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Mistake 1: 2:39 Mistake 2: 4:24 Mistake 3: 5:53 Bonus mistakes: 7:20

ARRRRG!!!!!!!!! I was a competitive swimming my entire childhood (80s & 90s). Everything you said not to do were the techniques my coaches drilled into me. I had to have surgery on both my shoulders in '15, and just got back into swimming in this last year. The body mechanics I had drilled in 10s of thousands of miles in my youth came back instantly...and new shoulder pain came with it. I know you said the study was in the early 2000s, but I feel completely lied to by my coaches because they didn't know any better. Really frustrating... I'm definitely glad I found this video. I'm going to give all your tips a try this next week and see how it goes. Hopefully this solves the pain and inflammation...🤞 Thx & blessings

Thanks to all these videos, I have gone from barely making it 50yds to doing 600yds non-stop. Thank you!

Excellent stuff. This is one to rewatch every so often down the line to check yourself

Useful tips, thanks for sharing your research! I've had left shoulder pain, I find (only from my experience though) that unilateral breathing often leads to contralateral shoulder pain, probably due to a difference in the catch phase when breathing to the opposite side. Getting used to breathing on both sides during training sessions helps greatly, even if you keep your preferred breathing side for competitions.

I want to first thank you for your very helpful video. I have shoulder pain, only on my right arm, to avoid it I try thank to your videos are these things: Make sure my face is looking down when my hand passes my head in the recovery. Tilt and stretch my arm longer once the arm is in the water. Lower my arm a little while stretching it instead of trying to keep it close to the surface. It works most times, but sometimes I just get a sore shoulder maybe because I am not paying attention to all these things at the same time. I try to swim between 6 and 7k per week. I’m from Spain, I am a 43 year old woman and I’ve been swimming for six years now. Best decision ever! Your videos help me so much with my technique I can’t thank you enough.

I literally went to the physio yesterday about this exact issue and this is exactly what he said. Good advice 👍

@kristinetimmons3823

3 жыл бұрын

You lost me on the tilt angle. I can relate to the other four points. Thank you.

I learnt to swim when I was 54 (2014) and would swim regularly for a year and a half and then stopped. I started swimming again in May 2022 and a couple weeks ago I seemed to have pulled something in my right arm. I've not yet made an appointment to see my doctor I think because I'm worried he's going to tell me to stop for awhile, I do take timeout now whenever I feel too tired or if I think my arm needs the rest, I had booked for 2 hours today but i cancelled because i know my arm needed the rest. But I'll be going tomorrow because I try to go to the baths 6 days because after a life of doing very physical sports swimming is the only thing I can do that doesn't cause me a whole lot of pain and is a form of therapy for my joints.

One of your most helpful videos. Just by luck I managed to get rid of my shoulder pain a couple years ago by reducing my internal shoulder rotation and fixing my tilt angle but I didn't know what I was doing or why. My doctor suggested getting into another activity for exercise but i started watching the strokes of other swimmers who looked good and seemed to be pretty efficient. The changes I made just felt better. I'm an older, non-elite swimmer and look forward to getting back into the pool after covid to focus on the pointers you give us here. Many thanks.

This and Greg's stroke analysis are great videos!. They really helped me realizing that I had an overreach in my stroke. I noticed the improvement in a 3km swim right away, cut down 20 seconds just like that in a day, and I could repeat the effort the day after, with no pain and less fatigue. Thanks!

Fantastic video, wished this came out 2 years ago. Excellent additional points as well (especially overreaching). I had this issue and it was because I misinterpreted what I saw elite swimmers do, where they might look like they overreach but in reality the perfect technique, combined with their speed and underwater camera views make it easy to misjudge or misread the long and efficient strokes for overreaching. Another reason why one should not try to think of a particular look when swimming and instead, try to improve a little more naturally. Lastly, the extreme high elbow recovery mistake; oh how great Phelps made that look and how much pain it brought me XD. Fantastic video, thank you.

excellent video!! Thank You!!! Trying to avoid shoulder injury!!!

Excellent presentation. Thank you.

Thanks for the videos. I'm having some minor shoulder pain lately and going to try to improve my technique with your tips and hopefully this helps. Thanks for the video!

Thank you so much! I needed this!

Awesome video as usual! I always learn something from your videos. I had shoulder pain and my main issue was not engaging my lats. One coach asked me if my back was ever sore after a swim workout and I said no. This let me know that I was not using my back enough. I focused on engaging my lats with the help of some dry land exercises and my shoulder issues went away. By the way, one great shoulder therapy that helped is hanging. I just hung from a pull-up bar as long as I could.

Great video. I've had left rotator cuff impingement for years. Mine is aggravated by applying too much pressure in the catch, rather than going "slow to fast," as Brenton instructs. Also, using a hip driven freestyle helps, focusing in the Sarape Effect, also helps. Best stretch for opening space in shoulder to reduce impingement: grasp the underside of a table or a bar with your palm up standing adjacent to the table or bar. With a straight arm, lean to the opposite direction, applying upward pressure on the hand which remains stable, pulling the shoulder slightly out of the socket. Hold for about 30 seconds, and you will find great relief for impingement pain. I do this throughout my swim, holding the lane line with my palm up and leaning away from it. Thanks, Brenton!

@dweller6065

3 жыл бұрын

Very, very similar to my situation and experience. I developed a level 2 rotator cuff impingement years ago after falling off a mountain bike and landing heavily on my elbow, which transferred a shock to my right shoulder. When i subsequently went swimming I got inflammation in the shoulder joint. I had quite a bit of physio done on it, but I the physio was a rugby head who had no real understanding of the mechanics of the swimming stroke; and how the nature of my movement was contributing to the problem. So I did quite a bit of research and trial and error. Sounds similar to your experience I found what helped was greater rotation from side to side (the hip driven freestyle), and not position my shoulders as horizontally flat in the water in the catch, pull and recovery stages. I avoid outright freestyle sprints, or specifically, avoid drills that emphasize shoulder load. No, no way my right shoulder will handle the additional load using hand paddles.

@JR-zw2vb

3 жыл бұрын

so you're pulling it down and away from the body?

@TheSpiritOfTheWest

2 жыл бұрын

You’re a lifesaver.

@pcmjpcmj6854

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for posting information about this stretch. Certainly has helped me since I started using it a week or so ago after reading your comment.

@vp87448

4 ай бұрын

Anyone has a video of this exercise? I have exactly the same injury I think 😢

Thanks for breaking this down for us!

Thank you for doing the research

Very good walkthrough and great points - thanks!

thank you! excellent translation of research. and the last two especially - exactly what i have been figuring out for myself (after months out of the water and physical therapy) - that's exactly what i've been finding as a way to not hyper-extend while engaging the water / just by noticing what hurts and what doesn't. (my personal data collection completely jibes with your instruction - especially the last two of the three main points.)

very well explained... helped me a lot , thanks for the video man !!!

Excellent. Im living with some right shoulder soreness. I will keep this in mind.

Awesomely precise and comprehensive video🙏

Thanks for this , will give these a try. I’ve been battling now for 1 year with impingement. It started off doing quite a few push with personal trainer , then went to swim a hard paddle set and that triggered. Went for ultrasound 2 weeks ago and have bursitis in shoulder . Been trying lots of things with rotator cuff exercises and activating the shoulder blade because according to Phisios I’ve seen is that it wasnt firing properly. Will give your tips a try . It’s such a frustrating injury , and yes paddles make it a lot worse. Thanks

Great video, well explained. I came to swimming a couple of years ago and have struggled with right shoulder pain aggravated by low elbow catch/pull caused by over-reaching which I'm slowly working on.. I do have quite a high arm recovery also so will monitor this. Pain is always after swimming (not during) so it's always tricky remembering what causes the discomfort.. I'm going to get some bands which hopefully will help with the catch/pull.

Thanks so much for these fixes. I've been dealing with shoulder pain for months, and after seeing the first mistake, I realized I was over-rotating. Since correcting this three months ago, I've been completely pain-free. :)

Amazing stuff! Your doing a very good job, love the podcast as well

A good plain English. Useful. All I need now is to remember the tips when actually IN the pool.

Excellent, a must view video!

Another great video. Thanks allot.some good points to consider 👍

Thanks for this. Since our pool reopened, I have been having shoulder pain - just went for a swim focusing on these common mistakes, and my shoulder pain wasn't aggravated. I will keep practising your suggestions!!!

Amazingly useful video!) Thanks!)

thank you for all the useful tips

Excellent 1. During Catch, Arm should not over-rotate internally 2. During Recovery, Don't lift Elbow too high 3. While entering Hand into water, arm should not extend fully, but once hand is inside water Addl Tips from My Experience 4. During initial recovery, avoid shifting/ tilting your body before recovery elbow, leaving it behind. Lead body shift/ tilt with Elbow, as it recovers. 5. While swimming at low pace for long distance, pay attention to any discomfort in body, you must be doing something wrong, because if you're technique is good then you feel sleepy

Thank you this is great. You've given me a lot to work with and consider while doing my swim later today.

Yeah always had right shoulder cuff issues. Partly cos in reaching I partly dislocate my shoulder. I stopped swimming for 15 years because of it. I have just got in the water again and following some of your tips. I taking it real slow because I love swimming but just want to eliminate the issues with my stroke. Your resources are unreal thanks.

I had impingement issues too, lately came across some videos from the ocean walker which I found interesting, although it is still a bit difficult to master the body rotation since I am no professional swimmer. This are good advice too. Thanks for the video.

Thanks for sharing and commenting this article. They also mention unilateral breathing as a factor and more shoulder impingement on the breathing side. I have impingement and breathe on the right hand side so I will try breathing more on the other side.

Suffered from swimming's shoulder three years ago and it stopped me from swimming for probably three months. my swimming is self taught so my technique is way off, i swam like around 3K everyday with bad technique therefore, yeah, came down with the injury. Thank you Brandon for your detailed explanation and it actually helped me a lot now. I think my problem is with rotation and extension, so i incorpationed single arm drill and six beat kick free style with snokle on and i can feel my shoulder is less tense than before. Again, thank you so much and stay safe!

great post

Thanks!

Great advice thanks. I am recovering from a broken collarbone/shoulder subluxation. I have just resumed swimming , I noticed that naturally to avoid pain, I do what you are advising, for instance the recovery not too close to the body, the entry. I guess pain is a good indicator of bad move. It helped me to protect my other shoulder... Thanks for your great videos.

I´ve felt some sort of tiredness in my shoulders when applying pressure too early in the catch or when trying to set a high elbow catch early and with a lot of force. I´ve been recommended to work on technique everyday and to learn how to swim slowly to avoid injuries in the process of correcting technique. Thanks for creating such good content!!

Hi Brenton, I've suffered from frozen shoulder and impingement for some time and it has really restricted my free style. Since focusing on technique from your videos, my shoulder pain is completely gone and I am now able to swim freestyle for my whole 1K session (in 50m & 100m sets). I still have a way to go and this video really emphasises where I need to focus to prevent any further injury as I progress. Thanks for great content, Cheers

@jingying4375

Жыл бұрын

Nice lecture

@bronsonbrockschmidt4963

Жыл бұрын

I don’t understand how to correctly implement what he’s saying, what did you do?

@StevenLudmon

Жыл бұрын

​@@bronsonbrockschmidt4963 I think the main thing was to use a pull buoy so I could let my legs trail which let me focus on lifting my elbows​.

If I had this video 2 years ago, I wouldn't be sitting on a bench for a year now; still recovering from frozen shoulder. Age, bad strokes and forms, too much impact etc = damage.

Thanks for the clarification ! And for the what the ... reading and translating 😆 Once again a very useful video !

Thank you very much

Brent Hayden’s swim secrets helped with my shoulder discomfort! Straight arm recovery!! ZERO shoulder discomfort!! 👏

Спасибо!

Best swimming videos around

You are correct with your suggestions, my shoulder pain was caused by over reaching

Ok. Studiesd video again and figured out how to implement external rotation. Took awhile yet in the end though, grateful for your serious and sincere video. [68 YO - life long swimmer.] Fixed for the moment. Thank you!

great stuff,thanks a lot from Greece,also something from my experience very important,breath bilateral!!waiting to comment on that!!i wish a healthy year for all!

Well said. I think the exaggerated “high elbow” tip from a coach, got my right shoulder.

thanks for sharing report finding. wanted to reduce swim times and exaggerated high elbow catch with internally rotated left shoulder while applying more power. started to get impingement took NSAIDs. reduced power during set-up of catch and impingement pain has gone away. stopped NSAIDs too. noticed if tumbs go into water first during recovery, higher chances of internally rotating shoulders. thought it was a easier to get high elbow catch. didn't realise caused internal rotation. good to know points on external rotation during recovery and tilt angle.

This is really an awesome channel.

Thanks for the vid. I always twig my left shoulder from sighting in open water.

Thankyou

Good video. Guilty at times of 1,2 & 3. Especially the over internal rotation on the catch & suffer shoulder pain in the right shoulder as a consequence. I don´t over reach on entry though.

You would be very helpful to violinists, violists, and cellists (bowed strings). You athletes as well as dancers have much better awareness of injury prevention. We musicians have only started to address this on a mass basis in the past 10 years. Many are still using their bodies in a way that isn't sustainable. Why I mentioned the bowed strings? Because our work demands asymmetrical use of upper body and our necks and shoulders bear the grunt of the workload. Many musicians will end up with symptoms in their hands and fingers, mistakenly thinking that is the location of the issue.

I was doing the recovery too close to the body. So I actually corrected this yesterday before watching this video. The long break because of Covid 19 has led me to forget these swim stroke details. Good video. Can you do one for folks dealing with arthritis? Like tips that might help us sufferers limit pain. Or things we may find helpful to limit pain and possible injury.

A hugely important video. It is very true that not to externally rotate and drop the elbow, and also to get the best catch one can force his body in a very unnatural way. Arm movement should be technical but also artistic I believe. As the channel name it should be"effortless", gliding at the best angles according to mobility levels.The other points also have to be kept in mind till they get automatic. Valuable information.Thanks a lot!

I think im developing strain in my shoulders, thanks for covering this up! I really need good technique

Thanks for the video. Just in time. I am currently experiencing the shoulder pain during swimming. It's kinda strange because I used the same technique every time (swim 3 times per week) but the pain came just few days back. The pain less hurt when I pull easier and slower.

Pools were closed for a month here in the UK and my shoulder has been absolutely fine just with gym, soon as pools open again and I swam twice this week my right shoulder is really hurting. My technique must be way off but I really am trying to follow all of the advice in all your vids

nice vid mate! kudos on interpreting biomechanical lingo ;)

Rotator cuff and scapula exercises are aways a must in any sport that involves shoulders

@larrymarlin7365

3 жыл бұрын

Dr John Kirsch had published a booklet on how to cure impingement it is now in its 5 printing and available on line The cure is hanging just for 10 seconds for 3 sets Read his book or pull it up on line It works

Thank you for the video. A description of the problems for the in-pool examples you show would have been very useful.

I come from martial arts and had three shoulder dislocations in ten years. I quitted the combat now and I think swimming is a good way for me. But swimming really helped me recovering my shoulder so far. The problems are gone for now. But of course I need to do it right and so I will focous on the right technique. Thank you!

Thank you! I've been trying to modify my stroke to get rid of a mild pain in my inner biceps, following advice from swim buddies. Well, I went to the pool and kept my shoulder straight and immediately felt the muscles in my outer biceps taking the pull. And zero pain after. 🎉🎉

Thank you very much for this video….have been trying to find why my shoulder hurts after only 500m and i have to swim the rest of the 3km or 5km with should pain….I am almost certain it have to do with the recovery and the catch….since I am so fixated on pulling like sun yang maybe overexageration of the internal rotation is making my shoulder hurt. THanks again will try to improve and check if my should pain resolves.

Hey Brenton, full marks for reading, research, interpretation of factors causing shoulder injury. Very impressed. I've been out of the water now for almost 2 years with terrible R shoulder injury; specifically tear/strain to supraspinatus (BTW: recently listened to terrific Podcast with Rebecca McCabe on Conversations who experienced what became a career ending injury to this muscle). I have been doing exercises for two years to get this right. No swimming freestyle in that time. Used to swim ocean and squads. So, with terrific guidance from Sports MEd doctor, the muscle is coming good (I'm 64 and NEED TO SWIM!!). What is scaring me is more damage and how to get the technique right. Re your 5 points, the two that i definitely get WRONG are your last two points. But, was also wondering about the importance of hip rotation; can you add anything on this?

@EffortlessSwimming

3 жыл бұрын

If you are based in Melbourne I’ve got a great recommendation for someone who might be able to help with the shoulder as well. Hopefully you don’t need it with you are working with at the moment! I came off the mountain bike in November and had an issue with the same muscle and I was able to get back to Swimming in a few months working with this person. Send me an email through our contact form on our website if you are in Melbourne! In terms of hip rotation it’s different for each swimmer but I don’t think a big contributor to shoulder injury. Some streamers keep relatively stable hips and others use their hips quite a bit

Thanks Brenton. I have a history of bilateral shoulder pain (arthritis as I am older) and had rotator cuff repair surgery done on my right shoulder 5 years ago. It has started hurting again pretty bad and I have a feeling that part of it is due to strength issues and poor stroke formation. I am just a leisure swimmer and want to keep swimming but I may be looking at another surgery soon. I would love to hear suggestions on who I should get to evaluate my stroke: lifeguard; Athletic trainer; or PT? Your videos were helpful but I need someone to watch how I swim. Thank you!!

Thanks! Personally I got shoulder pain due to a hand driven recovery. Changing to an elbow driven recovery fixed all the pain :)

Really useful video, thank you. I suspect I do the first two issues in front crawl but am not really sure. My joints are hyper mobile not stiff so over reaching does cause problems. Is there any way to identify what technique in relation to the site of shoulder pain ? For example, front lateral adjacent to the armpit? Correlation between poor technique and location of pain or injury?

I identified two problems in my stroke from this video. I’ve got shoulder soreness, not pain, so I’m really hopeful this will straighten me out before I injure myself

Hello very good video! do you have any video on medial elbow pain vs technique? I cant figure out what I do wrong!!!

Thanks for the video, this is super helpful. Any advice on how not to do these mistakes practically? Thank you!

Swam competitively for 6 years as a teenager. 47 now. Never had any injuries until a few weeks ago swimming a set where the purpose was to try to get an earlier catch. After that set, now have impingement pain on left shoulder only. Slowly getting better. I can still swim - albeit having to focus on less power until the middle of the catch on my left arm. I did discover that if I "stretch" the lat muscle in the reach phase (feels like the shoulder joint relaxes), I can perform my normal catch with no pain. Maybe the "stretch" is how the reach supposed to be done ... ?

Can anyone recommend a non complicated video that would help me learn more about swimming without too high an elbow and implementing the things suggested here? Great video, just need some instruction for a beginner with a shoulder impingement! :)

Gosh, internal/external description good but no real recommendation on how to correct the movement on the catch through the pull. I see the demonstration but difficult to put into effect. Thanks

Wonderful video! I need your help. I have shoulder dislocation problem for more than a decade now. I want to learn swimming and do it regularly. Could you please recommend what swimming stroke/technique are best for me and what other things I should do to ensure there is no dislocation episodes happening when I swim?

2:44 That's exactly my main problem! - And it's so hard to change it durable! But mainly during the push phase.

Good tips. Currently recovering from a suprspinatus tendon tear.....swam biathlon a year ago then had an operation in September. Back in the pool....often very sore in the neck are two days later after workout. Thinking of consulting a trainer to observe my technique

Thanks heaps. I will have to take some lessons and change what I'm doing. Right shoulder is killing me.

Hey Brenton, good video. My left shoulder was rebuilt a few years ago, and my right is not so good. So I have to get my form right to swim more that 700 yds. I’ve found two problems you missed that cause me pain: - Streamline to swimming; going from streamline directly to swimming was causing me pain in the first stroke. I figured out that I was leaving one arm in the streamline position during the first half stroke. Now I go to position eleven, then to the first stroke. Gives a cleaner transition to swimming and no pain. I suspect it was torquing my body before the second half of the stroke so that half stroke caused shoulder impingement. - Losing form when I have and oxygen debt: I noticed that when I get tired and I’m pushing hard (last 50 of a 200) I’d occasionally cause shoulder pain. I breathe every three, and I figured out I was turning my body too early toward the breath stroke tweaking my shoulder. Now I consciously force good form and proper body turn timing and ignore my “screaming lungs” - no shoulder pain. Be well.

Hi Brenton. I've been wondering if stroke correction advice (10 years ago) to 'reach over the barrel' to lift my elbows has created the impingement you mention for the #1 issue. I still have elbow drop but it's much improved. Unfortunately, I suspect I have trained an incorrect/over internal rotation into my stroke, the associated impingement has been disruptive and at times debilitating. I've been doing work to improve joint mobility which is helping, but I feel like I need to unlearn the incorrect 'over the barrel' positioning? Any tips to get the (correct) internal rotation, that is seeming elusive? Hope you and the family are doing ok in these challenging times. Cheers Bron :)

Could you make some videos on how you correct these wrong recovery with videos. (Giving some examples) Dryland workouts to avoid swimmers shoulders.

Decided to watch this video after getting an injury. My case is number #1 + paddles. In recovery now :)

I've swum since I was a kid, never in a competitive level, but regularly. I had to stop for a couple of years because of a hip injury, but started again in October. For a couple of weeks now my left shoulder has been hurting (I breathe on that side) and after watching this video I still don't understand what I'm doing wrong. I paid special attention during my practice today. It's kind of frustrating, since it had never happened to me before :(. Still this video was amazing, really informative, congrats!

Thanks for this. I've just started having issues with my shoulders and I'm not sure if it's swimming causing it or my job which includes a lot of data entry or if that's just exasperating the issue. I don't really notice pain while I'm swimming but the next day my right shoulder especially is very sore and tender. I have been mucking around with my stroke a lot lately and I felt it had gotten better. I'm definitely faster and able to swim longer but I wonder if I'm o er doing some of the things you've mentioned. I'll definitely take note next time I'm at the pool.

@firas919191

3 жыл бұрын

This sounds exactly like me, and it's only my right shoulder ( I'm left handed)

@BeachcastPhoto

3 жыл бұрын

@@firas919191 if it helps yes my swim stroke did need some adjustment but after going to physio it looks like the main issue is ous. I have changed my workstation and been doing exercises and it's improved. My stroke is better now too and I'm a bit faster.. Good luck

Hi Brent, I've started to feel major shoulder fatigue when swimming with wetsuit. Do you have any ideas on that? Could that only be a fit issue?

Hi! I‘ve carefully followed your video because of the ache i have when I start pushing at a „good catch“, so i am a bit back to windmilling under water… hope i i will improve a bit. Thank you for your video, i hope i got it right, that at the start of the catch there shall be an internal sholder movement but at the pull phase it shall change to an external one..?

I've stopped swimming for over a year because of shoulder pain. Ive had tonnes of physio, work in the gym and an mri which was clear. I don't really want to get back into it because the pain was so bad. It happened after one injury in the pool it wasn't a slow build up of pain, but it might have been a slow build up of damage. I did an hour of breastroke in February and that brought back the pain. The original injury was doing freestyle after months of swimming an hour a day, 3 days a week. Still not keen to get back into it. I think it was due to a close recovery, but it still hurt after loosening it.

I breathe on my left side, and my right bicep is killing me. I don’t have a teacher, but to me it feels like I’m trying to ‘hold myself up’ with my right arm as I breathe. The arm and shoulder are tense. Does this sound likely? How might I work on fixing it? Thanks for such wonderful videos!

I have had a total reverse shoulder on my left side and a total elbow replacement on my right arm. I swim at least 30 minutes a day with no pain. What strikes do you recommend. I enjoy your videos

Mine triggers during the catch and pull phase. But I think this is because I exxagg my recovery phase before. I need to watch this video again to remind me.

Rotator cuff injuries (both shoulders)...