Soldato
This might help some people. These are the drills I received following my Swim4Tri coaching session. I would say they've definitely helped my stroke but I'm still convinced I have buoyancy problems due to body composition.
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There are four key concepts to facilitate you swimming faster, smoother and more efficiently through the water, these are:
1) Increase your rotation and start to swim on your side. This will minimise your frontal resistance, bringing into play the stronger muscles of your back for a more powerful pull while adding length to your stroke.
2) Lengthen your stroke. Increasing your distance travelled per stroke equates to fewer strokes per length thus reducing effort and increasing streamlining.
3) Develop the timing of your stroke. The arm cycle for long distance swimming is essentially swum with one arm working while the other arm is extended in front of the body and resting. This lengthens the body helping to keep the body parallel to the surface of the water. This aids streamlining and you reduce drag.
4) Develop a shallow leg kick. The legs should be used to balance the stroke and not be relied on to keep you afloat or to propel you forward. Even the most developed leg kick will provide less than 10% of overall propulsion. An incorrect leg kick can also create a poor body position creating drag.
Here are the drills to practice:
Front Torpedo without breath: Leg-kicking and upper body rotation drill. On your front with your hands by your side and head perfectly still. Use fins and kick from the hips. Rotate the shoulders from side to side - maximum rotation is shoulder to chin. Go as far as you can without breath then finish the rest of the length full stroke really focusing on upper body rotation.
Front Torpedo with breath: Leg-kicking and upper body rotation drill. On your front with your hands by your side and head perfectly still. Use fins and kick from the hips. Rotate the shoulders from side to side - maximum rotation is shoulder to chin. Rotate fully every 3rdrotation and hold the position, then pivot the head to breathe. The breath should be taken independently from the rotation.
Basic Extension drill: This is the first of the drills to develop full upper body rotation. The swimmer practices the fully rotated position whilst only using their legs. The position is one arm in front of them and the other is held at the side. The shoulder of the leading arm is fully rotated under the chin, which gives a fully extended position. The legs should be kicking in a downwards plane at all times. No scissoring should be occurring. The swimmer breathes every 6 kicks.
Extension Switch drill: This drill promotes good body rotation and head alignment. This looks like regular freestyle in very slow motion. One arm is extended forward, pointing towards your destination (front-hand). The other is pointing backwards (back-hand) with the arm resting against the side of your body. You should be rotated on your side with the backhand side of your body shoulder rotated out of the water. Take 6 kicks then breath quickly to the side, then another 6 kicks and then pull through with the extended arm and recover and extend forward with the other arm so your hands switch places. The front hand takes a stroke underwater and finishes against your side, becoming the backhand. The backhand recovers over the surface of the water becoming the front hand. You will now be rotated to the other side. Repeat drill.
Traditional Single Arm: Focus on one are at a time, as the hand re-enters into the water allow it to rest for account of at least two. The stationary arm is streamlined in front of the head. Think about where you are moving the water; ideally the water should be travelling underneath you out past your feet. This can only be performed with catch that bends at the elbow so the fingertips face the floor. The hand pulls centrally. You are trying to use the palm of your hand and forearm as one paddle. This only breaks at the exit of the stroke, remember fingertips point down to always hold the pressure of the water with the palm of hand.
Catch-up+1 second and 0 (touch and go): Practice this drill to isolate one arm, to practice a longstroke and a long body position. Swum like regular freestyle, except one arm is stationary, always extended forward (front arm) pointing towards the destination, while the other arm performs the stroke (working arm). When the working arm moves forward and "catches-up" with the stationary arm, they change places.
Near Style Catch Up (Fullstroke): Just like full catch-up, except the stationary (front) arm begins to work or move before the other arm fully "catches-up" - it begins to move after the working arm is about 3/4 of the way through a full arm motion,just before the working arm enters the water.
1) Increase your rotation and start to swim on your side. This will minimise your frontal resistance, bringing into play the stronger muscles of your back for a more powerful pull while adding length to your stroke.
2) Lengthen your stroke. Increasing your distance travelled per stroke equates to fewer strokes per length thus reducing effort and increasing streamlining.
3) Develop the timing of your stroke. The arm cycle for long distance swimming is essentially swum with one arm working while the other arm is extended in front of the body and resting. This lengthens the body helping to keep the body parallel to the surface of the water. This aids streamlining and you reduce drag.
4) Develop a shallow leg kick. The legs should be used to balance the stroke and not be relied on to keep you afloat or to propel you forward. Even the most developed leg kick will provide less than 10% of overall propulsion. An incorrect leg kick can also create a poor body position creating drag.
Here are the drills to practice:
Front Torpedo without breath: Leg-kicking and upper body rotation drill. On your front with your hands by your side and head perfectly still. Use fins and kick from the hips. Rotate the shoulders from side to side - maximum rotation is shoulder to chin. Go as far as you can without breath then finish the rest of the length full stroke really focusing on upper body rotation.
Front Torpedo with breath: Leg-kicking and upper body rotation drill. On your front with your hands by your side and head perfectly still. Use fins and kick from the hips. Rotate the shoulders from side to side - maximum rotation is shoulder to chin. Rotate fully every 3rdrotation and hold the position, then pivot the head to breathe. The breath should be taken independently from the rotation.
Basic Extension drill: This is the first of the drills to develop full upper body rotation. The swimmer practices the fully rotated position whilst only using their legs. The position is one arm in front of them and the other is held at the side. The shoulder of the leading arm is fully rotated under the chin, which gives a fully extended position. The legs should be kicking in a downwards plane at all times. No scissoring should be occurring. The swimmer breathes every 6 kicks.
Extension Switch drill: This drill promotes good body rotation and head alignment. This looks like regular freestyle in very slow motion. One arm is extended forward, pointing towards your destination (front-hand). The other is pointing backwards (back-hand) with the arm resting against the side of your body. You should be rotated on your side with the backhand side of your body shoulder rotated out of the water. Take 6 kicks then breath quickly to the side, then another 6 kicks and then pull through with the extended arm and recover and extend forward with the other arm so your hands switch places. The front hand takes a stroke underwater and finishes against your side, becoming the backhand. The backhand recovers over the surface of the water becoming the front hand. You will now be rotated to the other side. Repeat drill.
Traditional Single Arm: Focus on one are at a time, as the hand re-enters into the water allow it to rest for account of at least two. The stationary arm is streamlined in front of the head. Think about where you are moving the water; ideally the water should be travelling underneath you out past your feet. This can only be performed with catch that bends at the elbow so the fingertips face the floor. The hand pulls centrally. You are trying to use the palm of your hand and forearm as one paddle. This only breaks at the exit of the stroke, remember fingertips point down to always hold the pressure of the water with the palm of hand.
Catch-up+1 second and 0 (touch and go): Practice this drill to isolate one arm, to practice a longstroke and a long body position. Swum like regular freestyle, except one arm is stationary, always extended forward (front arm) pointing towards the destination, while the other arm performs the stroke (working arm). When the working arm moves forward and "catches-up" with the stationary arm, they change places.
Near Style Catch Up (Fullstroke): Just like full catch-up, except the stationary (front) arm begins to work or move before the other arm fully "catches-up" - it begins to move after the working arm is about 3/4 of the way through a full arm motion,just before the working arm enters the water.
29 minutes swimming of 44 minutes total.
