Turns - Freestyle Flip Turn Sequence

Important Note to the Viewer

LESSONS: 5 VIDEOS

Turns - Freestyle Flip Turn Step #1

If you've always wanted to learn how to do a flip turn (and what swimmer doesn't?), here's a fun drill that is step 1 in the learning process. Over the next few weeks we'll present a 5-step sequence that will get you spinning and turning with ease - even if you thought you'd never be able to master this basic skill. Take your time with the process, have some fun with it, and in a few short weeks people will be coming to YOU for lessons. Why Do It: When doing a flip turn, one of the most common mistakes that swimmers make is using their hands and arms. Using the hands and arms may FEEL like the right thing to do, but it actually slows down your rotation. It also causes you to pause just before the pushoff... so that you can get your arms back in streamline. Your flip turns will be faster, more efficient, and actually EASIER if you take your arms out of the equation. Notice how this swimmer flips by using her abs rather than her hands -- and how this puts her arms in perfect position to STREAMLINE when her feet hit the wall. And notice how she flips STRAIGHT OVER rather than turning to one side. In this drill, you'll be using a noodle to help you learn to flip STRAIGHT OVER and without using your hands. Remember. This is Step 1 of a 5-part sequence. This will seem pretty basic, but just try it and please trust us that this will lead you where you want to go. How To Do It: 1. Get a noodle. Many pools have these on deck for water-aerobics classes but, if not, you can find one at your local discount store for a couple of dollars. 2. Stand in the shallow end of the pool and grab hold of the noodle at both ends. 3. Take a big breath and get ready to exhale water through your nose. 4. Push off the bottom of the pool and do a forward somersault INSIDE the noodle. Try to go STRAIGHT OVER and DON'T LET GO OF THE NOODLE. Try not to pull back with the noodle, or push down on it. Remember -- DON'T USE YOUR HANDS TO HELP YOU FLIP. 5. After you flip, stand back up and get ready to try it again. 6. Once you get the hang of this drill, try speeding it up. See how fast you can get around and get back on your feet. Troubleshooting: If your feet get caught in the noodle, you need to tuck up into a tighter ball and hold your tuck until you get all the way around. If you can't get all the way around, tuck your chin and look back between your legs as you start your somersault. Think about sending your energy down and AROUND rather than just DOWN. If you are holding just one end of the noodle when you stand up, you are probably not going straight over. HANG ON to the noodle with both hands. Don't let go. If you are getting water up your nose, start exhaling BEFORE you start your somersault. And then keep exhaling till you regain your feet. Try noseclips if things get really bad. But most important: JUST TRY IT. Stick with it... and stay tuned for Step 2.

Turns - Freestyle Flip Turn Step #2

Here's Step 2 in our 5-step sequence for learning the flip turn. Even if you already know how to flip, this drill is fun and will reinforce the key skill of using your abs rather than your hands to initiate the flip. Why Do It: In Step 1, you used a Styrofoam noodle to help master an important skill: flipping STRAIGHT OVER on your flip turn. In Step 2, you'll again use a noodle. this time to learn how to flip without using your hands and arms to get around. Here's what you're aiming for as the final result, a flip turn where you use your abs rather than your arms to get around. If you can keep your arms out of the equation, they'll be ready to help your STREAMLINE when your feet hit the wall. How To Do It: 1. Stand in the shallow end, just inside the flags and facing the wall. 2. Put the noodle BEHIND you and hold on to it at both ends. Make sure your arms are extended behind you, with the elbows locked. 3. Take a big breath, put your face in the water, and kick toward the wall. Keep your arms extended behind you. 4. When you get about 2 feet from the wall (or when you see the black "T" on the bottom of the pool), do a straight-over somersault. When you somersault, don't do ANYTHING with your arms. Just hang onto the noodle and flip STRAIGHT OVER. If you do this correctly, your arms should be above your head when your feet hit the wall and you can just push off. Don't worry about getting a big pushoff. All you need to do is go straight over and have the noodle above your head when your feet hit the wall. If you're too close or too far away from the wall, simply adjust the point at which you initiate your flip. Troubleshooting: If you have trouble with the drill, try it with two pull buoys. The pull buoys have more flotation than the noodle, and will imprint the feeling of WEIGHTLESS hands as you flip. Don't try to set any speed records on this drill. Just keep everything relaxed and easy. Go straight over, and your hands should be RIGHT THERE waiting for you. Have fun with Step 2,and stay tuned for Step 3.

Turns - Freestyle Flip Turn Step #3

Here's Step 3 in our 5-step sequence for learning the flip turn. Even if your flip turns are pretty good, this drill will help make them faster by making you more aware of your hands and arms. Why Do It: In Step 1, you used a Styrofoam noodle to help you tumble STRAIGHT OVER on your flip turn. In Step 2, you used a noodle and then two pull buoys to help you flip without using your hands and arms to get around. In Step 3, you'll take away the equipment, and see if you can flip straight over and without using your hands. By kicking into the wall rather than SWIMMING into the wall, you can stay relaxed, break some old habits, and keep the feeling of weightless hands that you learned in Step 2. How To Do It: 1. Stand in the shallow end, just inside the flags and facing the wall. 2. Put your hands behind you, with palms facing UP. 3. Take a big breath, put your face in the water, and kick toward the wall. Keep your arms extended behind you and IMAGINE that you are holding the noodle or the pull buoys in your hands. 4. When you get about 2 feet from the wall, do a straight-over somersault and push off on your back. 5. When you somersault, don't do ANYTHING with your arms. 6. If you do this correctly, your hands and arms should be above your head when your feet hit the wall. 7. Bring your hands quickly into streamline and push off on your back. If you started to use your hands, as this swimmer is doing... Go back to Step 2 and do a few more flips with the pull buoys, to get the feeling of WEIGHTLESS hands. Then try again with no equipment. Keep everything nice and relaxed. Don't worry about getting a big pushoff or a fast flip. Just think about your hands -- and pretend you're still holding the noodle or the pull buoys. If you find that you're heading straight to the bottom when you push off, check the position of your hands as you initiate the turn. This swimmer drops her hands as she initiates the flip, and she ends up too deep. Here, she keeps her hands more weightless and near the surface, and her feet hit the wall at a better depth. Keep these images in your mind as you practice. And come back for Step 4 next week.

Turns - Freestyle Flip Turn Step #4

Here's Step 4 in our 5-step sequence for learning the flip turn. Why Do It: Let's take a look at where we're headed. This young swimmer is executing a flip turn with WEIGHTLESS hands. She takes a final pull into the wall and then her hands do NOTHING, except get ready for a streamlined pushoff. In Step 3, you approached the wall with your hands trailing behind you. This was to keep you relaxed, and to MAKE SURE that you didn't use your hands to get around. Now, in Step 4, you can begin to add JUST A LITTLE BIT of speed going into the wall. Here's how to do it... How To Do It: 1. Push off in the shallow end with arms extended and eyes looking down. 2. Pull back with one arm... then pull back with the OTHER arm and kick head first into a STRAIGHT-OVER somersault. This is just like Step 3, but you're adding a bit of speed by pulling back with your arms. 3. After the second pull, SLIDE into your tuck, go straight over, and DON'T USE YOUR ARMS. 4. As you initiate the flip, your arms should be weightless and at your sides. As you finish the flip, your arms should be poised just above your head, ready to go into a tight streamline as soon as your feet hit the wall. 5. Push off on your back in streamline. Here's the sequence again. Push off with both arms extended. Pull back with one arm, then pull back with the other arm and kick head first into your tuck. Stay relaxed, and focus on weightless hands. If you're too close to the wall, or too far away as this swimmer is Adjust how soon, or how hard, you make your final pull. If you want to add a fine point to do this really well, look for your KNEES as you SOMERSAULT. By looking for your knees, you'll stay in a tighter tuck, and will flip FASTER with less effort. Keep practicing at a nice, easy pace, and stay tuned for Step 5.

Turns - Freestyle Flip Turn Step #5

Here's the fifth and final step in our learning sequence for flip turns. Why Do It: In Steps 1, 2, 3, and 4 of our flip-turn sequence, we've asked you to flip straight over and push off on your back. Pushing off on your back is a great way to learn the basics of the flip turn, but eventually you need to get onto your side so you can start swimming freestyle. In Step 5 you'll learn how to do that. How To Do It: Before we start the learning sequence for Step 5, let's look at where we're headed. Watch how this swimmer flips straight over to get a fast, clean somersault. But notice that as her feet hit the wall, the feet are angled slightly. When she DRIVES off the wall, this foot position will help her get angled onto her side, and this sets her up for the kicks that will take her into the breakout. Before we get to this week's how-to instruction, let's watch one more thing about this swimmer, her EYES. As her legs come over, her eyes look for the knees. She almost touches nose to knees as her feet hit the wall. This keeps her head right between her shoulders and sets her up for a super-tight streamline. OK. Here's how to do it. Before you try the actual flip turn with a torque at the end, take a minute to figure out where you want your feet to land on the wall. Start by hanging on to the wall with one hand. Place your feet on the wall with the toes pointed toward 10 o' clock or 11 o' clock rather than straight up. Take a moment to memorize how this foot position feels, then sink down and do a drop push. Push off not on your back, but just slightly on your side. If you're more comfortable on the other side, your toes would be pointed at 1 o' clock or 2 o' clock rather than 10 o' clock. This is how you will be pushing off the wall on Step 5 of our flip-turn sequence. Now let's try it in action. Stand in the shallow end, just under the flags and facing the wall. You can swim in this time, but keep it nice and relaxed. As you approach the wall, pull back with one arm, then pull back with the other arm and kick head first into your tuck. Go STRAIGHT OVER, but this time, just as your feet hit the wall, turn the feet SLIGHTLY so that when they land on the wall, the toes are pointed toward 11 o' clock or 1 o' clock, rather than straight up. Push off ALMOST on your back, but not quite. If your feet are angled on the wall, the drive will take you to your side. Stay streamlined as you dolphin or flutter kick into your breakout. Remember to flip STRAIGHT OVER and turn your feet at the last moment. In this clip, our swimmer torques her body too soon. She doesn't go straight over, and this makes her spin a little slower. Also remember to keep looking for your knees. This swimmer does all the right things, but as she gets ready to drive off the wall, she looks away from her knees and looks forward. This makes her arch her back and she doesn't get as good a streamline. The most important thing is to keep PRACTICING. This swimmer is still in the learning stage for flip turns. She's doing many things right, weightless hands, a straight-over flp, eyes look for the knees, and her head and arms are in great position for a streamline push. She goes a little too quickly to her side, but her feet are angled correctly and, with practice she'll learn to push off a bit more on her back. We hope you've enjoyed the series. Once you have the basics, remember that it's up to you to add the dozens and hundreds of PRACTICE turns that will make you faster.