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Session of the Month: December
SWIMOf course at this time of year the weather can be very poor and daylight hours are short. This can affect our training – but not in the pool! Swimming is the discipline that we know that we will be able to achieve whatever the weather.
Now is a great time of year to be developing our skills in the pool. Making improvements to our stroke takes time – many weeks – so start now and by the spring those changes will be firmly in place.
You may know where your technique needs to improve and if so substitute the drills below with drills to improve those areas. If you are not sure what drills to use downloading our Stroke Builder Swim App. However, many swimmers will benefit from a period improving streamlining and body position in the water. The session below does just this.
The Session
Fundamental to swimming efficiently is the need to reduce your resistance or drag as you move through the water while maximising you propulsion. Your body position is key to reducing your resistance and this is the area that all swimmers should work on first to improve their swim technique. As you swim you should imagine that you are cutting a hole through the water at the head and shoulders and that the rest of your body moves through that hole without bringing in additional resistance from stomach, hips or legs. Be a torpedo!
The position of your head is fundamental to achieving a good body position. The lower half of your body will react to changes in head position. A high head position (eyes directly forwards) will result in a lowering of the hips and legs. Lowering the eyes and lowering the head to a neutral position (neck in line with spine) will raise the hips and legs.
The drills
Drill 1: Catch up
Drill 2: Head position drill
Drill 3: Kicking hands by side
Drill 4: Kicking on side
A short description is given at the end of this document. A comprehensive description of these drills including high definition video can be found in our Stroke Builder Swimming App.
Objective
Activity
Distance (m)
Warm Up 200m easy swimming. Note in below 30 s R means take 30 seconds rest. 200 Drill 1 Catch up drill. Swim 2 lengths as drill. Take 30 s R (rest) and repeat
100 m as 25 m drill, 25 m full stroke swim repeated
200 Drill 2 Head position drill. Swim 2 lengths as drill. 30 s R and repeat
100 m as 25 m drill, 25 m full stroke swim repeated
200 Drill 3 Kicking hands by side drill : Swim 2 lengths as drill. 30 s R and repeat
100 m as 25 m drill, 25 m full stroke swim repeated. This drill is best done with fins on. If without fins swim as above but drill for half a length only.
200 Drill 4 Kicking on side drill : Swim 2 lengths as drill. 30 s R and repeat
100 m as 25 m drill, 25 m full stroke swim repeated. This drill is best done with fins on. If without fins swim as above but drill for half a length only.
200 Main Set 100 m as every other length drill 1, 30 s R 100 m as every other length drill 2, 30 s R
100 m as every other length drill 3, 30 s R
100 m as every other length drill 4, 30 s R
400 Sprint distance athletes do this set x 1 Standard distance athletes do this set x 2
Long distance athletes do this set x 3-4
200 as 25 Drill 1, 25 Drill 2, 25 Drill 3 and so on, 30 s R
200 easy swimming focus on stroke, 30 s R
400 Cool down 200 m swimming easy breathing every 2,3,4,5,5,4,3,2 strokes 200 Total 2000 Brief Description of the Drills
Catch up: Begin the drill with both arms extended in line with your shoulders. Take a stroke with the right arm and as you do so rotate your body. Perform the right hand entry with hand entering in line with shoulder, roll back to a flat position and extend the right arm and shoulder forward under the water. Wait until the right hand is alongside the still extended left hand before you begin your next stroke with the left arm. Take the stroke with the left arm and wait until the left hand is alongside the right before taking the next stroke with the right arm.
Head position drill: Begin the drill with your head in line with your neck and spine and with your eyes looking directly to the bottom of the pool. This is a neutral head position. As you are swimming change the position of your eyes so that they are slightly forward and feel (or get a friend to observe!) what happens to your legs and hips. Repeat this exercise a few times with different head positions until you find a position that optimises your streamlining.
Kicking hands by side: Begin this drill with your body flat in the water, hips and legs high, your head in a neutral position. Move yourself through the water using a flutter kick ensuring that your toes and feet are pointing straight back behind you. When you feel balanced in the water rotate your body to around 45 degrees from the flat position. Your head should remain still and in the neutral position, eyes to the bottom of the pool, unless you need to breathe. Count to 3 and then rotate back to flat in a controlled movement rotating from the hips. Again wait until you feel nicely balanced in the water and then rotate from hips in the opposite direction. This drill is best done using swimming fins.
Kicking on side: Lie on your side with a rotation of around 45 degrees from a flat position and your bottom shoulder and arm fully extended. Your ear should be tight to your shoulder with your head in neutral swimming position (neck aligned with spine and eyes to the bottom of the pool). The extended arm should be 1-2 inches under the surface of the water. To breathe, roll the head to the side just sufficient for the mouth and nose to be exposed. The movement is a roll – there is no lifting of the head! Count 6-10 kicks then roll on to the other side recovering with the upper arm and taking a stroke with the bottom arm. Switch sides in this way every 6-10 kicks. This drill is best done using swimming fins.
