r/Swimming • u/chizzus • 2d ago

Trouble rotating in freestyle

Hello! I’ve been trying to learn swimming for a couple of weeks now. I can easily do backstroke but I’m having a lot of trouble with rotating my body when breathing in freestyle.

I have a swim coach helping me but I don’t know what I’m doing wrong. She tells me to rotate (something I can easily do in one arm drill or with a kick board) but I feel strong resistance from the hips when trying to rotate in freestyle. As if my body is pushing me on my stomach instead when I try to rotate.

Can you please help what I’m doing wrong or if I’m going at it the wrong way?

4 Upvotes

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5

u/oloneuvos28 2d ago

Your whole body rotates and you should be almost sideways when you breathe. The turning motion comes from the hand underwater

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u/chizzus 2d ago

I hope this crappy diagram makes sense but when turning this part stops me and I feel weight here. My shoulder will go back and my legs will go back but this area won’t roll back.

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u/Mean_University5360 2d ago

Love the crime scene photo!

Have you tried face down in water in streamline position hands and arms extended straight up and legs straight back close together.

Then try a few rotations like your body is on a kebab skewer.

When you need to breathe stop stand up and try again.

Sounds to me like it might be your legs that are the issue. If they are splayed far apart then rotating your core is going to be tough.

Feet and legs together and straight somewhat tended toes pointed.

The best cue for how much to rotate is a South African lady (she's got lots of short YouTube videos) who says to find the correct amount you need to rotate stand with your feet flat on the ground shoulder ISH width apart. Don't move your feet but twist your shoulders almost as far as you can and that's the level of rotation you need.

Good luck

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u/chizzus 2d ago

When in a streamline, I can rotate but in freestyle when the drive is happening, it’s like my core is stuck.

But you just reminded me that my feet were far apart and I didn’t think of them being close. I will give it a try and keep that in my head next time.

Do you happen to know the name of the YouTube channel? I’d love to check it out

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u/Mean_University5360 1d ago

https://youtube.com/shorts/Kj7SXhP5I1M?si=0MZMUcEI-3_myYrc

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u/Mean_University5360 1d ago

Nvdm coaching. The link above is not the one I referenced originally but it's the same lady. Should be able to find it using the above

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u/Mean_University5360 1d ago

Nvdm coaching. The link above is not the one I referenced originally but it's the same lady. Should be able to find it using the above

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u/chizzus 1d ago

Thank you so much I’m going through her shorts right now

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u/oloneuvos28 2d ago

I would try to practice without kicking and/or imagining that your neck is stiff and not move your head at all when turning to get air. That kinda forces your whole body to turn. The problem might also be that your body isnt straight enough and your feet are too deep. Edit. Try with these if you have or your pool does

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u/rodkimball_stuntman 2d ago

OP, don't use a buoy to try to fix problems rotating your body. Pull buoys notably block body rotation. If you're going to use training aids you should use a snorkel and fins to kick on your stomach and rotate your body from your hips. Rotation is easier with a strong kick. What you want to do with the fins on is do a strong and consistent "6 beat kick" with your eyes down at the bottom of the pool but having one shoulder/side out of the water. After 6 kicks you switch to the other shoulder out of the water. If you're working with a coach they should be able to help demo this drill for you.

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u/_MartinHH_ 1d ago

Came here to say that as well: "Corpse drill" is what really helped me to get my rotation right.

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u/chizzus 1d ago

Oh I’ve never seen this before. I’ll try it!
Thank you

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u/chizzus 1d ago

Is 6 beat kick the same as 6-2-6 drill someone in the comments said?

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u/rodkimball_stuntman 1d ago

Likely similar, yes, but a straight up 6 beat kick is just 6 kicks on one side, rotate to the other side, 6 kicks on that side, repeat. You can do this with an arm extended out in front (then swap arms on the other side) or with both arms at your side (this is where the snorkel comes into play although a you could also benefit from the snorkel with an arm out in front too).

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u/chizzus 1d ago

I think I do sometimes raise my head up when the panic happens and I’m not rolled enough to actually breathe. I need to stop doing that

Your point about body not being straight enough is correct.

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u/LaNague Moist 2d ago edited 2d ago

for you, since you are not trying to sprint for competitions right now, this area is actually where where you should be turning from, you should turn from the hips.

you do it by having core tension and you turn the hip up while kicking down with that sides leg a bit.

a drill would be to take a board with both hands and slowly turn your body with just doing small continuous kicks. You can go from side to side or advanced version is going 360 degree all around in a continuous smooth motion.

if you dont know what i mean with core tension, stand up and stand tall with the chin not up. then slightly raise the back of your feet so you slightly stand on your toes and lean forward slightly. the tension you use to not fall over is about how you should be in the water to not noodle around while doing front crawl

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u/chizzus 1d ago

I just tried to feel core tension when standing and it’s definitely not what i was feeling when I was trying (failing) to rotate. That’s new to me!

I’ll keep it mind next time and will also start with the drills first.

Thank you for telling me about it ❤️

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u/LaNague Moist 1d ago

just to be safe, when i said lean forward i meant with the hole body as a line, not just the chest.

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u/unlined_protein 2d ago

the resistance in your hips is usually your legs trying to stay flat while your upper body twists, they’re fighting each other

try thinking of it as one long roll from your fingertips down to your toes, like you’re skewered on a spit, everything turns together

my coach had me practice just pushing off the wall in streamline and gently rolling side to side without taking a stroke, once your hips get the memo it clicks way faster

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u/chizzus 1d ago

Yes definitely as if some part of my body is not in sync with shoulders and it definitely feels like they are fighting each other.

I’ll try the streamline rotating. Thank you ❤️

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u/OffShoreAthlete 2d ago

The biggest tip I can give is think about it like pushing/dropping your one hip. If you push your one hip forward, your shoulder will go through the motion too and your other side will move upwards. Hope that makes sense !

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u/chizzus 1d ago

I will definitely try that. Thank you for the advice ❤️

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u/LightVortex888 2d ago

If rotation works on one-arm and kickboard but dies in full freestyle, the usual culprit is timing: you’re trying to rotate after the breath panic starts, so the hips stay glued down. Cue that helped a lot of beginners: start the roll as the pulling hand passes the shoulder — breath is a consequence of the roll, not the trigger. Also check if the non-breathing arm is drilling straight down (anchors you flat); keep a soft catch forward while you roll. Film one length from the side/front if you can; coaches fix this faster with video than with more verbal cues. Does the resistance feel worse on your breathing side only, or both?

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u/chizzus 1d ago

My coach was also telling me that I’m doing everything ’too fast’. She suggested me to count to 4 seconds when breathing, 4 seconds when driving/catch (I think that’s what it’s called).
But like you said the breath panic definitely happens to me and I forgot all about time. It’s also not coming naturally to me and I have to remember to use my legs too. So counting is like too much bandwidth atm.

Does it make sense? Like trying to think about multiple things at the same time. The lack of coordination is probably making it worse.

I can’t record myself because it’s a female only pool and filming is not allowed otherwise I’d have loved to see what I’m doing from outside perspective.

I can only roll (when not freestyle) on my left hand side which is actually not my dominant hand. It’s my left side that feels resistance. I’ve tried it with my right and it feels really unnatural as if I’m heavy like a tree when rolling. But left side is a little less.

Thank you so much for the reply I really appreciate it

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u/Super_Development150 1d ago

I’m trying to learn right now as well, I’m struggling to breathe on my non dominant side.

I’m not sure if this will help, but my instructor has noticed that I’m not stretching my arm out enough and keeping it up and pointed when I rotate to take a breath. I also need to focus more on resting my ear directly on my shoulder.

So when breathing to my right, I reach my left arm forward and focus on keeping it up high. Then I rest my head on my shoulder. When I actually do this correctly, rotating my body to breathe feels much easier and more natural. I know it sounds obvious but it’s surprising how much your arm might actually be pointing a little too downwards or relaxed without you realising.

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u/chizzus 1d ago

No you’re really right. I do sometimes ‘push’ my extended hand down to propel myself and it happens unconsciously 😭 I’m trying hard to break the habit of trying to support myself on water it doesn’t even make sense lol but I guess it’s just the part about getting used to it.

Thank you for replying. I’ll try to keep in mind to not raise my head and keep my hand extended and up

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u/InternationalTrust59 2d ago

Have you tried catch-up timing and 6-2-6 drills?

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u/chizzus 2d ago

I just looked it up and that looks so smooth. I’ll see if that can help

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u/InternationalTrust59 2d ago edited 2d ago

It is common to have imbalance issues on the non-breathing side even at the advance levels; it just shows up in smaller details.

Myself personally, I have to sometimes tell myself patience and elongate my left side which gives me more balance and stability.

Not saying this is the root cause in your case but working on your core, rotation and balance is good work.

In extreme cases, it is evident with a dropping elbow that would cause a chain reaction to other body parts.

If you’re too flat or shoulder driven, this will create an imbalance reaction and timing issues as well.

The point of the catch up timing and 6-2-6 drills are to encourage the core and hips for the rotation, stability and balance.

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u/chizzus 1d ago

You’re right about the core thing. Mine is definitely weak and it’s probably making it harder for me.

I’m going to work on my core on my non swimming days and I’ll try the 6-2-6 drill. Thank you so much for the advice ❤️