Level: beginner/intermediate
We have already looked at the importance of the right position in the water for proper forward propulsion (Alternate breathing and perfectly balanced freestyle swimming).
Coordinating your arms and legs properly means that, on one hand, we move in a way that causes our hips to sink slightly and, on the other hand, our legs help keep our hips in line so that we have a more hydrodynamic position.
But that is not all, as well as using the thrust from our legs to cancel out this “sinking” effect, the time has come to reduce another factor: front resistance.
The only way to solve this problem is to “cut through” the water, reducing the amount of body surface preventing forward motion by means of the so-called ROLL.
So how do you perform this movement? How do you train it? Let’s take a look together.
The roll is an oscillating-rotating movement of the body around the central axis by simultaneously pushing downwards with your shoulders and hips as your hand completes the recovery phase.
Except during breathing, your head should be still throughout this movement, also rotating slightly to the side we are not breathing.
Your hand on the side of the shoulder that is guiding the rotation must catch the water properly to…
