SCAQ swim tip from Erik Hochstein and Rada Owen

Rada Owen; Olympian, NCAA champ and more, is the featured swimmer in the David Marsh swim video: Swimming Faster: Freestyle. She also holds a management position at SCAQ. Here is a swim tip from a SCAQ email:

RADA OWEN'S SWIM TIP: When swimming freestyle, keep your head and neck still and in one position until you turn to breath. The head acts like a steering wheel of sorts; if it is bobbing and moving all around, your body will follow, causing resistance and unnecessary energy expenditure. Keeping your head and neck still will help your body to rotate properly around its long axis (head to feet) in a controlled manner. A proper rotation will allow for further extension with each stroke which will in turn help you pull more water and move with more control and ease. A great way to work on this is to pretend you are wearing a neck brace that inhibits any neck/head movement while you swim. That is the first step on your way to a controlled, efficient and fast stroke!

The picture above is from the site Swim Clips-Dot-Com. The article is entitled Swim Like Rada: [Link]

Erik Hochstein won the bronze medal in the 4x200m Freestyle Relay at the 1988 Summer Olympics. He was a member of the West German National Team, He swims for Team TYR and holds many USMS records. Here is his swim tip:

ERIK HOCHSTEIN'S SWIM TIP:Breathe Low -- Yes, we need the air to breathe and for the most part people should be breathing to one side on every arm pull to that side - but the turning of the head should be kept as low as possible. I see people that - while breathing - can admire the stars in the sky during an evening workout and others that can see the planes above their heads during the day. In this case - less is always better - and here is a quick and easy self-check: close the eye on the side you are breathing for a 50 and keep the other eye open -- if you see anything above the surface of the water, your head is turning too high.