Ever wondered how to do a tumble turn? Most adult swimmers do not know how to do a tumble turn and instead opt for touch turns which are much slower. Tumble turns can seem intimidating or scary if you have never tried it before, but with practice they are really not that hard to do and will take at least a couple of seconds off your times. Tumble turns are also great for activating your muscles, it’s like doing a crunch every time you get to the wall, so will help you work on building your core muscles which will also make your swimming stronger and faster.
To do a perfect tumble turn, swim freestyle into the wall, when you are really close to the wall and can almost touch the wall with your hand flip over your head and land your feet on the wall. Don’t worry about hitting your head! Most people are scared they will hit their head and turn to far away and completely miss the wall. Another tip is to make yourself as small as possible with your knees tight into your chest so you can turn round as fast as possible. Once you’ve successfully landed your feet on the wall, you should be lying on your back facing up, you can push off the wall underwater and turn back onto your stomach (in your streamline position of course!).
For more help, ask Katie or Jo in your next Lap Time or Advance Your Style session and they will be more than happy to help you out! ?