When swimming freestyle, one of the main problems beginners have is the lack of rotation in the stroke. Here, we will analyze why it is important to rotate.
Benefits of Shoulder Rotation
1. Prevent Injuries.
The main benefit of rotating is to prevent shoulder injury. When you rotate, your shoulder is in a better position to recover.
If you don’t rotate, then you will be overextending the next part of your shoulder. If you do rotate, the whole arm will be more relaxed, and you will have more power to use where it matters most; the pull.
While your head is steady, your whole body is rotating, except when you are breathing.
2. Easier Breathing
It is a lot easier to breathe when your body rotates. So if you are having trouble breathing in freestyle, the lack of rotation might be one reason why.
When you breathe, your head rotates with your body, allowing your mouth to stick out of the surface to take a breath.
3. Better Position to Pull Water
Another benefit is that when you rotate, you are in a better position to pull water using bigger muscles.
When you position your body like this, your back and chest muscles will be ready to pull, as opposed to just using your shoulder muscles.
The bigger the muscles, the more powerful your pull will be, and the faster you will swim.
4. Smoother Stroke
The last benefit is that you’ll be able to swim smoother. By rotating, you will be able to glide more.
The more you glide effectively, the fewer strokes you will need to do per lap.
With your core muscles, you will be applying a torque force to move forward. Your rotation might feel exaggerated. But notice that you can almost touch your cheeks with your shoulders.
That’s still a normal amount of rotation. Just make sure your arms are not crossing the midline of your body. All of this to say, I strongly suggest that you rotate when you swim freestyle.
Give these techniques a shot and share your thoughts with us!
Thank you!