Keep your head down
8/20/03
There are three times to keep your head down when swimming:
1. When pushing off wall – Keep your head sandwiched between your arms. If there is space between your arms and your ears, you are probably just tired. If you have flexible shoulders, you can get even more streamlined by squeezing your arms even closer together, and moving your head slightly below your arms.
2. When swimming without breathing – We get in the bad habit of trying to watch where we are going. Instead, look at the bottom of the pool. Let your head "float" in line with your spine. The improved streamline is significant.
3. When breathing – We tend to tilt our head to get a breath, rather than keeping the head in line with the spine. Head tilt gives you a false sense that you have to contort your neck to breathe. If you tilt your head, you can get your eyes out of the water and still have your mouth sunk below water level. Instead, rotate your body and turn your head to get your mouth just high enough to breath. Try keeping your lower ear in contact with your lower arm.
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