Flip Ultra Advice?

Any Flip-turns advice?

• Any advice on how to make perfect flip-turns suitable for freestyle sprints (50-100)? Thank you.

• Answer:

  Here is a very detailed explanation of how to do a flip turn. I'd highly suggest that you practice what I've written a few times in front of a mirror. You might also want to print this out before you go to the mirror. First of all, as you are coming into the wall, keep your head down (chin tucked in) in the water ... do NOT look forward at the wall. Looking forward is a very common and terrible mistake. Look at the BOTTOM of the turn target. You must glide into the wall with your hands at your hips (chin tucked in) however, the shorter the glide the better. So, your glide should only be about 2-6 inches long. A lot will happen at the end of that glide. You might want to practice the following instructions for doing the somersault aspect of the turn out away from the wall so you don't have to worry about being too close or too far away. Do the next few things sequentially, but so close together they almost occur at the same time. As you get to the wall (or practice away from the wall), with your chin tucked in and at the end of your 2-6 inch glide, when you think your head is going to hit the wall ... DUCK! As you duck do a dolphin kick. As you do that dolphin kick (with your hands at your hips) you turn both palms of your hands so that they are facing the bottom of the pool (palms facing the bottom is absolutely CRITICAL -- many swimmers will turn one hand, but not both). As you curl at your waist your head goes to where your feet WERE. As your head comes around press on the water with the palms of your hands (remember, palms are facing the bottom of the pool) - it is almost as if you are pulling the water from the top surface of the pool toward the bottom of the pool. If you do this properly, your head is going to come around to your hands and your hands will end up around your head or your face. It will feel as if your hands are doing very little. If your hands are not turned as I described, you’ll do your turn improperly and you'll feel one (or both) of your hands waving or swirling around in the water out away from your body. Still (and always) keep your chin tucked in. Your feet should end up about 1.5 feet under the surface of the water and you’ll be mostly on your back. The moment before your feet hit the wall, begin your push off. Your toes will be facing upward toward the sky and tilted either left or right. Which ever side your toes face, that is the side you'll twist onto AFTER your feet leave the wall. That means as you push off the wall, you’ll be on your side and then twist onto your stomach after you push off. Still (and always) keep your chin tucked in. All of this time, you MUST keep your head down (chin tucked in) - with hope, that aspect of the turn is very clear! If you keep your chin tucked in, with the exception of your hands being stacked and your arms squeezing your head behind your ears, you will already be in streamline position. All you'll have to do is stretch your arms out and you're gone! You already know how to push off the wall.