What to pay attention to:
This drill is used to correct stroke mechanics in freestyle. You swim freestyle with one arm while the other arm is pinned down next to your leg. Additionally, you only breath on the opposite side of the arm that is moving. This helps make sure that your body is rotating enough on both sides as well as making sure you can breath on both sides.
Head position: While not breathing head should be in proper position. Your head should rotate so that one of your eyes is above the water and the other eye is below the water. This will force you to not over-rotate your head when breathing. A way to tell if you are rotating enough is to close the eye that is on the opposite side of your arm that is moving when you take a breath. That is, if your right arm is doing strokes, then close your left eye. When you turn your head to breath you should be able to take a breath while only seeing water. If you can see above the water then that means you are over-rotating your head.
Hand position: Start with your right hand doing the freestyle stroke with your left hand pressing against your thigh. Then switch the next lap.
Arm position: Right arm moves through your freestyle stroke making sure not to overcompensate for your left arm while the left arm is next to the hip. By not overcompensating you will force your body into the correct freestyle position.
Shoulder position: Your shoulders should continue to move as if you were swimming freestyle with both arms. By switching arms every length, you will develop a more balanced stroke as well as be able to maintain this balance while breathing to the other side.
Hip position: The hips should continue to move as if you were swimming freestyle with both arms.
Leg position: The legs should be aligned with the hips and the kick should be small, even, and a good pace.
Arm speed: Arms should move slightly slower than the normal freestyle speed. During this drill focus not on finishing the drill but maintaining correct head and body position.
Breathing: The main focus of this drill is being able to breath correctly on the other side of the arm that is moving. Try breathing every stroke at first to get a feel for how the body rotates and then try breathing every other stroke to get a sense of how the body moves when you aren’t breathing.
What things mean:
In freestyle as in other strokes taking a breath actually slows down your speed. To maintain speed it is necessary to work on correct breathing techniques. In addition to getting better at breathing techniques it is import to incorporate the correct breathing into the stroke. This drill accomplishes.
How things work:
In not rotating your head too much (1 goggle in / 1 goggle out of the water), your body stays relaxed without having your shoulders follow your head. A way to feel this out of the water is to rotate your head to your left until your left ear is over your left shoulder. Up until this point your head will turn based on your neck. After your left ear goes past your left shoulder your shoulders will follow. In the same way when you are swimming freestyle you want to make sure your head movement doesn’t move your body position.
How things might turn out:
By doing this drill and focusing in on proper head position during the breath and proper technique while swimming freestyle with one arm, you will be able to improve how fast and efficiently you can take a breath during freestyle, you will be able to maintain correct body alignment throughout the freestyle stroke whether you are breathing (on the left or the right) or not breathing, and you will be able to
breath in a more balanced way on both sides of your body. These three main improvements will help you become a more balanced and better swimmer.
Fun bit:
Instead of breathing to the opposite side every stroke or every other stroke, take a stroke and then a breath, followed by two strokes and a breath, then three strokes then a breath, then two strokes and a breath, and one stroke and a breath. Follow this 1, 2, 3, 2, 1 pattern through out the whole drill.
Trivia bit:
Unlike backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly, Freestyle is an unregulated swimming style used in swimming competitions according to the rules of FINA.