Is this you? Do you feel like you are doomed to the world of cycling and running because of the whole swimming thing? You are not alone. Sadly, swimming is an all too common stumbling block for a lot of potential triathletes. It doesn’t have to be.

Swimming is the least natural discipline of the bunch, and the most technical, but it is also a very learnable skill. Developing your swim fluency quickly is about knowing how and where to spend your energy early on so you can get to the part of swimming that really matters: feeling comfortable and enjoying it.

Strong swimming starts with a strong foundation. [Photo credit: Pixabay]

Before You Jump In

That leaves you with the golden question, where do you spend that energy once you decide to jump in and learn?

As with many things training and life, the best place to start is by defining what success looks like to you, especially in the early stages. Two main goals should emerge early on if you are being realistic in your approach:

1. To feel comfortable and confident in a controlled setting, like an indoor pool. You should feel like you can swim easily all day long.
2. To take that comfort and translate it into open water skills so you can do a triathlon.

Comfort is of paramount concern in the early stages. Unfortunately, a lot of folks go wrong right from the gate, especially if they are trying to teach themselves. It is easy to get caught up in the technical aspects of swimming like your hand entry or the catch and the pull when you really need to begin with something far more simple: breathing.

Moving through water is the least natural activity in triathlon because of one big difference: you can’t breathe whenever you want. It’s a total pain in the butt. When you come from another sport where you haven’t given much of any thought to how you breathe, being forced to go back and start with mastering something so simple feels akin to learning to crawl.

If you can’t breathe effectively and are constantly swallowing water, you will end up frustrated and may even want to quit. If you can breathe well, however, you are well on the road to becoming comfortable and allowing yourself to master increasingly technical aspects of swimming.

Breathing Drills

Breathing well starts in the mind. It’s a natural assumption to think that breathing in the water is all about the inhalation, because obviously you have to take in air to survive. In reality, the biggest mistake beginner and intermediate swimmers make is actually with the exhalation. It may seem backwards, but that’s where your mind needs to be from the very beginning.

When you don’t exhale correctly, you end up holding your breath, which makes two things happen:

1. You tense up. When you exhale you release that tension. Imagine you’re having a stressful day and someone tells you to take a deep breath. It’s not when you take the breath in that you feel better, it’s when you let it go. Holding your breath tenses you up and that is bad for your swimming technique.
2. You get that “need to breathe” feeling. The sensation you are feeling is not the lack of oxygen, but actually the build up of CO2. When you hold your breath you keep the CO2 in your blood stream and lungs, which makes you feel desperate for air.

These become two huge stumbling blocks to feeling comfortable and becoming a stronger swimmer. Exhaling is worth mastering. On the path to mastery folks tend to make a lot of the same mistakes. Knowing what they are in advance will save some time. Not everyone holds his or her breath in the same way. It can trip you up in several ways, but usually takes one of three forms:

• Mistake: Holding your breath the whole time your face is under the water.
• Fix: Always blow bubbles.

• Mistake: Closing your mouth and holding it for a second right after you take a breath and return to the water.
• Fix: Your mouth needs to remain open the whole time, and you actually need to start exhaling just before your face returns to the water. This keeps water out of your mouth and lungs.

• Mistake: Not exhaling past the water, or holding breath for a split second before inhaling.
• Fix: Blow out just past the point where your mouth hits the air, then relax and let the air come into your lungs. Again blowing bubbles just past the water helps keep it out of your mouth.

Practice is key to avoiding these common mistakes. To build a really solid exhalation habit, try implementing these two drills the next time you’re at the pool.

Sink Drill

Either go to the shallower end of the pool or stay near the wall. Let go of the wall and let yourself sink. As soon as your mouth hits the water start exhaling slowly. As you exhale, you will sink further. Do this until you feel the beginnings of needing a breath then return to the surface. Repeat as needed until you feel very comfortable spending time under water and are familiar with the sensation and timing of needing to breathe.

Breathing and Kicking Into the Wall

Once you have mastered using your breath to sink you can start making it resemble swimming. Start with both hands on the wall, stomach facing the bottom and legs extended out behind you. You can start with your face out of the water. Start kicking (from the hip) into the wall with pointed toes then put your face into the water and blow bubbles. When you need a breath, turn your head to one side and take a breath before returning to the face down position. Take as much time as needed for a good breath. Make sure to practice breathing to both sides.

You’ve Mastered the Breathing, Now What?

Once you nail your breathing, it’s time to think about balance. Almost everyone deals with sinking legs and feeling rushed to get in a good breath – both symptoms of poor balance. The good news is that if you can correct your body position you will be able to float and not feel rushed to take a breath. This is a huge win for feeling comfortable and in control when you swim.

The best visualization when working on balance is that of a seesaw. When you put more weight on one side than the other, the opposite side rises. It’s much like that in the water. If you have strong, lean, heavy legs you are already at a bit of a disadvantage because they want to sink. To make them float along the surface you need to lean on your torso almost as if you were putting more weight on that side of the seesaw. Often you will hear this described as “swimming downhill” because that is very much how it feels, especially as you are learning. It may even feel downright wrong the first few times.

In contrast, if you make the common mistake of lifting your head too far out of the water as you breathe (instead of rotating to breathe and staying horizontal), you load the legs causing them to sink and you wind up rushing your breath. Balance matters. The more horizontal you can be the easier swimming becomes.

Developing the feel for balance and swimming downhill boils down to patience and doing the drill work required to teach your subconscious to find certain body positions automatically, freeing up your conscious mind to focus elsewhere.

Use the following drills in your next swim session to work on balance.

Kick Body Position Drill

Push off the wall, face down and arms at your side. Kick (with or without fins) from the hip and experiment with how much you lean onto your chest. You will feel your legs and feet rise or fall based on how you position your torso. Find your sweet spot that gets them just below the surface. When you need to breathe, either take a quick breaststroke or rotate to the side (harder) and grab a breath.

Kick on Side Drill

Kick on your side rotated to 90 degrees. Bottom arm is extended out in front of you and the top arm rests comfortably at your side. Draw your shoulder blades together and back, keeping hand in line with shoulder with fingers below your wrist and wrists below your elbow.

6-1-6 Drill

A continuation of the side kicking drills: 6 kicks on the side, stroke and rotate, breathe and 6 kicks on the other side. Repeat until done with that part of your set.

6-3-6 Drill

Much like the previous drill, kick 6 times on one side but take three strokes instead of one in between sides, breathe, and then kick six times on the other side.

Get Comfortable

Feeling comfortable in the water leads to feeling confident and confidence breeds a willingness to practice. Work on breathing and body position drills 2-3 times a week for the next 2-3 weeks and you will feel more comfortable and confident about swimming and maybe you will consider trying out your first triathlon.

Now that you know how to breath, it’s time to fix your freestyle:

Avoid These 4 Mistakes for Better Freestyle Swimming

The post Triathlon Training: Find Your Breath in the Water appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

In previous articles we looked at the basics of learning to freestyle, backstroke, and breaststroke. In this piece we’ll do the same for the fly. Much like the other strokes, learning the butterfly centers around some core concepts – namely, body position and the rhythm between the pull and the kick. Let’s dive in!

Body Position

The beauty of the butterfly is that mastering body position first sets you up nicely for learning the elements to follow. It is a little more intuitive than the rest of the strokes in this regard. No rotation to deal with here!

To get started:

• Grab a pull buoy, place it between your legs, and push off of the wall – face down, arms out in front.
• Focus your eyes directly below you with a neutral neck position. Your hands should be just outside of your shoulders, with palms down and fingertips below the wrists. Imagine your arms making the shape of a Y instead of an H. This is the position you will go back to at the end of each recovery phase.

“Much like the other strokes, learning the butterfly centers around some core concepts – namely, body position and the rhythm between the pull and the kick.”

To dial it in further, remove the pull buoy and do the same drill, only this time concentrate on what your hips and feet are doing. Without the buoy you become wholly responsible for staying streamlined, and will have to apply downward pressure with the head and chest to remain level. Once you feel confident with your starting position, it’s time to move on to the pull phase.

The Pull

Swimmers learning the butterfly often get carried away with the kick aspect of the stroke, creating too much of an up-and-down action in the water. That’s why we’ll start by focusing on the pull instead. Sculling is a great drill to improve your pull, as it teaches the idea of keeping your fingertips down. It also establishes the feel for grabbing the water and creating propulsion.

• In the fly, the pull starts from your beginning position with the hands extended and outside of the shoulders (the Y).
• From here, much like in sculling, the fingertips drop to grab the water like a paddle just before the forearms move to a vertical position.
• While this is happening, the hands push back and towards your midline. This drives you forward and up powerfully to grab your breath and start your recovery.
• Aim to keep your chin as close to the surface as possible when grabbing your breath.

The Recovery

Here’s how to be smooth in your recovery:

• Bring the arms up barely above the water and out to the sides. Do not try to explode upward with your arms. Smooth and efficient are the name of the game.
• Imagine your fingertips dragging along the surface before returning back to your starting position.
• Your legs will be lower in the water at this point, and all you need to do is relax and let them rise as your chest position changes your body position.

The Kick

The kick is the trickiest part of the fly. It demands core strength and coordination. In essence, the fly consists of two dolphin kicks, a big one and a little one. For the time being, we’ll just focus on the core skill behind the big kick.

Dolphin kicking is an excellent tool to have in your arsenal. Done correctly it is powerful and streamlined. To drill dolphin kicking:

• Push off the wall like you did when working on body position, only this time bring the hands together out in front of you.
• Push your head and chest down to start the caterpillar-like motion. The knees will bend a bit, which is fine.
• Once your hips and feet rise towards the surface, kick them down and together, extending the legs and pointing the feet. This will bring your chest back up and start the whole cycle again.

As you’re doing this drill, imagine how the pull and recovery phases will fit in. Your kick brings your torso upward, allowing the arms to recover. On the flip side, when your hands are fully extended in front, the chest and head are low while the legs are high, ready to fire together with the pull to create explosive propulsion.

“Ultimately, it is about developing a rhythm and timing that create synergy throughout your body and the stroke.”

Feel good about all that? Break it down further and work on the double kick, as shown in this video.

Putting It All Together

Once you master the individual parts, work on putting them together:

• Start with the body position and the pull. While pulling, bring the chest and head up to start the dolphin kick and grab your breath.
• Return your head back down. Let the arms recover and enter in front of you while the legs rise.

This is the beginning of finding the rhythm that defines a successful and beautiful butterfly. It will take some practice, but the pieces will come together eventually, crafting a stroke you can do for more than just a length. Ultimately, it is about developing a rhythm and timing that create synergy throughout your body and the stroke.

Continue by reading the other articles of the Swimming Basics series:

• Swimming Basics: A Beginner’s Guide to the Backstroke
• Swimming Basics: A Beginner’s Guide to the Breaststroke

• The Case for Swimming
• 4 Common Swimming Mistakes and How to Fix Them
• 3 No-Nonsense Ways to Build Fitness Through Swimming
• >a href=”/fitness/5-crossfit-exercises-that-make-you-a-better-swimmer”>5 CrossFit Exercises That Make You a Better Swimmer

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.

The post Swimming Basics: A Beginner’s Guide to the Butterfly appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

7 Swimming Tips That Count

1. Enter the Water With Your Fingers First

Your hand should cut through the water first and then your elbow should follow. Many people don’t bend their arm enough. This means the arm is straight when it enters the water, and therefore the hand and elbow enter the water at the same time. When your hand is straight, you are not able to pull the water efficiently.

2. Reach as Far as You Can With Your Arm

When your hand enters the water, you need to glide, stretch, and reach as far as you can. You can gain a few inches for every stroke, which would make a huge difference over the course of a swimming race or triathlon.

3. Place Your Hand in the Center

Your hand should not cross the centerline and it should not be too much to the outside. In fact, it should be right in line with your shoulder. If your hand crosses the centerline, you will zigzag from left to right.

4. Rotate Your Body

By rotating your body, you can reach much farther with your hands and you can use a lot more strength when pulling the water. By rotating, instead of only using your shoulder, you also use your lats muscles, pectorals, and core. It will also prevent many shoulder injuries.

“No matter how strong and fit you are, if you don’t have the proper technique, then you won’t go fast.”

5. Keep Your Hand Loose

By keeping your hand loose, you maximize the area your hand takes in the water. Don’t keep your fingers tightly pressed together because your arm will be contracted and you will lose energy.

6. Raise Your Elbows High

By raising your elbows high, your hands will enter the water with the proper angle and you will be able to pull water efficiently because your entire forearm will pull water. This also reduces the drag in the water.

7. Modify Your Kicking Cadence Depending on the Distance

For a sprint, such as 50m, 100m, or 200m, you should kick as much as you can because the event is short and you don’t need to manage your energy. For a longer event, like a 5km or 10km open water swim or an Ironman, you should kick less because you need to conserve energy. In those cases, keep a two-beat kick, which means you do one kick for every stroke.

Tips for Swimming in Open Water

If you are swimming in open water like in a triathlon, lift your head slightly but not too much to sight for the buoys. Only your eyes should be out of the water when you sight, not your mouth. After sighting, turn your head to the side to breathe. Depending if the water is choppy and on the size of the buoys, you can sight at every three to twelve strokes. In a calm lake, you can sight less often, but in choppy water, you should sight more frequently.

“Try to fix something in front of you and make sure your head stays still and doesn’t move from left to right.”

You can practice sighting by swimming laps keeping your head out of the water. Your head should stay still and your neck should be relaxed and not contracted. Try to fix something in front of you and make sure your head stays still and doesn’t move from left to right.

You need to be able to breathe on both sides so you are able to adapt to any conditions. For example, if the waves are on your left, you should breathe on your right, but if someone is swimming on your right, you should breathe on your left so you don’t swallow a lot of water.

Here’s a video describing these few tips:

Additional Exercises to Improve Your Efficiency

1. Distance per stroke – Try to do as few strokes as possible for one length of the pool. Try to lower your number of strokes for one length every time you do this exercise.
2. High cadence swimming – Try to move your arms quickly. It is important to be efficient when you swim, but you also need to get used to moving your arms quickly so you can swim fast.
3. Swimming with a snorkel – When you swim with a snorkel, your can head remain still so you can see how your arms enter the water. Notice if your hands cross the centerline and if your fingers enter the water at the right angle.
4. Swimming with a band on your feet – You can use an old bike tube, cut it and make a knot. It is similar to swimming with a pull buoy, but contrary to the pull buoy, which provides you floatability, your legs sink when you swim with a band. So, you have to strengthen your core to keep your legs still and you need to be efficient when pulling the water. You can start by swimming with a pull buoy and a band and when you feel comfortable, try without the pull.
5. Do kick sets – By doing kicking sets you will become more efficient and stronger. You can use a board to work on your core strength or you can use half a board or a pull. You can also kick without anything by kicking on your back, on your sides, or on your belly (by lifting your head when you need to breathe).

More like this:

• 3 Drills for Stronger and Smoother Open Water Swimming
• Avoid These 4 Mistakes for Better Freestyle Swimming
• 3 No-Nonsense Ways to Build Fitness Through Swimming
• New on Breaking Muscle Today

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.

The post 7 Essential Swimming Tips for Even the Strongest Athletes appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

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Week 2

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Week 3

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Week 4

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Week 5

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Week 6

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Week 7

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Week 8

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Week 9

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Week 10

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Week 11

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Week 12

The post Getting Ready for Race Day: Triathlon Training appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Warmup:

400 easy swim

Warm up set:

2x

• 200 free cruise @ :20 seconds rest

Main Set:

• 4 x 100 – 25 kick, 75 swim @ :10 sec rest
• 4 x 75 – 25 swim, 25 kick, 25 swim @ :10 sec rest
• 4 x 50 – 25 kick, 25 swim @ :10 sec rest
• 4 x 25 – 25 kick descending 1-4 @ :10 sec rest

Warmdown:

200 easy

Total: 2000

Workout Two

Warm up:

200 swim, 100 kick, 100 swim

Warm up set:

Super 500 @ :10 sec rest:

• 25’s – Free drill
• 50’s – Stroke
• 75’s – Free swim

25, 25, 50

25, 75

50, 50

75, 25

50, 25, 25

Main set:

10x

• 100 – 50 drill, 50 swim @ :15 sec rest

odds – free

even – stroke

200 Fast all out effort – Record time

Warmdown:

200 easy

Total: 2300

Workout Three

Warm-up:

3x (swim straight through):

• 50 freestyle
• 25 backstroke
• 25 freestyle kick on back in streamline position (head relaxed back, hips pressed toward the surface)

Warm-up Set:

4x:

• 50 freestyle gradually building effort throughout @ :10seconds rest
• 2 x 25 freestyle @ :10 seconds rest – 1st – fast, powerful first 8 strokes, smooth relaxed rest of way; 2nd – build first 8 strokes, fast 6 strokes, smooth rest of way

Main Set:

2x:

• 8 x 50 freestyle @ :05 seconds recovery 1st set of 8., :10 seconds recovery for 2nd set of 8

Goal: maintain your best average pace throughout set 1. Hold that pace as you fatigue in set 2 OR build pace faster.

:60 recovery

2x:

• 4 x 25 freestyle kick with kickboard @ :15 recovery try to maintain best average time
• 1 x 50 free smooth and relaxed body position focus @ :15 recovery

Cooldown:

200 your choice, very relaxed

Total: 2000

Workout Four

Warm-up:

300 choice

Warm-up set:

2x:

• 3 x 50 free descend effort from 1 to 3 @ :10 rest
• 4 x 25 kick with board alternating hard, easy @ :15 rest

Main Set:

3 x 200 freestyle @ :30 rest as (100 smooth, 50 build, then take 5 seconds rest, then 50 max effort); goal is to get times of the max 50 and keep them consistent despite fatigue

100 easy backstroke

8x

• 25 freestyle as: 2x ( 1 – sprint @ :20 rest, 2 – sprint @ :15 rest, 3 – sprint @ :10 rest, 4 – EASY @ :30 rest) – goal is to keep pace same despite fatigue and dropping rest

Cooldown:

2x:

• 50 drill
• 50 backstroke
• 50 easy kick
• 50 swim choice

all relaxed

Total: 2100

Click on the number below that corresponds to the week of training you’re in.

Week Two

Workout One

Warmup:

100 swim, 100 kick, 100 IM, 100 drill, 100 swim (SKIDS)

Warm up set:

8 x 50 – 25 kick, 25 swim @ :15 sec rest

Main Set:

8 x 200 @ :20 sec rest

Odds – 50 kick, 50 swim (x2)

Evens – swim at 75% pace

Warmdown:

100 easy

Total: 2600

Workout Two

Warm up:

400 easy

Warm up set:

8 x 75 IM @ :10 sec rest

1,5 – fly, back, breast

2,6 – back, breast, free

3,7 – breast, free, fly

4,8 – free, fly, back

Main set:

4 x 300 swim descending 1-3 (to 90% effort) @ :30 sec rest

Warmdown:

200 easy

Total: 2600

Workout Three

Warm up:

• 100 swim choice
• 100 backstroke
• 50 kick on stomach with hands by side focusing on body position
• 100 freestyle

Warm up Set:

4 x 75 @ :15 rest as

1. 75 free pull with buoy focusing on high elbow catch and rotation
2. 25 free swim, 25 kick on back, 25 free with 6 quick strokes in middle of 25
3. 75 backstroke smooth focus on kick
4. 75 free build to fast in first 50 then easy last 25

Main Set:

2x:

5 x 100 @ :05 seconds rest

round 1 aim to hold best average pace for all 5

round 2 aim to start 5 seconds slower than previous average

rounds 4 and 5 descend to under best average

take 30 seconds rest between sets

8x

• alternating 25 sprint free (hold pace for all), 25 easy backstroke @ :20 seconds recovery

Cool down:

• 50 easy kick on stomach focus on body position
• 50 easy backstroke
• 100 easy free focus on rotation and high elbow pull
• 50 easy kick

Total: 21000

Workout Four

Warm up:

300 easy choice swim, 100 build to sprint kick with board, 100 freestyle drill

Warm up set:

6 x 50 @ :15/:10/:05 seconds rest maintaining pace to elevate heart rate

Main Set:

• 300 @ :05 seconds rest – hold steady pace, strong effort but try to avoid building lactic acid
• 4x 50 @ :30 seconds rest – maintain best average pace (first one should be most difficult but group should be hard)
• 200 @ :10 seconds rest – same as effort for 300
• 4x 50 @ :30 – same as previous 50s
• 100 @ : 15 rest (same as above)
• 4x 50 @ :30 rest maintaining same best average
• 1x 200 pull, steady, focused on high elbow pull

Cool down:

200 easy

Total: 2100

Click on the number below that corresponds to the week of training you’re in.

Week Three

Workout One

Warm up:

400 easy swim

Warm up set:

2x

• 200 free cruise @ :20 seconds rest

Main Set:

25 x 100 (:60 sec rest in between each set of 5)

• 1-5 – Free @ :20 sec rest (easy warmup effort)
• 6-10 – 25 drill, 75 free @ :20 sec rest
• 11-15 – Kick (Descend within the 100’s)@ :10 sec rest
• 16-20 – IM @ :15 sec rest
• 21-25 – Free @ :15 sec rest

Warm down:

100 easy

Total: 2600

Workout Two

Warm up:

500 SKIDS

Warm up set:

8 x 25 – kick @ :10 sec rest

8 x 50 – 25 drill, 25 swim @ :15 sec rest

8 x 75 – free/stroke/free @ :10 sec rest

Main set:

8 x 100 – free @ :10 sec rest (descensing 1-4, 5-8)

Warm down:

200 easy

Total: 2700

Workout Three

Warm up:

200 freestyle, 100 freestyle kick with board, 50 easy backstroke, 50 freestyle build

Warm up set:

8×50 build @ :20 seconds rest as 25 easy free drill, 25 build free to sprint

Main Set:

2x:

• 4 x 50 kick @ :30 seconds rest with max effort over last 12.5 yards
• 200 pull focus on body position @ :20 seconds rest
• 50 free max effort @ :05 rest
• 50 back super easy @ :30

2 x 75 @ :15 rest pull building last 50

4 x 50 @ :30 rest pull building last 25

2 x 25 @ :45 seconds rest max effort

2x

50 back easy, 50 free easy

Cool down:

200 your choice, very relaxed

Total: 2400

Workout Four

Warm up:

200 free, 100 drill, 100 kick, 100 choice

Warm up set:

8 x 75 free @ :20, :15, :10, :05 recovery building from smooth to fast over course of 75s

Main Set:

2x:

• 8x 50 freestyle

first set of 8: 5 seconds recovery

second set of 8: 10 seconds recovery

Your goal is to maintain your best average pace throughout set 1, then hold that pace or even increase your pace throughout set 2 .

rest :30

200 freestyle pull

Cool down:

200 alternating backstroke and kick

Total: 2900

Click on the number below that corresponds to the week of training you’re in.

Week Four

Workout One

Warm up:

200 swim, 200 stroke, 100 kick, 100 swim

Warm up set:

• 4 x 75 Free @ :10 rest
• 4 x 50 Stroke @ :10 rest
• 4 x 25 Drill @ :10 rest

Main Set:

3 x 400 Free @ :60 sec rest

• 1- 50% effort
• 2- 75% effort
• 3- 90% effort

Warm down:

200 easy

Total: 2600

Workout Two

Warm up:

200 swim, 100 kick, 100 swim

Warm up set:

Super 500 @ :10 sec rest:

• 25’s – Free drill
• 50’s – Stroke
• 75’s – Free swim

25, 25, 50

25, 75

50, 50

75, 25

50, 25, 25

Main set:

300 fast all-out for time

100 backstroke easy

8x 100 – 50 drill, 50 swim @ :10 sec rest

• odds – free (build the swim portion)
• even – backstroke

100 easy choice

300 fast all out effort – record time and compare to previous 300

Warm down:

200 easy

Total: 2600

Workout Three

Warm up:

200 free easy, 100 backstroke, 50 kick, 50 free build

Warm up Set:

8 x 50 @ :15/:05 rest alternating 50 pull steady, 50 drill nice and easy focus on body position and rotation

200 free build middle 100

Main Set:

4x:

• 200 swim @ :10 seconds rest not building lactate but swimming steady
• 4 x 25 max effort @ :30 rest

100 back easy

2 x 200 free pull with high elbow and body position focus

Cool down:

200 choice easy

Total: 2900

Workout Four

Warm up:

8 x 50 alternating freestyle, backstroke, kick, drill focus on chest and head position, high elbow pull

Warm up set:

500 swim as:

• 100 smooth free
• 200 free w/every other 25 quick turnover
• 100 free focus on rotation & distance per stroke
• 100 backstroke

Main Set:

4 x 100 @ :10 rest, hold best average

8 x 75 @ :15 rest with goal of maintaining pace of best average 100 pace despite fatigue

8 x 50 @ :30 rest with goal of faster than best average 100 pace by at least 1.5 seconds per 50

Cool down:

200 choice easy

Total: 2500

Click on the number below that corresponds to the week of training you’re in.

Week Five

Workout One

Warm up:

400 easy swim

Warm up set:

10 x 25 @ :10 rest

• odds- drill swim (stroke or free)
• evens- swim (stroke or free)

Main Set:

10 x 200

• 1-2 Free @ :15 rest
• 3-4 IM @ :15 rest
• 5-6 Free @ : 10 rest
• 7-8 50 kick, 50 swim (x2) @ :10 rest
• 9-10 Free @ :5 rest

Warm down:

150 easy

Total: 2900

Workout Two

Warm up:

400 easy swim

Warm up set:

6 x 50 free @ :10 rest build effort throughout the first 5 and swim easy for last 25

Main set:

15 x 100

• 1-5 – Free @ :20 sec rest (easy warmup effort)
• :30 rest
• 6-10 – 50 drill, 50 free @ :20 rest
• :30 rest
• 11-15 – Kick, descending within each 50 – max effort for last 25 @ :30 rest
• :30 rest
• 16 x 25 @ :20, :15, :10, :05 rest per set of 4 – hold best average time

Warm down:

200 easy

Total: 3000

Workout Three

Warm-up:

300 alternating freestyle, backstroke, kick, drill focus on chest and head position, high elbow pull

Warm-up Set:

500 swim as:

• 100 build free
• 200 free w/every other 25 quick turnover
• 100 free focus on rotation & distance per stroke
• 100 backstroke

Main Set:

5x 100 @ :10 rest hold best average

4 x 75 @ :15 rest with goal of maintaining pace of best average 100s despite fatigue

12 x 50 @ :30 rest with goal of faster than best average 100 pace by at least 1.5 seconds per 50

Cooldown:

200 easy choice

Total: 2400

Workout Four

Warm up:

200 freestyle, 100 freestyle kick with board, 50 easy backstroke, 50 freestyle build

Warm up set:

8×50 build @ :20 rest as 25 easy free drill, 25 build free to sprint

100 backstroke easy

Main Set:

2x:

• 6 x 50 kick @ :30 rest with max effort over last 12.5 yards
• 300 pull focus on body position @ :20 rest
• 2 x 50 free max effort @ :05 rest
• 50 back super easy @ :30

4x 75 @ :15 rest pull building last 50

4 x 50 @ :30 rest pull building last 25

4 x 25 @ :45 rest max effort

Cool down:

2x:

• 50 back easy
• 50 free easy

Total: 3100

Click on the number below that corresponds to the week of training you’re in.

Week Six

Workout One

Warm up:

500 easy swim

Warm up set:

4 x

• 25 – drill
• 50 – swim
• 25 – kick @ :10 rest

Main Set:

5 x 100 kick descending 1-5 @ :15 rest

8 x 125: 100 free, 25 kick @ :10 rest

Warm down:

100 easy

Total: 2500

Workout Two

Warm up:

500 SKIDS

Warm up set:

8 x 50 drill/swim by 25 @ :10 rest

Main set:

6 x 100 @ :20 rest
Odd – free
Even – kick

4 x 150 as 50 free, 50 stroke, 50 free @ :15 rest

2 x 200 free descending 1-2, 3-4 @ :20 rest

200 swim all out – record time

Warm down:

100 easy

Total: 2800

Workout Three

Warm-up:

400 swim, 100 kick, 100 drill, 200 build

Main Set:

2x:
6 x 100 – free descending to hard race pace in sets of 3 @ :15 rest
200 kick steady with board

100 back easy

12 x 25 max effort @ :30 rest, every 4th easy

Cooldown:

300 easy

Total: 2300

Workout Four

Warm up:

200 easy, 100 kick, 100 build, 100 backstroke

Warm up set:

8×50 every third quick @ :15 rest

Main Set:

6 x 200 @ : 20 rest with middle 100 at race pace, last 50 easy drill
8 x 50 kick with board @ :30 rest focusing on hard middle 25

Cool down:

300 super easy

Total: 2800

Click on the number below that corresponds to the week of training you’re in.

Week Seven

Workout One

Warm up:

100 free, 100 stroke, 100 free, 100 kick, 100 free

Warm up set:

Super 500 @ :10 sec rest:
25’s – Free drill
50’s – Stroke
75’s – Free swim

Super 500: 25, 25, 50, 25, 75, 50, 50, 75, 25, 50, 25, 25

Main Set:

2 x 200 free (moderate) @ :15 rest
2 x 100 kick @ :15 rest
2 x 200 free 75% @ :20 rest
2 x 100 drill @ :15 rest
2 x 200 free 90% @ :30 rest

Warm down:

200 easy

Total: 2900

Workout Two

Warm up:

400 easy swim

Warm up set:

8 x 75 kick/drill/swim @ :15 rest

Main set:

3 x

1 x 50 kick @ :10 rest
1 x 100 free 90% effort @ :20 rest
1 x 150: 50 drill/50 swim/50 drill @ :10 rest
1 x 200 free @ 75%

:30 sec rest in between each set

Warm down:

200 easy

Total: 2700

Workout Three

Warm-up:

200 freestyle, 100 freestyle kick with board, 50 easy backstroke, 50 freestyle build

Warm-up Set:

4×50 build @ :20 seconds as

• 25 easy free drill
• 25 build free to sprint
• 100 backstroke easy

Main Set:

2x:
8 x 50 kick @ :30 rest with max effort over last 12.5 yards
2 x 100 pull smooth focus on body position @ :20 rest
50 free max effort @ :05 rest
50 back super easy @ :30

8 x 75 @ :30 rest pull building last 50

Cooldown:

3x:

• 50 back easy
• 50 free easy

Total: 3000

Workout Four

Warm up:

4 x 100 alternate free/kick/drill/choice by 100

Main Set:

28 x 50 free:

• 1 – 4 @ :20 rest build to fast through first 37.5 then easy
• 5 – 12 @ :10 hold best average time
• 13 – 20 @ : 30 rest, alternating MAX effort and easy backstroke by 50
• 21 – 28 @ :05 hold best average try to be as close to average of 5 – 12
• 8 x 75 @ :15 rest alternating back/drill/freestyle kick on back by 25 within each 75

Cool down:

200 easy

Total: 2600

Click on the number below that corresponds to the week of training you’re in.

Week Eight

Workout One

Warm up:

300 free, 200 drill

Warm up set:

4 x @ :10 sec rest

• 25 – kick
• 50 – drill
• 75 – free

Main Set:

8 x 125 @ :15 rest

1,5 – 25 kick, 75 swim
2,6 – 25 swim, 25 kick, 50 swim
3,7 – 50 swim, 25 kick, 25 swim
4,8 – 75 swim, 25 kick

2 x 400 @ :30 rest
1 – 100 swim, 100 drill (x2)
2 – 90% effort

Warm down:

100 easy

Total: 3000

Workout Two

Warm up:

500 SKIDS

Warm up set:

8 x 75 IM @ :10 rest
1,5 – fly, back, breast
2,6 – back, breast, free
3,7 – breast, free, fly
4,8 – free, fly, back

4 x 25 drill @ :10 rest
4 x 50 swim (not free) @ :10 rest
4 x 75 descending by 25 @ :10 rest
4 x 100 kick/drill/swim/kick @ :10 rest

Main set:

6 x 100 free descending

1-3, 4-6 (#6 is all out effort) @ :15 sec rest

Warm down:

200 easy

Total: 2900

Workout Three

Warm-up:

300 swim

Warm-up Set:

8 x 50 build to fast freestyle
100 easy back

Main Set:

300 max effort (get time)
200 super easy
200 max effort (aim for 2 seconds per 100 faster than 300 time)
300 super easy
100 max effort (aim for 4 seconds faster per 100 than 300)

Cooldown:

300 easy

Total: 2200

Workout Four

Warm up:

500 easy swim

Warm up set:

12 x 50 alternating drill, steady kick, smooth swim by 50 @ :20 rest

Main Set:

8 x 100 @ :10 rest – first 10 yards quick, remaining swim smooth focus on technique and body position

Cool down:

300 – backstroke, kick, free by 25

Total: 2200 – recovery focus

Click on the number below that corresponds to the week of training you’re in.

Week Nine

Workout One

Warm up:

10 x 100 @ :10 rest

Warm up set:

8 x 25 @ :15 sec rest (make it more challenging by decreasing 1 breathe on each if you are able)
1-2: 4 breaths
3-4: 3 breaths
5-6: 2 breaths
7-8: 1 breath

Main Set:

1 x 200 free cruise @ :20 rest
1 x 250 IM (100 free at the end) @ :20 rest
1 x 300 free 75% @ :30 sec rest
1 x 250 IM (100 free at the end) @ :20 rest
1 x 200 free cruise

200 free all-out, record time

Warm down:

200 easy

Total: 2800

Workout Two

Warm up:

200 free, 200 stroke

Warm up set:

4 x 100 (50 drill, 25 free, 25 back) @ :15 rest

Main set:

4x
2 x 75 kick/swim/kick @ :15 rest
2 x 125 free descending 1-2 @ :20 rest
2 x 75 drill/swim/drill @ :15 rest

Warm down:

100 easy

Total: 3100

Workout Three

Warm-up:

300 choice

Warm-up Set:

2x:

• 6 x 50 free descending effort from 1 to 3,4 to 6 @ :10 rest
• 8 x 25 kick with board alternating hard, easy @ :15 rest

Main Set:

4 x 250 freestyle @ :45 rest as (100 smooth, 50 build, then take 5 seconds rest, then 100 max effort)

Your goal is to get times of the max 100 and keep them consistent despite fatigue.

100 easy backstroke

8 x 25 freestyle as: 2x ( 1 – sprint @ :20 rest, 2 – sprint @ :15 rest, 3 – sprint @ :10 rest, 4 – EASY @ :30 rest) – goal is to keep pace same despite fatigue and dropping rest.

Cooldown:

2x: (50 drill, 50 backstroke, 50 easy kick, 50 swim choice) all relaxed

Total: 3000

Workout Four

Warm up:

100 swim, 100 kick, 100 IM, 100 drill, 100 swim (SKIDS)

Warm up set:

8 x 50 – 25 kick, 25 swim @ :15 rest

Main Set:

8 x 200 @ :30 rest
Odds – 50 kick, 50 swim (x2)
Evens – swim with middle 100 at race pace focusing on kick, last 50 technique focus

Cool down:

200 easy

Total: 2700

Click on the number below that corresponds to the week of training you’re in.

Week Ten

Workout One

Warm up:

100 free, 100 stroke, 100 free, 100 kick, 100 free

Warm up set:

8 x 50 – 25 kick, 25 swim @ :15 rest

Main Set:

4 x 125 free 75% effort @ :15 rest
4 x 25 all out kick @ :30 rest
4 x 125 IM (50 free at the end) @ :20 rest
4 x 25 sprint swim @ :30 rest
4 x 125 free 75% effort @ :15 rest
4 x 25 sprint kick @ :30 rest

Warm down:

200 easy

Total: 2900

Workout Two

Warm up:

300 easy

Warm up set:

8 x 100 @ : 15
1,5 – Easy Swim
2,6 – Kick
3,7 – Drill
4,8 – Stroke swim

Main set:

10 x 200
Odds – 75 swim, 50 fast, 75 swim @ :20 rest
Evens – 25 fast, 100 moderate, 25 fast @ :20 rest

Warm down:

200 easy

Total: 3300

Workout Three

Warm-up:

300 swim easy

Warm-up Set:

8 x 50 @ :15 rest build first 25, easy backstroke 2nd 25

Main Set:

2 x 50 max effort kick @ :60 recovery
100 easy backstroke
200 strong effort free
200 easy swim

2 x 400 @ :05 recovery – aim to push, but stay aerobic on #1 and drop pace to race pace on 2nd

Cooldown:

300 super easy

Total: 2400

Workout Four

Warm up:

500 swim easy

Main Set:

32 x 50 @ :10 recovery – stay aerobic (alternating 1 – smooth free, 2 – steady kick, 3 – drill with body position, rotation focus, 4 – turnover focus)

Cool down:

300 super easy

Total: 2400

Click on the number below that corresponds to the week of training you’re in.

Week Eleven

Workout One

Warm up:

100 free, 100 drill, 100 free, 100 drill, 100 free

Warm up set:

12 x 75
1-4 kick/drill/swim @ :15 rest
5-8 IM (fly/back/breast, back/breast/free, breast/free/fly, free/fly/back) @ :15 rest
9-12 free @ :10 rest

Main Set:

4 x 200 free descending 1-4@ :20 rest
8 x 100 50 stroke/50 free @ :15 rest

Cool down:

200 easy

Total: 3200

Workout Two

Warm up:

400 easy

Warm up set:

Super 500 @ :10 rest:
25’s – free drill
50’s – stroke
75’s – free swim

25, 25, 50
25, 75
50, 50
75, 25
50, 25, 25

6 x 100 IM @ :20 rest

Main set:

2 x
300 swim @ :10 rest
200 kick @ :20 rest
200 swim @ :10 rest
100 kick @ :10 rest
100 swim sprint @ :30 rest

Warm down:

200 easy

Total: 3500

Workout Three

Warm-up:

200 swim. 100 drill, 200 swim, build to fast

Warm-up Set:

4 x 50 @ :10 rest descending effort 1-3 and then easy back for 4

Main Set:

10 x 100 @ :30 rest – maintain best average. Should start to be digging to hold pace at #6

100 back easy

8 x 50 kick @ :15 rest (25 easy, 25 max effort)

Cooldown:

300 easy

Total: 2500

Workout Four

Warm up:

500 swim choice mixing in drill and kick

Warm up set:

10 x 50 free @ :15 rest with every 5th drill and 1-4, 6-9 as descending effort

Main Set:

500 @ :30 rest 100 smooth, 300 strong, 50 easy kick, 50 max effort
3 x 100 @ :15 rest steady pace
500 @ :30 rest as smooth 250 then race pace 250
10 x 50 pull @ :30 aiming to work at anaerobic, hard effort throughout
100 back easy
200 kick alternating easy/hard by 25

Cool down:

300 easy

Total: 3400

Click on the number below that corresponds to the week of training you’re in.

Week Twelve

Workout One

Warm up:

200 free, 200 kick, 200 drill

Warm up set:

4 x 100 – 25 drill/50 swim/25 drill @ :15 sec rest
4 x 50 Kick @ :15 sec rest

Main Set:

15 x 100
1-5 Free @ :10 rest
6-10 IM @ :15 rest
11-15 Free @ :10 rest (these should be at 75% effort)

200 free all-out, record time, compare to week one

Warm down:

100 easy

Total: 3000

Workout Two

Warm up:

500 SKIDS

Warm up set:

10 x 50
1-5 Stroke @ :15 rest
6-10 Free @ :15 rest

Main set:

5 x
100 Free @ :10 rest
75 Kick @ :10 rest
100 Free @ :10 rest
25 Sprint @ :20 rest
100 Free @ :10 rest

Warm down:

200 easy

Total: 3200

Workout Three

Warm-up:

5x (swim straight through):
50 freestyle
25 backstroke
25 freestyle kick on back in streamline position (head relaxed back, hips pressed toward the surface)

Warm-up Set:

4x:
4 x 50 freestyle gradually building effort throughout each @ :10 rest
4 x 25 freestyle @ :10 rest – 1st – fast, powerful first 8 strokes, smooth & relaxed rest of way; 2nd – build first 8 strokes, fast 6 strokes, smooth rest of way

Main Set:

3x:
8 x 50 freestyle @ :05 recovery 1st set of 8, :10 recovery for 2nd set of 8, :15 rest for last set of 8

Goal: maintain your best average pace throughout set 1; hold that pace as you fatigue in set 2, give amazing effort for last set

:60 recovery

4x:
6x 25 freestyle kick with kickboard @ :15 recovery try to maintain best average time
1 x 50 free smooth and relaxed body position focus @ :15 recovery

Cooldown:

200 your choice, very relaxed

Total: 2900

Workout Four

Warm up:

300 choice

Warm up set:

2x:
6 x 50 free descending effort from 1 to 3,4 to 6 @ :10 rest
8 x 25 kick with board alternating hard, easy @ :15 rest

Main Set:

4 x 400 freestyle @ :45 rest as (150 smooth, 50 build, then take 5 seconds rest, then 150max effort, 50 easy); goal is to get times of the max 150 and keep them consistent despite fatigue

100 easy backstroke

12 x 25 freestyle as: 3x ( 1 – sprint @ :20 rest, 2 – sprint @ :15 rest, 3 – sprint @ :10 rest, 4 – EASY @ :30 rest) – goal is to keep pace the same despite fatigue and dropping rest

Cool down:

2x: (50 drill, 50 backstroke, 50 easy kick, 50 swim choice) all relaxed

Total: 3800

Click on the number below that corresponds to the week of training you’re in.

The post Low-Impact, High-Efficiency: 12 Weeks to Better Swim Technique appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

In part one of my swim basics series, I wrote about the benefits of including different strokes into your routine. Doing so helps minimize overuse injuries and spices up your regular dip in the pool. Backstroke was the first stroke suggested, thanks in large part to its easy learning curve and utility in open water situations.

Today, we will dive into the breaststroke and discuss how to master it as quickly as possible. Several aspects of the stroke stand out from the crowd, but as always, establishing the correct body position is paramount to success.

Body Position

What stands out about the breaststroke is how straightforward it is, and I mean that literally. Where the breaststroke differs from freestyle and backstroke is the utter lack of rotation. The body remains in a flat position throughout the whole movement. This saves newcomers a lot of frustration and allows for a much easier time mastering the core body position.

The primary position for breaststroke is the streamline position: face down, hands extended above the head, and legs extended in a straight line behind. Point the toes as much as possible at the wall behind, and point the fingertips to the wall ahead. The length of the body should ride high in the water to reduce as much drag as possible. You will consistently return to this position, making it the bedrock of the stroke.

“Several aspects of the stroke stand out from the crowd, but as always, establishing the correct body position is paramount to success.”

To practice this position, simply push off the wall and allow yourself to float in the streamline position for several seconds. If necessary, use a pull buoy to help shore up sinky legs. Repeat this several times until you feel confident. Once you have a good feel for balance in the streamline position you can move right on into the kick, which also stands out when compared to other strokes.

The Kick

There is a good chance that whoever first invented the breaststroke was playing around in the water near some frogs at the time. If I had to guess, I’d say the breaststroke is a direct result of someone mimicking how a frog swims – with wider, sweeping leg motions to power the frog along. In breaststroke, the kick plays a large role in propulsion, requiring more attention to its unique technique.

Unlike the other three strokes where plantar flexion reigns supreme, the breaststroke provides an excuse to let those toes creep up toward the knees. This is great news for those of us who don’t have ankle mobility like Michael Phelps.

“In the breaststroke, the breath is taken with every stroke.”

To begin the kick cycle, the swimmer explodes out of the streamline position by bringing the heels straight up to their butt, allowing the feet to dorsiflex along the way. It is key to remain as narrow as possible as this keeps the legs out of the propulsive stream of water and more to the outside of the body.

Once the heels reach the glutes, the swimmer then extends the legs out and to the side, keeping the feet dorsiflexed until the end of the extension, as if flicking the water with the feet. This allows the feet to act like paddles, pushing the water straight back, much akin to how you use your hands through the pull phase of freestyle.

To develop this unique style of kicking, you can practice with dry land drills that mimic the motion. Alternatively, you can grab a kickboard and focus solely on the kick until you have it perfected. Once you have a good grasp on everything, you can move on to the catch and pull portions of the stroke.

The Catch and Pull

The arm portion of the breaststroke also starts in the streamline position. The arms are extended parallel to the surface of the water with the thumbs touching, little fingers tilted up, and the back of your hands forming the inside edges of a letter V.

From here, the arms sweep to the outside without bending the elbows. Think of lat pull downs where the arms are out in a nice, wide, and powerful position. Sweeping the arms out sets you up for a strong catch and pull.

Then, much like in a freestyle catch, the fingertips drop and the elbows bend, powerfully grabbing on to the water. When you begin to pull from this position, pretend you are scooping the water in toward your mouth. This will prevent the hands from traveling too far under the chest, which can disrupt timing and balance. Once your hands reach your mouth it’s time to explosively extend back out into the streamline position. Told you we’d keep coming back to it!

To practice the front half of the breaststroke, you can bring in a pull buoy to provide buoyancy and isolate the arms. This is nice as it also allows you to focus on the mechanics of breathing during the stroke.

Breathing

The last piece of the puzzle is the breathing. Thankfully, it is pretty simple. In the breaststroke, the breath is taken with every stroke. Just like any other stroke, it is imperative that you exhale while the mouth is underwater.

“When breathing, subtly minimize how much the head comes out of the water.”

To maintain the body position you’ve worked so hard to perfect, focus on keeping your eyes on the bottom of the pool while in the streamline position. When breathing, subtly minimize how much the head comes out of the water. This will allow you to stay as sleek as possible and get the most out of all that propulsion you create.

Pulling It Altogether

This may seem overly simple, but practicing the four main aspects of the stroke independently helps greatly when putting it all back together. Start with the body position, work on both aspects of the propulsion (starting with the kick), and then add in the breath – and voila! You’re swimming the breaststroke.

If you read the first part of the series, you now have two more strokes in your arsenal. No excuses! Now, go mix it up in your next swim workout.

Continue by reading the other articles of the Swimming Basics series:

• Swimming Basics: A Beginner’s Guide to the Backstroke
• Swimming Basics: A Beginner’s Guide to the Breaststroke

• The Case for Swimming
• 4 Common Swimming Mistakes and How to Fix Them
• 3 No-Nonsense Ways to Build Fitness Through Swimming
• 5 CrossFit Exercises That Make You a Better Swimmer

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.

The post Swimming Basics: A Beginner’s Guide to the Breaststroke appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Like the spoiled youngest child in the family, the freestyle swim stroke gets a lot of attention despite having some pretty awesome siblings. Let’s be honest, it is a powerful yet graceful stroke that almost everyone is familiar with, so it is somewhat deserving of all the attention.

Here’s the thing, though, those other siblings in the family? They deserve some loving, too, especially from you – the guy or gal who just bangs out freestyle sets day in and day out. (Full disclosure: I have been completely guilty of this in the past.)

Why should you give other stokes a chance? Integrating different strokes into your workouts not only adds much needed variety, but also helps to reduce overuse injuries. For the competitive open water bunch out there, it gives you options if you ever need to mix it up out on the field of battle.

Where Should You Start?

The easiest, and arguably most practical stroke to introduce into your daily swim routine is the backstroke.

What does it have going for it? For starters you can skip the whole complicated breathing thing and just breathe whenever you feel like it. Big plus!

Along those same lines, if you get in a bind and need to catch your breath or fix your goggles, the backstroke is perfect for that. This is so helpful out in the open water. Needless to say, the backstroke is a handy tool to have in the arsenal, so where do you start?

If you are familiar with the basics of freestyle, you will find many similarities with its supine counterpart, creating an easier transition. Just like in freestyle, or any stroke for that matter, body position is the foundation upon which the rest of the stroke mechanics rest.

Body Position/Balance

Water, being denser than air, punishes inefficiencies and magnifies any extra drag.

The best way to battle drag as a swimmer is to minimize your frontal surface area with a sleek, slippery body position. To best develop this skill, athletes must hone their proprioceptive senses with drills that focus on establishing streamlined balance in the water.

“Integrating different strokes into your workouts not only adds much needed variety, but also helps to reduce overuse injuries.”

Much like the drill you would do with freestyle to develop a sense for balance, the backstroke drill is simply kicking from a supine position with or without a kickboard, with the arms fully extended.

The key is to focus on keeping the hips and legs high in the water with the rest of the body, which will require some experimentation with head and torso position. Master this and you can move on to the next piece of the puzzle – the kick.

Kick

I don’t say this often, but for the kick we can take some advice from Missy Elliot and “flip it and reverse it.” Kicking technique for the backstroke is identical to what you do in freestyle: pointed toes, minimal flexion at the knee, kicking from the hip in sync with your rotation.

Super simple for the freestyler who has already mastered his or her kick, and yet another reason to pick up backstroke as the first stroke you add to the mix.

To work on the kick, you can practice on dry land, on the wall in the pool, or make it the focus of the body position drill mentioned above.

Stroke Mechanics

Last, but not least, come the actual mechanics of the stroke. This is where things begin to differ. The entry looks dramatically different – with the hands entering at an angle, pinky first, directly above and just outside the shoulder.

The arm then extends fully as if reaching for the far wall. Paired with ample body rotation, this allows the entry hand to reach deep into the catch position and set up a great pull phase.

The concept of the catch remains the same: grab as much water as you can and create powerful propulsion through the pull.

This means turning the arms and hands into powerful paddles. The motion itself is much different from freestyle, though, which is where swimming with fists or paddles comes into play. These drills will help to establish this feel for the water during the backstroke.

“I don’t say this often, but for the kick we can take some advice from Missy Elliot and ‘flip it and reverse it.'”

A word of caution: Just like in freestyle, straight-arming the water in the catch phase will not only detract from your overall propulsion, but also drive the torso up and the legs down – a big no-no for drag reduction. Try to avoid developing this habit at all costs.

Lastly, the pull extends all the way to the hips before the hand comes out thumb first with arm fully extended. As the body and arm rotate, the hand returns to the pinky first position before repeating it all over again.

Spice of Life

There you have it, a quick hitting guide for mixing the backstroke into your routine. The video below highlights all the drills mentioned so you can get started right away. Your shoulders, and mind, will thank you for adding some variety – trust me.

Up next? An intro to the butterfly – arguably the coolest looking stroke of the bunch.

Continue by reading the other articles of the Swimming Basics series:

• Swimming Basics: A Beginner’s Guide to the Butterfly
• Swimming Basics: A Beginner’s Guide to the Breaststroke

You might also like:

• The Case for Swimming
• 4 Common Swimming Mistakes and How to Fix Them
• 3 No-Nonsense Ways to Build Fitness Through Swimming
• 5 CrossFit Exercises That Make You a Better Swimmer

The post Swimming Basics: A Beginners’ Guide to the Backstroke appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Taking your open water swimming to the next level requires you to break the complicated motion into its parts. This better facilitates its mastery. That’s where drills come into play. Try these three drills on for size to improve your open water skills this year.

There’s no doubt about it, swimming is a highly technical activity. Much like golf, there are myriad ways to screw it up. Add in open water, and the whole scenario becomes that much more complicated.

Taking your open water swimming to the next level requires you to break the complicated motion into its parts. This better facilitates its mastery. That’s where drills come into play. Try these three drills on for size to improve your open water skills this year.

RELATED: 5 Essential Points of Preparation for Your Triathlon Swim

Drill #1: Swimming With Bands

Swimming with bands is a powerfully simple tool for developing strong open water skills. It is your regular freestyle stroke, but instead of kicking freely, your ankles are bound together. You can use something as simple as a bike tube to accomplish this.

Once you have the band on, you should not be able to kick at all – making it much more challenging to maintain your body position. Swimming with bands should be performed in short sets just like you would with drills to see the most benefit.

Why Swim With Bands?

Sustaining your momentum in open water requires an excellent catch and pull and the ability to maintain body position in a constantly changing environment. Many great open water swimmers maintain high arm turnover to help battle through the chop. If ever there was a drill that addressed all these variables, it would be swimming with bands.

Three Levels of Swimming With Bands

Getting started with bands can be a little intimidating, especially if you are a newer swimmer. It may legitimately feel like you are dragging your legs along the bottom of the pool the first time or two. Try one of these three progressions to ease your entry into the world of bands.

• Level One: Get started by using the band in combination with a pull buoy, and only do 25s or 50s. Try a set of 10-20 of these with a rest period around 20 seconds. Be mindful that you do not lose your strong finish when your turnover naturally increases with this drill.
• Level Two: Once you’ve mastered the pull buoy and band, ditch the buoy for a more difficult effort. Once you master this level of the progression, you will see a nice correlation in your freestyle swimming abilities.
• Level Three: Maybe you mastered swimming with just bands, or maybe you just have a really excellent catch and superb body position. To up the ante, tie a towel around your ankles or place a sponge between your ankles for more resistance. This is sure to give you the extra challenge you desire.

“Sustaining your momentum in open water requires an excellent catch and pull and the ability to maintain body position in a constantly changing environment”

Drill #2: Unco

Unco is short for uncoordinated, which is exactly how you will feel during this drill. It’s a one-arm drill, performed with one arm by your side while performing a full stroke with the other arm. Breathing should be away from the stroking arm and on every stroke. Fins are recommended unless you have a highly propulsive kick.

The key to the drill is to make sure you rotate your body fully to the dead, non-stroking side. The rotation within unco is critical. Get it right and your stroking arm will recover easily over the top of the water. Stay flat on that dead side and the arm recovery will be tough!

“If you struggle to coordinate the drill at first, don’t worry, that’s normal. Actually, that’s the whole idea and simply highlights that the timing of your stroke may need some work.”

It’s tempting to avoid this rotational aspect of unco. But the key to ensuring you totally nail it is to focus on dipping that non-stroking arm and shoulder down into the water. An excellent mantra for unco is: “Stroke and dip. Stroke and dip.”

If you struggle to coordinate the drill at first, don’t worry, that’s normal. Actually, that’s the whole idea and simply highlights that the timing of your stroke may need some work. When you get it right, it will be smooth and rhythmical.

Why Use Unco?

The founders of Swim Smooth call this the “King of Drills” and rightfully so. It delivers a whole lot of bang for your buck. If you’re not sure what to work on in your stroke, it’s hard to go wrong with unco. Almost any swimmer will benefit from it.

Unco is great in that it helps you put all the elements of your stroke together, making sure everything works with the right timing. No other drill does this. Maintaining excellent timing as you battle it out in the open water is crucial to having a great swim.

Try it out. Before you know it, you will begin seeing the magic of unco unfold into better timing and smoother swimming.

RELATED: Fingers and Fists: The Drills Pro Swimmers Use

Drill #3: Doggy Paddle

The doggy paddle drill (or “long dog” in some parts of the world) is one of the oldest drills in the book, and arguably one of the greatest. This drill is simply your regular freestyle stroke with 100% of your arm recovery underwater.

It is best practiced with a pull buoy to ensure the legs don’t provide any assistance. Doggy paddle is a powerful tool for developing an excellent catch, rotation, and feel for the water.

RELATED: Avoid These 4 Mistakes for Better Freestyle Swimming

Why Use Doggy Paddle?

In open water swimming, it’s what happens under the surface that makes the difference. Having a strong catch and pull will set you up for success, and the doggy paddle drill is excellent for honing in on both skills.

The underwater recovery phase forces you to develop an early bent-elbow catch. In fact, it is nearly impossible to do the drill with a straight-arm catch if you do it correctly. Improving upon your catch and rotation will help you slip through the water more effortlessly.

“Having a strong catch and pull will set you up for success, and the doggy paddle drill is excellent for honing in on both skills.”

The key to getting the most out of the drill is to focus on keeping the lead hand constantly in motion, whether extending forward, catching the water, or pulling backward. There should not be a pause at any stage.

A good mantra to keep you buttery smooth throughout the drill is: “Reach and roll.” Once you perfect the doggy paddle drill, you should feel smooth and powerful even in the trickiest of conditions.

Now Go Drill It

Give these three drills a try. Add them into your sets two to three times a week and I bet you will be stronger and smoother the next time you get outside and swim.

The post 3 Drills for Stronger and Smoother Open Water Swimming appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

My goal today is to help you avoid the biggest swimming mistake I made when I was learning. I focused too much energy on technique and not enough on the actual development of swim fitness, which is a recipe for struggle.

It’s story time. Grab some popcorn and get comfortable.

The Early Days

In my family, we all readily acknowledge the fact we each have a stubborn streak a mile wide. It’s a defining trait of the Gerbers. Naturally, when I decided to take on my first Ironman with a lack of any real swimming ability, I determined I could figure it out on my own. No problem. How hard could it be, right?

RELATED: 4 Pro Tips for Ironman Swimming Success

At the time, I was into the popular lifehacker Tim Ferriss. Like me, he couldn’t make it from one end of the pool to the other without being totally winded. That is, until he found a way to hack the system and make swimming an enjoyable activity.

In his article detailing this transformation, Tim referenced the Total Immersion (TI) swimming system. That was all it took. I went to the library, grabbed every TI resource I could find, and dove in.

“While not a bad idea, in theory, this near worshipful attention to my technique didn’t add up to a lot of swim time. This, in turn, really did not help to develop my swim fitness.”

One of the first things I learned was the simple formula that defines swim speed:

Swim Speed = Distance per Stroke X Stroke Rate (Strokes per Minute)

For most people, the easiest piece of the puzzle to work on is increasing the distance per stroke. This can come in the form of reducing drag by perfecting your technique or it can come from increased upper-body strength and power. As you would expect from a book aimed at beginners, the focus was the development of proper technique and drag reduction. I ate it up.

Somewhere along the line, I got hung up on spending tremendous amounts of energy on drills and improving my form. It got to the point I’d pull myself from the water the minute I though my form was “falling apart” to avoid creating bad habits.

RELATED: Swim Speed Strokes for Swimmers (Book Review)

While not a bad idea, in theory, this near worshipful attention to my technique didn’t add up to a whole lot of swim time. This, in turn, really did not help to develop my swim fitness. To say I plateaued would be an understatement.

It is easy to get stuck believing you can cure your swimming woes by perfecting technique. I’ll be the first person to tell you that movement in a dense fluid more severely punishes poor technique. That is a true statement.

“Working with a coach also gives you guidance for addressing specific areas of your swim fitness. This keeps your training sessions from becoming too one-dimensional.”

What is also true, though, is that you face increased resistance the faster you swim. You can thank the laws of physics for that little gift. Ultimately, to endure at higher speeds, you must develop muscular strength and endurance. The long-term, “non-lifehack” path to becoming a successful swimmer must go through the land of strength and power.

Practical Application

If I were to go back and do it all over again, I’d do a few things differently to ease the painfully long process of getting faster. Take these tips and avoid making the same mistakes I did.

1. Balance Training Time

I’d make the simple acknowledgement that I should address both technique and fitness concurrently. Each swim set should address both to some degree.

READY TO GET STARTED: Free Swim Workouts

2. Work With a Coach

Even if it is just a session or two, working with a coach will give you that outside perspective you need to flesh out your blind spots and avoid plateaus. The truth is successful self-coaching is rare.

“I focused too much energy on technique and not enough on the actual development of swim fitness, which is a recipe for struggle.”

Working with a coach also gives you guidance for addressing specific areas of your swim fitness. This keeps your training sessions from becoming too one-dimensional.

3. Swim With Paddles

I experienced this all too far along my swimming journey. Swimming with paddles is akin to bringing the gym into the water with you. You can pick up a pair for a reasonable price from either TYR or Finis or you may be able to borrow them from your local pool.

As you get started with paddles, keep it small – maybe do fifty meters at a time. Once you get more comfortable, experiment. You can do long sets (400-500+ yards) or you can mix them in on short sets (100-200), but focus on maintaining a higher turnover. It all depends on what area of your fitness you are targeting.

RELATED: An Inside Look at a Swimmer’s Gear Bag

4. Swim With Bands

Oh the joy! And the torment. Swimming with bands around your ankles is one of the most powerful and, at times, discouraging tools in your arsenal. I fought this one for a long time, but it will make you a better swimmer. If you start small and give it time, you will find yourself bettering your rotation, catch, core strength, and rhythm.

When swimming with bands it is best to treat it like a drill and keep it primarily to distances of 25-50 meters. You can go longer than that, or even mix it with paddles, but make sure you have built up to it.

Save Yourself Some Headaches

Technique and swim fitness are equally important. You training sessions should reflect that. Trust me. If you’re a new or intermediate swimmer, try mixing in a few of the ideas above to keep you from hitting plateaus, or to help you break through them. Here’s to a faster you!

Photos 1, 2 and 3 courtesy of Shutterstock.

Photo 4 courtesy of TYR.

The post Avoid These 4 Mistakes for Better Freestyle Swimming appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

The kick actually serves three important functions in the swimming stroke outside of just propulsion:

The importance of the kick portion of the freestyle swim stroke is a highly discussed topic among coaches and athletes. Views range from those who totally ignore the kick (usually the athletes) to those who advocate spending lots of time on kick-only work. It is a polarizing subject that often focuses on the idea of propulsion to the detriment of the bigger picture.

The kick actually serves three important functions in the swimming stroke outside of just propulsion:

1. Creates lift
2. Acts as a stabilizing force
3. Sustains inertia

How the kick is trained upon understanding all these factors becomes largely dependent on your event or sport. Let’s dive in, shall we?

Lift

In a fluid that punishes inefficiency, the ability to minimize drag is high on the radar for all swimmers. The kick helps reduce drag in several ways.

In freestyle, the kick is asymmetrical. The downward phase of the kick is more powerful than the upward, creating lift in the back half of the body. This brings the legs up and helps to optimize overall body position. Achieving optimal body position is key to drag reduction.

RELATED: 4 Common Swimming Mistakes and How to Fix Them

For example, if you’re swimming along with “sinky” legs that are low in the water, you are presenting far more frontal surface area, which creates unnecessary drag. You’re pushing a lot of water along and fighting against a lot of resistance. Conversely, a well-executed kick will lift the legs up into position right behind and inline with the torso, resulting in a smoother, faster stroke.

“To effectively create both lift and propulsion with the kick, athletes need proper ankle mobility and a kick that originates from the hips.”

“Well-executed” is the key phrase in that last sentence. To effectively create both lift and propulsion with the kick, athletes need proper ankle mobility and a kick that originates from the hips. Without both in place, a swimmer can actually create more drag and a lot of extra work.

Stabilizing Force

Good, hip-driven rotation also minimizes drag by allowing the swimmer to become long and “skinny,” much like the hull of a speedboat. Without proper rotation, a swimmer becomes flatter in the water, like the wide hull of a barge, and winds up pushing a lot of water along rather than cutting through it. But excellent side-to-side rotation is more difficult to balance and requires extra stabilization. This is where the kick comes into play.

RELATED: Swimming with Fins: Training Aid or Cheating Aid?

In a properly timed stroke, the most powerful of the down kicks coincides with the end of the pull phase, which helps to stabilize the body. That big kick completes a counter-rotation of the body that is initiated through the shoulders, core, and hips at the same time that the underwater arm pull begins (the “catch”). This initial motion generates a force against which we can pull our hand/arm more efficiently, creating a crucial bridge between our arm and our core.

Inertia

You can only reduce drag so much. At a point, you move on to the task of creating and maintaining speed. The ability to remove dead spots in the stroke and sustain speed is crucial to a well-rounded stroke.

“A good kick lessens the loss of momentum, helping the swimmer make the most of the points in the stroke where front-quadrant propulsion is at its weakest.”

Properly timed catch and pull phases help on the front end of the stroke. A good kick lessens the loss of momentum, helping the swimmer make the most of the points in the stroke where front-quadrant propulsion is at its weakest. The more rapid the kick (e.g. a six-beat kick), the more constant the propulsion throughout the whole stroke cycle.

This becomes all the more important in open water where choppy conditions can create a battleground for momentum and require the athlete to punch through the resistance. The constantly changing conditions faced in choppy water also require more effort to maintain an efficient body position. A good kick paired with excellent stroke timing goes a long way into making this battle easier.

How Important Is Propulsion From the Kick?

We can’t forget about propulsion. Of all the strokes, freestyle is one of the most upper-body driven. In elite level swimmers only ten to fifteen percent of total propulsion comes from the kick.¹ That’s not a lot. And how important that percentage of propulsion is to you depends on the demands of your event.

“In short and anaerobically driven events, the ten to fifteen percent gained from the kick can make the difference between victors and runner-ups.”

For example, a 2007 study published in the International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching concluded that despite improvements in 200m kick-only time trials, 400m freestyle times remained unchanged in both the control and experiment groups.² For middle-distance races, there seems to be a disconnect from time spent working the kick and actual results.

On the flip side, sprint distance (200m and shorter) races can be won and lost based on this small percentage. In short and anaerobically driven events, the ten to fifteen percent gained from the kick can make the difference between victors and runner-ups.

How Much Kick-Specific Work Should You Do?

What is often left out of this discussion is how much kick-specific work an athlete should do within their swim sets. There is no simple answer, but the principle of specificity serves as a guiding light. As with any structured training plan, you need to train for your event and that training should become more specific the closer you are to your priority event(s).

RELATED: I’m a Triathlete, I Don’t Kick When I Swim

For example, if you are a triathlete who needs to bike and run well after getting out of the water, it is well-advised to practice kicking as much as is necessary to foster great technique. But developing kick fitness isn’t a necessity, especially with the kind of volume many triathletes put on their legs. In the early season, extra kicking sets have a place, primarily to improve neuromuscular control. But as you get closer to the event, endurance and front-quadrant output should take the cake.

On the other hand, if you are a competitive short-distance swimmer, developing kick-specific fitness holds more value. Without the demand of two extra sports, more time can and should be spent on ankle mobility, technique, and kick-only fitness throughout your season.

Perhaps you have a swim as part of your CrossFit or mixed-modal fitness competition? Ask yourself how long the swim is and how much your legs factor into the exercises that follow the swim portion. Use the answers you come up with to sculpt your training plan.

RELATED: Swimming and the CrossFit Games: Why Is It Everyone’s Weak Link?

The Bottom Line on Kicking

The kick plays a dynamic role in the freestyle stroke. It deserves all the attention it gets, but more value can be found from developing correct technique than from the generation of leg output. As you wrestle with how much to train the kick, let the principal of specificity be your guide.

References:

1. Konstantaki, M., & Winter, E. M. (2007). “The effectiveness of a leg-kicking training program on performance and physiological measure of competitive swimmers.” International Journal of Sports Science and Coaching. 2007 2, 37-48.

2. Deschodt, V. J. “Relative contribution of arms and legs in humans for propulsion in 25m sprint front-crawl swimming.” European Journal of Applied Physiology and Occupational Physiology. 1999 80, 192-199.

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.

The post Freestyle Swimming: How to Tailor Your Kick to Your Event appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

I grew up at a time when we didn’t have all the information in the world at our fingertips, just a press of a button away. If you wanted to know something, you either went and found someone who knew all about it or found one of these things called a book on the subject. If you did the latter, you then tried whatever it was you were reading about to gain some experience.

The “Expert” Dilemma

The closest we get to this these days is watching a ninety-second clip on YouTube. On rare occasions, people may attend an actual workshop or certification to learn more about a subject in greater depth, but I’m often left feeling like most fitness certifications are equally as bad as watching clips on YouTube. Without standards, which represent skill and experience in the field, all you have is a bunch of theoretical knowledge. And as anyone who has been around training for a while will tell you, there’s a big difference between some of the things that work in labs and things that work in the real world.

Training can really be broken into three big chunks: flexibility, strength, and conditioning. And while someone can be an expert in one area, it is rare to find someone who actually knows what they’re talking about in two areas, and even rarer to find someone who can talk shop with authority in all three.

The biggest disconnect seems to happen between the endurance and strength people, with both at seemingly opposing ends of the scale. And when it comes to endurance activities, swimming is the hardest for people to understand.

Swimming Is Watery Jiu Jitsu

Just about everything you normally apply to training can go out the window when it comes to swimming. For starters, swimming is difficult because unlike riding and running, you move through water, which has far more resistance than air. Secondly, you aren’t even partially weight bearing, unlike in cycling or running, as the water carries your weight. Finally, the muscles used to power swimming are much smaller and tend to be predominantly upper-body. In normal distance work you use the legs, which have a higher percentage of slow twitch endurance fibers in them.

For this reason, I see a lot of mistakes for people who add swimming to their training. One mistake is that people want to use swimming as a recovery from their regular training. Unless you’re already a good swimmer, you won’t recover much by trying not to drown as you struggle from end to end. While cold water is good for helping sore muscles recover, most public pools these days are set far too warm, as they want to make sure the kids won’t freeze during swimming lessons. If recovery is your goal, you’ll be better off just getting in and moving around for half an hour, unless you’re already a good swimmer.

If your goal is to use swimming to gain fitness, I have bad news for you. Swimming is incredibly technical. Think of it as being like watery Brazilian jiu jitsu – sure, you can muscle your way through it for a while, but ultimately technique wins out. That’s why when you start swimming, every session will feel like an all-out effort to avoid drowning, aven though you won’t actually be working that hard. What you’re feeling instead is local muscular fatigue from asking muscles to do something they’re not accustomed to.

If you are looking to increase fitness in the pool, here are my three pieces of advice for doing it effectively.

1. Work on Technique

My first piece of advice for anyone who wants to swim for fitness is to put in the technique work. It’s going to take some effort on your behalf to become more skilled at swimming. I found this out a few years ago, when I was “lucky” enough to have shoulder surgery. I wasn’t allowed do anything with my arm for three months, so I spent that time doing body alignment and kicking drills. Then I was allowed use my arm gently, so I did other drills focusing on hand placement and how to catch the water.

All in all, I did nearly five months of skill training before I was swimming in earnest again. Funnily enough, I was faster at that point than I had been prior to surgery, yet had done no swim-specific fitness work. The difference was all in my technique and feel for the water.

2. Swim Hard

The next thing to keep in mind when swimming for fitness is that while your heart may feel like it’s going to leap out of your chest, you’re simply not working as hard as you do when you run or ride. Your maximum heart rate while running is always going to be higher than it is swimming. The more upright you are and the more load you carry, the greater your heart rate. This is one reason why using normal heart rate zones that you calculated for running won’t help much for swimming.

The second part of this to remember is that you use far smaller muscle groups for swimming than you do for running and cycling, so the load on the heart is less. The moment you stop doing that thing you call swimming, your heart will return to normal. Compare this to good swimmers, whose bodies will glow red from heat increases (because you can’t sweat to cool down in the pool) and who will drip sweat once they’re out of the pool as the body tries to cool itself down.

It might sound a bit odd, but all this means that even a hard session in the pool may only have the same effect on your fitness as a moderate running session, provided you’re actually a competent swimmer in the first place. Have you ever wondered why swimmers spend so much time in the water? It’s because they need to develop the feel for the water, and because even at high levels of perceived effort they’re just not getting the same adaptation to the heart as a runner might.

If you are swimming for fitness, you need to bust your butt to swim hard. That’s the only way to get your heart rate high enough to get the top-end fitness you can get from running. While the impact on the body will be far lower doing this with swimming than running, the hard fact is that many people will never get to this point without years of dedicated effort.

3. Add Load to the Legs

Years of hard work can be somewhat mitigated if you choose to swim with fins. It may seem like fins would make swimming easier, and you will certainly go faster. But adding resistance for the leg muscles will jack up your heart rate tremendously. I actually recommend that clients who aren’t habitual swimmers only swim with fins for this reason. But don’t do this if you’re training for an open water swim or triathlon – you need to spend time swimming without fins for that purpose.

The three biggest things you can do if you’re looking to increase fitness in the pool are to get some technical coaching, swim hard, and use fins to add load to the legs and drive up the heart rate. Above all, though, put technique first as it will make the biggest single difference to your ability to swim hard for extended periods of time.

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.

The post 3 No-Nonsense Ways to Build Fitness Through Swimming appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Swimming Is Different

Even once people start swimming they are often slower to see improvements compared to biking and running because swimming is an unnatural activity. There are two main reasons for this.

First, water is a completely different medium to air with far greater resistance. It sounds so obvious, but we spend our whole lives moving through air and comparatively little ever moving through water, so it will never feel as natural as walking around does. And speaking of moving, have you noticed how we spend most of our time upright with feet on the hard ground, yet when we swim we’re horizontal and moving through that unfamiliar medium of water?

Focus on Drill Work and Skill Work

This is why for many people they will gain more time on their swim by focusing on drills rather than just swimming more, especially in the early stages. Drills fall into one of two categories – either they work on body position or they work on your feel of the water. The feel of the water is something you only get from many hours of swimming and is one of the reasons why swimmers train with such high volume – not just for fitness, but to develop the feel and work on the skill of swimming.

For those who are starting to look at swimming, maybe for CrossFit competition or to actually get into triathlon, your early swimming shouldn’t be about endless laps, but should spend far more time focusing on the skill of the movements. For CrossFitters getting into swimming, if you apply the same technique-driven focus to swimming as you do to your Olympic lifts, then you’ll find you have more success more quickly than if you just jump in and try to recreate the Games swim WODs.

Enhance the Feeling of the Movement

Sidestepping briefly, I spend a lot of time teaching people how to use kettlebells, and I’ve often found success in getting them to feel a certain muscle or movement before returning to whatever skill it is I am teaching them. By enhancing the feel I can give them a better press or whatever the exercise happens to be. An example to get people pressing better might be:

3 reps press from tall kneeling.This teaches them how to actually tighten their midsection and get the torso vertical, without having a break at the hips. Removing the lower legs from the drill and forcing them into a proper neutral hip position will help them once we return to standing.

Follow this with a set of 3 reps of bottoms up (BU) press from tall kneeling. In this drill we keep the same enhanced-body-position feel of the previous drill and add complexity by using the BU press. The BU press forces people to do a few more things perfectly, or else the bell will topple over (see position in photo below). They’ll learn to keep their forearm vertical, to create tension on the handle, and how to pack their shoulder properly – and all without needing any instruction.

If we return to pressing at this point, people will typically have a better feeling of the groove of their press, as well as the correct body position needed. And this is exactly the type of format we’re going to follow in the drills below in order to get a better feel for the water.

Swimming With Fists

The way we’re going to do this is by removing part of your paddle and closing the hand. By swimming with fists you’ll learn a few different things, but chief among them will be a better feel for what your hand does in the water and how to grab a better hold on the water with each stroke.

Because that’s what swimming is – you grab a handhold on the water, no different to grabbing a rung on a ladder, and pull yourself past your hand. The intent is not to perform an open-chain pull through the water, but to lock the hand in place, in effect turning the movement into a closed-chain one in the same way that you tell someone doing bench press to push themselves away from the bar. The fist drill will help you do that.

Here’s two options that both work. Both were recently shown to me by the super coaches at Thanyapura’s Supercamp. The first is by triathlon superstar Jurgen Zack, the second by Javier Gomez’s coach Miguel Lopez.

Jurgen’s Fist Set

• Warm up – 200m-400m.
• Swim 100m as 25m left fist/right hand open, 25m right fist/left hand open, 25m both fists, 25m swim. Repeat for 4-6 rounds.

This sequence is fantastic for an extra reason over regular fist drills because doing them single sided will help you feel if your stroke is even. There can be differences in where you place your hands in the water and how hard you stroke with either arm. Returning to normal swimming after using fists will make you feel like you’ve got enormous paddles on your hands heightening how well you can pull.

Miguel’s Fist Set

• Warm up – 200m-400m.
• Swim 200m as 25m with thumbs out, 25m with pinkies out, 25m with index fingers out, 25m with thumbs and pinkies out (the shaka/BJJ sign), 25m index fingers and pinkies out, 75m swim. Repeat for 4-6 rounds.

This series will show you exactly how much each finger matters when it comes to hand placement in the water. (And remember that you shouldn’t be swimming with fingers together, but rather slightly splayed apart).

Make Every Session Technical

Every swim session should have some technical swimming in it, particularly for beginners. You’ll see way more improvement by spending time on drills than you will on just swimming. And for more advanced swimmers, these are still great drills to add into training, either as part of the warm up or after a session of paddle work to regain your feel for the water before you finish the session.

Photos 1 & 2 courtesy of Shutterstock.

Photo 3 courtesy of Andrew Read.

The post Fingers and Fists: The Drills Pro Swimmers Use appeared first on Breaking Muscle.