How To Develop Hip-Driven Freestyle Technique

Over the holidays, I gave a friend of mine The Mastering Freestyle Program for him to try. Now in 4 sessions he dropped his time from a 1:40 down to 1:36 for his 100 meter pace. And dropped his stroke count from 42 down to a 34.

00:11 – 1:40 down to 1:36/100m pace
00:15 – Stroke Count from 42 to 34/50m
00:22 –  Hip Driven vs Shoulder Driven
00:42 – How to Develop Muscle Memory For Hip Driven Freestyle

Hip Driven vs Shoulder Driven

The reason he’s been able to do that is because he’s learned how to use a hip driven technique rather than a shoulder driven technique. So if you look at 2 types of freestyle, you’ve got the shoulder driven technique which is very good for sprinting but it’s a lot more taxing on your arms. You’ve got a hip driven technique where you’re rotating your hips a bit more and you use that to propel yourself forward.

How to Develop Muscle Memory

The first two modules of the Mastering Freestyle Program, they teach you the muscle memory. They give you the muscle memory to learn how to use your body rotation to drive forward. So it takes the pressure off your shoulders and it makes your swimming a whole lot easier and will generally make your swimming a lot faster. If you look at this video of Sam Sheppard swimming, you’ll see he uses a hip driven technique rather than a shoulder driven technique. You can see that he rotates his hips quite a bit and he uses that to drive forward and he gets that little bit of extra length rather than swimming flat. If you look at a barge it’s wide, it takes a lot of energy to drive forward and that’s because it’s not very streamlined.

Are You A Barge Or A Yacht?

It’s just like a swimmer swimming flat. But if you look at a yacht, it’s streamlined, and it will travel through the water a whole lot easier. So if you think about your swimming that way, if you’re going use a hip driven technique, you’ll be on your side more, you’ll be more streamlined, and you’ll be able to save a lot of energy.

Developing A Hip Driven Freestyle

That’s why the first 2 modules of the Mastering Freestyle Program are all about getting the muscle memory to learn how to use a hip driven freestyle technique. You’ll find it a lot easier and you’ll take the pressure off your shoulders and you’ll be able to swim a whole lot better for distance. So if you’re a 400+ meter swimmer or you’re a triathlete or then the Mastering Freestyle Program, the first 2 modules, have a look at them and I’ll really help you out with your freestyle.