What is the Importance of Body Rotation in Freestyle Swimming?

Question

I'm working on perfectioning my freestyle swimming technique. Would you please elaborate on why body rotation is necessary and how it assists during breathing?

Answer 1

In freestyle swimming body rotation offers an advantage of enabling you to breathe better without raising your head up which can result in drag. If you incorporate your body rotation as part of the breathing motion it will minimize the strain on your neck since there is space created for your head to turn to the side to inhale air. The head should remain stationary and directed to the horizontal plane with the neck stretched in such a way as not to tilt in any direction, while the shoulders and to a less extent, the hips and feet, should perform this rotation. Body rotation can be practiced without water where a broom stick or pole is used to position the head and keep it steady while rotating.

Comments

I read this, practiced the rotation a little bit, head straight only shoulder to be rotated while breathing. Rotation during the recovery breathing is the key. Little, though, but see improvement in my swimming today. I am a scary swimmer, gasping for breath with every 20 sec of swimming. But not going to give up, nonetheless.
Thank you very much.

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Awesome content..very helpful and helpful hints about what we can do to help ourselves on dry land by rotating with broom to practice that action outside of the water

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really helpful. ive been trying to breathe without doing a rotation

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thank you!, I ll practice first rotation and then breathing

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Great. It's all about rotation that I can't catch my breath after some distance. Thank you for the useful content. You guy are great.