrow during the lunch hour or around this time
@@fargo007 th-cam.com/video/PWAg_9Lw3VI/w-d-xo.html
@@fargo007 th-cam.com/video/Ly_SfwbIh-4/w-d-xo.html
here is a second link, with a 2nd 100yd swim with a different variation. i used more of a glide here. In the first video I use more of a sprinter side stroke because I feel it’s more comfortable as I am a lot more used to doing freestyle (prior triathlete)
Hi! I support these videos a lot I have an Army diver contract, I come from no swimming backgrounds and need to get ready in 4 months I do not know many swimming techniques, do you know anyone in Greensboro North Carolina?
No, not by name but but I'd send you to heroesoftomorrow.org or stewsmith.com. I'm working with them also and a lot of guys have found me that way. Best of luck!
@@fargo007 thank you!
@fargo007 Thank you for your content and support of these important communities. Is there a mentor in SD you would recommend? PST: 9:07 500m, 8:58 run, 85 pushups, 85 situps, 18 pullups.
You're welcome! Your swim could come down, but the rest is good numbers. I don't know anyone specific in ND. You might check stewsmith.com and see if he's got someone out there helping guys out. If you want a swim critique, I can look at a 100Y video anytime you want.
@@fargo007 where can I send my 100 yard to? Thank you very much🙏🏻
@@salancharoenwongrerk3123 Post the link here please.
How can I get in contact with you for some tips on my CSS? Thanks
You can put a video up (min 100Y), post the link here and I would be happy to critique it.
@@fargo007 Got it, I'll send one in the next couple days. I really appreciate it.
CSS video for critique 4-25-22
th-cam.com/video/UrHwlQ4AG4M/w-d-xo.html here’s a link to my css. Unfortunately the video got cut short. After my turnaround I also got interrupted by another swimmer. Please give me any feedback I really appreciate the help
Were you able to check my css out? Just following up with this. Thank you in advance for any advice you can share
@@hc0031 Where is the link to the video? You haven't posted it yet.
Coach Freddy, do you still look at swim videos?
th-cam.com/video/nFeNlqDi1xE/w-d-xo.html
if so, please let me know if you have any tips. i am guessing i need to shorten the second pull based on what you said
@@lukenassif5057 I took a look.
1 - Swimming on one side. Might feel good now, but it won't work through the pipeline and you won't hit your best possible time. Start developing the other side by swimming it 2:1.
2 - Your head is coming WAAAY out of the water, and with a great suddenness. Every time you do this, your entire body see-saws with your hips and legs dropping. The breathing shouldn't be that "aggressive." You should just be rotating to breath, with your head remaining on the same axis the whole time.
3 - Breathing too late in the stroke cycle. You should be breathing with one arm straight out. If you're pulling that second arm before your face is back in the water you are late.
4 - Yes, shorten the second pull as described earlier and often.
5 - Streamlines are great in the beginning, but they start turning to shit a couple laps in. Keep them consistent. The last one should look as great as the first.
6 - Hard to gauge kick effectiveness because there's too much going on after the kick. Start relying on that one good kick and then keep the legs hidden behind your moving torso. I suspect you are doing all the kicking because of the balance problem pointed out in #2. Fixing that will mostly fix this one if I'm right.
You have a lot of good stuff going for you as well and I can tell you've put some time in. After getting your other side strong and fixing this, I wouldn't be surprised to see you crack into the 7's.
fargo007 thank you so much. I've never had anyone tell me those cues. I will work on them. Really appreciate you taking the time
fargo007 I did a PST today and just with thinking about what you said, I went 745 pretty easily. So thank you very much for your time
There’s no glide phase ? Why?
For this particular swimmer who is strongly built at 5'5, it does more harm than good to his time. The point of this video is that you can tune the stroke to exploit a particular swimmer's strong points. If I had a slender 6'5 swimmer, I'd have him gliding like crazy, but NOT for this swimmer. It's not a one-size-fits-all approach, and our goal here was to shatter a myth that I *knew* was wrong before we even started.
Any workouts that will help me get faster in the water ?
What are your times like now? This is really individual and seeing you in a 100Y would help me give better advice.
@@fargo007 i can swim like 100y in under a minute but it’s hard to maintain
@@SethMorrison-m2e That's not necessarily "fast" at all. It could be that your technique is bad and you are swimming against drag. This is why I really need to see a video to be able to give any real help or answer to how you should be planning a workout.
@@fargo007 how would I make sure I’m not swimming against drag ?
@@SethMorrison-m2e By having someone who knows what they are doing observe you. 😁
How can I send you a link of me swimming?
Send a private message. Or join sealswcc.com and message me there under the same name.
fargo007 awesome! I'll be sending you a clip hopefully today.
Can’t seem to break 50sec laps. Looking to qualify for BUDS can you help critique my swim
Put a video up and post the link here and I'll critique it for you within 24 hours. 100Y minimum continuous, with a good view of your arms and legs the whole time please.
fargo007 th-cam.com/video/_XJPrlxIXRw/w-d-xo.html
@@juanramos1016 Got ya covered.
Not surprised you're turning that kind of time. There's a lot of very basic mistakes here.
1 - Get a jammer type suit. It's worth at least 20 seconds.
2 - Streamline is very loose. Not even close to tight/strict enough.
3 - Double arm pull geometry is wrong. You're doing the rainbow instead of a keyhole shape. See my video on this. th-cam.com/video/6m_LtMCx9QI/w-d-xo.html
4 - Not swimming on both sides. You can get the fastest turn possible until you do this.
5 - Breathing late in the stroke cycle. You should be turning to breath WITH that first pull. As it is now, you have a dead spot where you sink straight down.
6 - Your second pull is pulling you down, not forward. Change the geometry so that your forearm is level and you're sculling water straight back, not down at all. "sprinter's sidestroke."
7 - Your recovery is way too slow. You want to spend as little time in recovery as possible.
8 - Recovery geometry is wrong. You are running your top arm WAY out wide, creating massive drag with the bicep.
All of these are big issues, so it's hard to assign a priority.
You need to stop swimming for time, and start doing 25/50's of very focused work on each of these.
For where you are at right now (and anyone else with a stack of similar issues as this young man):
*If you get out of the pool physically exhausted, you're doing it WRONG.*
*If you get out of the pool MENTALLY exhausted, you're doing it RIGHT. *
fargo007 this was perfect! Thanks I’ll be training extra hard to dissolve these issues
Anyway I could give you my css for you to criticize? How would I send it to you
Of course, I do that for people all the time. Put the video up on youtube. Minimum 100Y and swim it just like you'd swim on the PST. Post the link here and I'll give you a thorough critique. Have your photographer try to emphasize keeping you in the frame so I can get a good look at the arms and legs. Walking along the edge of the pool usually gets the best video to work with.
fargo007 alright sweet! I’ll have it up soon
fargo007 th-cam.com/video/FiVg3XaxWZ4/w-d-xo.html
@@DocJacob Good copy. Give me till tomorrow with it because I have company over. I see quite a few things right off the bat but I want to be complete and accurate.
Alright thanks!
Hey do you have a email so I can send my CSS video?
Coach Freddy - not sure if you'll see this but I'm based of the philly area. Was wondering if I could get in contact with you for some possible coaching for the NSW 500Y screening test.
Hi Joe, I've relocated to Florida, but I am happy to critique a 100Y video for you any time at all.
@@fargo007 thank you sir th-cam.com/video/xUZUuKmJcqY/w-d-xo.html
@@joelee4986 Got it. There's a lot going on here.
First, you're not slow in the water by any means. You have the potential to hit the low 8's or the 7's. This was a good video, and it was easy for me to give a meaningful critique. Buy your photog the beverage of their choice because they did you a solid.
But you're making terrible mistakes here that are holding you back. I'm not gonna sugar coat it.
1 - You are taking a FOUR SECOND BREAK at the end of every length. There are 19 turns in a 500Y swim in a 25Y pool. You're adding a minute and sixteen seconds to your swim time by doing this. It's outrageous waste. I can't condemn this strongly enough.
2 - The turn needs to be a single plane open turn. Look up the "open turn secquence" on YT here. Learn it and live it. If you ever see the far wall on a turn, that's a bad turn.
3 - Looking forward. Absolute poison for body position. This is dropping your hips and explains why your head is so far out of the water on breathing. Freeze it when you are inhaling, and look how far your ass is underwater at that time. This is equivalent to slamming on the brakes! You are also looking almost straight up. Should be only two places: down, or at the side of the pool when you are breathing.
4 - No streamline. Your hands just go out front, after what amounts to a very poor and drag-heavy recovery too. Run your hands along your belly and hide them under the chin. You're giving your bicep to the water as braking force on every recovery. You need to hit a perfect streamline on every single stroke apex. After the kick, you should be in a perfect SL, and riding it until you slow enough to initiate the first pull. It's missing so badly off the wall there are times when you are pushing off with your hands at least 3 feet apart.
5 - Not swimming on both sides. You won't be able to turn the fastest way, and you won't hit your best time if you don't swim on both sides. You'll be made to do this in prep too, and you also need this skill for open water swims as well. Start developing the new side by favoring it 2:1 on every swim you do.
So back to the drawing board for you, with:
1 - Study. Look here for really good tutorials on the open turn, streamline, scissor kick, and body position. Freestyle techniques are the SAME in this regard.
2 - Mindful practice. The hard work you have to do happens between your ears, not in your arms & legs. Discipline, discipline, discipline.
3 - Watch the video on sealswcc.com that's 17 mins long and goes over the entire stroke. There are drills shown and taught in that video that are in my opinion, pure gold.
Again, I see the speed underneath all this, and I see the heart. These bad habits stand between you and success.
I look forward to another look at your progress in a month or so.
/Coach Freddy
@@fargo007 Thanks Coach Freddy I really appreciate the detailed breakdown, I'll make sure to work on my mistakes and will update in a month or two.
Isn't it against the rules to take your elbows out of the water?
There is no rule that says your elbow must be underwater the entire time. The conduct standards are available on sealswcc.com.
Could you take a look at my latest swim, I'm 5'9 rugby player power lifter.
+Dylan Dotson
I took a look at it.
You are swimming on both sides, which is very good. You are also keeping your head nice and flat in the water. Also good.
In terms of problems, there is a lot to work on. What you've got is a CSS that is assembled with parts that are all broken in some way:
Technique:
Streamline loose (hands aren't even together most of the time)
Scissor kick ineffective
Double arm pull geometry wrong
Breast stroke kick ineffective
"Crazy Legs" Furious kicking in the back (this is balance compensation)
Stroke rate is too slow for your kick
Turns that could be timed with a calendar
Timing:
Breathing too late in the stroke cycle most of the time
Is the exhale underwater?
Recovery is too slow. You have a dead spot and are sinking straight down after the second pull. It looks like you are artificially trying to cut the stroke count down. Don't do that. Speed up your recovery instead, and you won't need the crazy legs.
Prescription:
What I would do with you is take you apart and polish up each component, then put you back together again.
Start working your kick with a board on both sides. Stew has a good video on how to hold it. Keep fine tuning it until it is propelling you strongly.
Research & Monkey-see Monkey-do: Streamline, my double arm pull video, my underwater swim stroke video (for the streamline front/back) youtube open turn sequence.
Change that second pull to the sprinter's sidestroke pull shown on the NSW video. Doing that, and speeding up your recovery (snappier) will get you back out front faster, and fix the dead spot.
You need to hit a real streamline at the apex of every single stroke cycle. That, and the kick work would be the first thing I had you doing.
Based on that video, your next swim workout should be something like:
500Y warmup (every stroke you know)
Drills:
4 x 50 easy pace kick sets alternating sides with a board working on form and effectiveness.
Streamline checks: Push off the wall and hold a strict streamline front/back. See how far you can go.
Turn practice: (look up the open turn)
Double arm pull practice
2-4 x 50 hand lead, scissor kick drill, EACH side.
Vertical kicking: Like treading water but you use a scissor kick vertically in the deep end.
You can rest as much as you want in between. This is about getting it technically right, not doing it tired. Once we get you tuned up then we start conditioning.
Let me know if you have any questions. I'm happy to help.
fargo007 Thank you much for that, i do believe I'm exhaling as and upon surfacing with my head no quite sure I understand the timing of my breathing ?
I will start this work out tomorrow morning after my run.
+fargo007 copy that, thanks
What state is Coach Freddie located?
I'm in NW Florida.
Ok thank you for the reply. I’m in California. Plan on making my way to FL one day. I appreciate the content you put up.
I’m re-enlisting and going to try out for Marine Force Recon. So I have a lot of training to do. I’ll keep liking your videos and I am subscribed.
What are your thoughts on the 3 second pull stroke rhythm? From an unbiased perspective why do you think some people coach this and what makes the 1-2 second rhythm more efficient? 1:21
Are you referring to the glide time in streamline? If so, that is completely individual IMHO, and needs to be tuned to the swimmer because everyone has different buoyancy and different drag. If I misunderstood you, show me an example and I can comment more intelligently.
@@fargo007 one Stew Smith preaches a 3 second pull stroke. So basically yes a glide time in between kick and top arm. My kick feels underwhelming so I think I will need to compensate by stroking more per lap.
I always am struggling to get the time from breath to kick to glide down pat.
@@fargo007 can we drop videos in the comments of yt now?
@@LemulRichardson If you can post a link to your video (min 100Y, good angle where I can see the arms & legs) I will critique it for you. It could be a lot of things, including a timing problem. This is kind of something I need to see for myself in order to provide detail on.
@@fargo007 yes see I have the videos, but I don’t know how to provide a link.
where do you hold your trainings at?
I really tried but I just can't figure out how to do this stroke without being exhausted after the first 100, any tips?
See below - my reply went in as a new comment. The best thing to do is to put up a video of you swimming a 100 and let me take a look at it.
You’re probably not conditioned enough just keep training and you will progress
How do I get your info.. I'm from south j. area
Figure out out to send a private message on youtube. If you need a hint, look it up on youtube.
@@fargo007 Couch,
Are you still out of Central Jersey or FL now? I'm in South Jersey.
Asking because I saw some of your comments annotating that your in FL now. Thank you.
@@Chris-vj6mu Yeah sorry, I'm in Florida now, but still training and working with all types of candidates.
@@fargo007 Thank you for your time anyway 👍🏼
@@Chris-vj6mu Any time Christian. Also happy to critique a 100Y swim on video for you anytime.
Where are you based out of for coaching?
+epmfitness2 Trenton/NJ Phila PA area.
I am always happy to critique a swim video too.
+fargo007 awesome, I'll work on getting one up on the forums. thanks
Is my recovery arm under water or top? Will under create drag?
It should be underwater. You cannot use an overhand recovery according to the PST conduct standards.
@@fargo007 Thanks for your answer.
So do you recommend scissor kick and then flutter kick?
Typically no. Most people don't flutter kick correctly so you need to learn the stroke without it. Once you hit the low 8's you can start bringing it in, but until then you should be primarily focused on the scissor kick.
@@fargo007 when you say low “8’s” low 8minute 500yard combat swimmer sidestroke?
@@johnlopez2028 Yes. Meaning a 500Y CSS swim time under 8 minutes and 30 seconds.
@@fargo007 damn competitive standards is 9min according to their website but you at least expecting us to get low 8’s. Shit. Ok thanks!
@@johnlopez2028 If someone came to me swimming a 9, they'd ship swimming in the 7's. Or that's what I'd shoot for. You'll see guys swimming in the low 7's when you start PST'ing. There's always something that can be done to improve. And almost always, it's NOT the correct answer to just kick and pull harder.
Is there an Email i could reach you at? I’d like to ask some questions and discuss form.
I don't post it publicly but if you want to send me an address I'd be happy to email you. and then you can delete it.
Perfect!
@fargo007 where are you out of, and could you recommend a good mentor? I'm going to be a navy seal, I gotta get better at swimming
I'm in NW Florida. Who to recommend depends on where YOU are, what your current skill level is, and what your timeline is before you intend to ship on an SO contract.
@@fargo007 I live in Connecticut, I'm in decent shape but my form is awful. I want to make sure I can score competitively on the PST as soon as I meet a recruiter
@@ryansoucy9848 My advice is to find a good, local swim coach who can teach you how to at least swim a competent freestyle. Ask around at pools where there is a masters swim team for instance. Get good enough so that you can swim a competitive time on the 500Y with freestyle. 8:30 or lower. At that point you'll have the fundamentals down that switching to CSS will be a lot simpler than trying to learn it on your own from the ground up. You also want to be learning the eggbeater kick for treading. It's a 100% necessary skill. If there's ever something specific you want me to take a look at, please let me know.
@@fargo007 so you're saying keep practicing for time with freestyle, then learn CSS? Thank you
@@ryansoucy9848 Yes, assuming you can not turn anything but a 10 or 11 at CSS right now. The fundamentals in the water are totally the same. If you can't find someone to teach you these through CSS, then find someone to teach them through FS.
Hello. I know this is an older video but would you still critique my CSS if I post a link? I'm also a shorter swimmer and looking to turn a competitive time. Thanks.
Absolutely - I am still training people. Add a link here and I will critique it. Make it 100Y minimum.
fargo007 thanks again
fargo007 th-cam.com/video/5MsUz6LcQps/w-d-xo.html
@@jaydongovender4143 Took a look at it, and there's a lot going on:
1 - Horrible streamline (front & back). This needs to be PERFECT. And held to maximize the distance your push off earns. Also there's no streamline at the top of each stroke cycle, and the legs are just dangling in the back. They need to be still, and fully hidden behind the torso.
2 - Not swimming on both sides. Inefficient, and contributes to #3. Fix this first, by swimming 2:1 on the new side. If you go
to prep swimming on one side, they will eat you alive.
3 - Terrible turns. Because you're swimming on one side, you can't turn in a single plane. You are turning in TWO planes, and i
t's costing you 1-2 seconds (19 to 38 seconds) off your swim.
4 - Timing - Breating a little bit late. Not as bad as I typically see. First pull should end with you at breathing position.
5 - Recovery - Your top arm is just hanging in the water, creating drag, and the recovery is very wide apart from the body. You
r upper arm is pure drag. Hide that recovery under the chin.
6 - Double arm pull geometry is wrong. I have a video on this.
7 - I liked the body position, and the second pull, and you are bringing the right amount of energy and presence to the stroke.
Good work on those. Once this is all fixed, we can start talking about a stroke rate that fits you like we did for the swimmer
in this video.
You have a lot of work to do, and most of it is in your head (discipline) and not in your muscles.
I don't see any reason why you can't hit the 7's if you really go after this stuff hard.
fargo007 I will work to improve those things and send another video
fargo007 how many yards is this pool? need your reply. thanks!
50yds
Earl Punzalan 25 yds
Hey Coach, I'm wondering how much power you should be putting into the kicks? These guys look like they're not putting that much into the kick which probably gives them the energy to keep a high stroke rate. When I do kickboard drills, I really need to put in a lot of effort to make myself glide for 2-3 seconds.
You are kicking to GENERATE motion, while they are only kicking enough to maintain their inertia. Basically the answer is that they don't have to. It has the added benefit of saving the legs for the run too.
Are you allowed to kick in the water when you do the arm pulls because I noticed the 1st swimmer doing that.
You are allowed to. Whether you should or not is a different question. Most people who don't know what they're doing will do a bunch of frantic kicking that does more harm than good, and they do it to compensate for an underlying balance problem that they never wind up fixing.
hey can i send you my video to your email? i cant upload it to youtube please and thank you!!
It's going to be too big to email it. Why can't you upload it to youtube?
@@jose_villagomez What does that mean? Look - if you want me to review your swim, upload the video like hundreds of others have done and stop playing games. I donate my time for this and don't have room in my schedule for BS.
fargo007 you’re right ill upload it this weekend!
hey i sent you the link to me trying the css , working on my form currently, thank you for your time.
@@jose_villagomez Where's the link to the video? I don't see it.
I will do
At the pst for me they railed people for making so many splashes in the water, as well as flutter kicking so much
Savage.
@fargo007 Is there an e-mail I can contact you at? I've got some questions/advice seeking along these lines of being a shorter swimmer; also some general PST questions :)
register at sealswcc.com and send me a private message with your email and I will contact you.
Just registered! Won't let me message, for some odd reason. Name is Jcape ! I'll keep trying
Short guys have to glide less and kind of muscle through the water. Very good time!
In the immortal words of the late 20th century philosopher Oscar Gamble: "People don't think hydrodynamics be like it is, but it do."
Got no pool and no money.. Resorting to swimming in a lake in dead winter... #noexcuses
How about you get a job at a YMCA or other place that has a pool and then you can swim for free, and you'll have money too?
It looks like short guys have to flutter to achieve sub ~8 times.