As a coach I can pick if a swimmer has a running background within a split second. I can spot ‘runner’s hips’ from a mile away, and it reduces your speed more than any other mistake in freestyle.
‘Runner’s hips’ are when a swimmer is bending at the waist, making their rear end float but their legs sink. A huge amount of drag is made on your thighs and the power you can generate from your shoulder and hip rotation is lost.
There is three elements to fixing runner’s hips and they are:
- Head position
- Angle of the hips
- Ankle flexibility
When a swimmer is swimming with runner’s hips their head is looking too forward, they’re bending at the hips and their feet are pointing straight down. To fix this, the swimmer should be looking down and tucking their chin back, their body should be straight and their toes pointed. We go into more detail of how to fix runner’s hips in Effortless Swimming Membership Program
