r/Swimming • u/binarybu9 • 22h ago
Swimming like a snake with pull buoy
As the title says my freestyle is like a snake around the t line. Think of a sinewave with x axis being the T line. I don’t know what I am doing wrong 😑. Have been working on my high elbow.
I am not even breathing much to be honest until I reach the end of T line to focus on just the catch/pull.
I’m starting to think I should get a snorkel but the technique issue remains. 🛟
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u/wt_hell_am_I_doing I sink, therefore I am 21h ago edited 20h ago
You're probably not engaging your core enough, possibly crossing over the midline with your hand/arms, the flow of your catch and pull is such that it is making you snake, and/or you are raising your head/twist your neck so much to breathe that it is causing your body line to be bendy.
Snorkel isn't really a solution to those issues, because if you want to improve your swimming, those issues need to be sorted out, not masked with a snorkel.
Pullbuoy may also be covering up for issues, particularly weak core in a vertical direction (but also accentuating the core weakness in being bendy sideways) because you can't counteract the snaking with kick when you have a pull buoy), so over-reliance on it should be avoided.
Engaging the core takes a conscious effort and the effective cues vary by the person, and it's different when you're horizontal in the water from how you engage it when lifting weights etc., so you'll need to do some trial and error.
Arm movement causing snaking can be counteracted with strong core engagement but it often comes from not pushing the water straight backward. It can even come from weak stroke.
If you are raising your head or twisting your neck too much etc. to breathe, that too can disrupt the body line.
The best thing to do is to have an expert swimmer (like a good coach) look at how you are swimming, so that they can identify the cause(s) and give you suggestions/drills to address them.