The Importance of Video Review

One of the most humbling things about swimming is that what you think you’re doing in the water often isn’t what you’re actually doing. You might think your catch or timing or kick is perfectly fine but it very well might not be.

I received a reminder of this truth in August after reviewing underwater video of my freestyle for the first time in quite a while.

The first flaw was somewhat easy to pick up on. When I reached my hand forward after entering the water, my hand would go up. Because I then had to press down with my hand to get into a great catch position, I was expending energy and wasting time.

The second mistake was much more problematic: The timing of my hip rotation and my stroke was off. This left me with a galloping, lopsided stroke (which isn't necessarily a bad thing) and with a sore left quad.

I had no idea I was making my first mistake, and my sore left quad told me that something was wrong with my stroke but I wasn’t sure what. After seeing it on video, I knew what needed to change and, with a few drills from my coach, how I could go about changing it.

That’s the power of video stroke analysis.

Swimming is a sport defined by precision. Small mistakes—whether it’s a mistimed stroke, a dropped elbow, or breathing too late—compound over the thousands upon thousands of yards we swim. Correcting those mistakes can make a difference in a race but also keep you healthy and enjoying the sport.

The important thing is making time for video stroke analysis. We can get into a pattern of saying we work out these days of the week at these times and each workout is a certain number of yards. Spending 20 minutes one workout isn’t a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but we might not want to dedicate that time to it because it’s not part of our routines.

If you’ve never watched yourself swim—or, like me, it’s been years since the last time you did—I can’t recommend it strongly enough.

If you have a friend with a GoPro, ask them to record some underwater footage of you swimming, then watch it on a large screen so you can see the details of your stroke. Coaches can be a big help during this process because they understand stroke mechanics. Or you can check out USMS’s video stroke analysis at usms.org/strokeanalysis.

Video stroke analysis bridges the gap between what you think you’re doing and what you’re actually doing. Seeing my mistakes was an eye-opener. I’ve got some things to work on until my next video stroke analysis session, and I’m excited to keep improving.