Just how does anyone do freestyle swimming?? Tips needed

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GordonG Jun 2021 3:05pm, 4 Jun 2021 8,596 posts	0 GordonG here's an issue I've noticed for quite some time - anyone got any thoughts on it? when i swim in a pool - and it doesn't matter which venue - it always feels easier to swim deep end to shallow, rather than shallow to deep. On D to S end, i get about half way down the length and suddenly everything feels like it's clicking into place - I swim easier, breathing feels ok, etc. But when I turn and go S to D end, every stroke feels like i getting further in to thicker and thicker water. I imagine that the water in the bottom of the deep end has a greater pressure than the shallow end - is that the reason? But why should that make a difference, given that i only swim along the surface bit? Or is it completely my imagination?!?
Nellers Jun 2021 3:57pm, 4 Jun 2021 38,611 posts	0 Nellers Water pressure due to depth below you shouldn't make any difference. The pressure comes from the weight of the column of water above you, so the deep end only has higher pressure at the bottom. Completely imagination might be taking it too far, even if it is a psychological effect. Do you (or did you when you were a kid) have fears about the deep end? There is also going to be a small current in the pool, as they draw the water out and through the filtration plant, then feed it back in. In my experience it usually feeds in in the shallow and out at the deep but I've no idea if that's the same in all pools. The effect in terms of "swimming upstream" would be pretty small though.
jda Jun 2021 4:18pm, 4 Jun 2021 10,275 posts	0 jda Afraid it’s your imagination unless as Nellers says there’s a big pumped current which you’d normally feel close to the vent. It may be that you feel to be going slower as you don’t see the bottom going past your eyes so clearly?
rf_fozzy Jun 2021 4:30pm, 4 Jun 2021 14,663 posts	0 rf_fozzy It's the Shark.
TROSaracen Jun 2021 4:36pm, 4 Jun 2021 23,340 posts	0 TROSaracen It’s a psychological trick. Going D to S you mind is tricked into thinking you speed up as the bottom gets nearer, perspective is that you are speeding up. Things appear to be moving past you quicker. Think of looking up into the sky, a plane passing overhead at 30,000 feet looks slow, if it was at 300 feet it would look like 450 mph. Your mind, having been tricked into thinking you are speeding up with no extra effort can only conclude ‘everything has clicked’.
GordonG Jun 2021 4:43pm, 4 Jun 2021 8,597 posts	0 GordonG Nellers, I did wonder about the filtration as it usually does seem to be at the deep end. Thanks all for your comments - TROS, that's especially helpful. I'm very happy for it to be my imagination, at least that means dealing with it is within my control
The Pin Lady Aug 2021 12:59pm, 5 Aug 2021 612 posts	0 The Pin Lady So daft question here. I seem to have got a mental block with doing more than 50 m front crawl. I've been doing 100m breaststroke as a warm up and then 50m fc and 50m bs. (total distance 1100m per session) But I seem to stop myself just trying to go further on the fc. I was thinking about doing 25m bs and then 75m fc (I'm sure it is turning round at the shallow end which is holding me back) What has anyone else done to increase their fc distance?
EvilPixie Aug 2021 1:09pm, 5 Aug 2021 27,007 posts	0 EvilPixie what about 50m rest 30 secs then 50m? so you break it up
The Pin Lady Aug 2021 2:10pm, 5 Aug 2021 613 posts	0 The Pin Lady Thanks Pix. I'll give that a go, when I am in next and stop doing the bs completely for that session and see how it goes. And then decrease the rest time as my brain gets used to me just doing fc? The daft thing is that I can do 75m and sometimes even 100m fc without stopping - when I turn my brain off and stop worrying about carrying on, which makes me think that the problem is my head not my body! I have a coaching session tomorrow and usually having someone standing at the end telling me what to do really helps.
The Pin Lady Aug 2021 12:54pm, 27 Aug 2021 625 posts	0 The Pin Lady Feel I have finally made progress today. Did 1 length bs/ 1 length fc, 2 x bs and 2x fc, 3 x bs and 3 x fc and 4 x bs , 4 x fc, 3 x bs, 3 x fc, 2 bs, 2 x fx, 1x bs, 1 x fc and it felt good! I think I have got over that mind problem of doing more than 50m fc. It almost felt meditative which was good after a crap morning at work!!