@markus_marthaler: Most swimmers have been told to relax in the water. Good advice, but only half of it. Relax the wrong bits and the stroke falls apart. Freestyle needs both at the same time. Some parts have to stay firm. Your hand and forearm when they hold the water. Your core, lightly switched on so the body turns as one piece. Your ankles, so the kick doesn't flop. Let any of those go soft and you lose grip, shape or rhythm. Everything else should be as loose as you can get it. Jaw, neck, shoulders on the way over, the hand during the recovery. Tension there does nothing for you. It just burns energy you need for the pull. The tricky part is that tension creeps in without asking. You get a bit tired or a bit short of air and you start to tighten. Shoulders come up, the jaw clamps, the stroke gets shorter. Breathing gets harder, so you tighten even more. Quick check for your next set. Halfway down a length, run through it from the top. Jaw loose? Shoulders down? Recovery hand floppy? Let go of anything that doesn't need to be working, but keep the catch and the core exactly as they are. Firm where it pushes water. Loose everywhere else. Where do you notice tension creeping in when a set gets hard?

markus_marthaler

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Friday 16 October 2026 14:17:08 GMT