Given the choice to do anything you are capable of doing, what would you do to swim better? What one thing would you change about your swimming technique, swimming workout habits, or anything else you do with swimming to swim better?
My swim better list goes something like this (these are only a few of the many things that could make anyone's list). Depending on what is going on with life, I try to remember these things and put one of them into play when appropriate:
Swim more often. I know I can get by with two swim workouts a week and still swim OK, but if I want to swim better, I know I have to swim three or four (or five) workouts each week.
Mix up my workout routine. If I am not training for a specific event, race, or meet, I usually go to the swimming pool and do almost the same workout every time. If I want to swim better, I need to mix up my swim workouts; do some of them with higher intensity sets, some with lower intensity; some with longer swims, some with shorter; some pulling and kicking, too.
Do more swim technique drill work. I do some swimming technique work within every workout, but if I want to swim better I know I need to do more. What works for me is to make one of those added workouts almost exclusively a technique workout. I keep doing some technique-oriented sets within every workout, but I make one workout each week a much more technique focused swim.
Get a good swimming catch. I try to swim with an good early vertical forearm or a good catch; fingertips pointed down, pressing back on the water with everything between my fingertips and my elbows, trying to engage my lats and pecs and hollowing my armpit (try a wide-arm lat pull down on dryland and check the way your armpit develops a hole between the lats and pecs).
To be a better swimmer, I have to check this arm position very often or I get lazy and let my catch start late or I let me elbow drop or change orientation so I lose some of the forearm press on the water.
Pay better attention to my body position and my hips and shoulders. When I swim freestyle I try to keep my hips and shoulders rolling or rotating, but if I want to swim better I have to check that body roll more frequently, perhaps even doing specific body roll swim drills to help. I tend to get distracted when I am swimming - my mind wanders off to many other places. When that happens, I need to get back in the moment and make sure I have not flattened out, make sure I am still rolling my body appropriately.
Kick more. I tend to let my legs float along, doing an easy, soft two-beat kick. If I want to be a better swimmer, I know I need to kick a bit more, particularly when I leave a wall.
Keep an eyes down head position. I tend to do this pretty well - keep my eyes looking at the bottom of the pool, maintaining a neutral head position so the top of my head points where I am going. Still, to swim better, I need to check this often, as I can sometimes let my head tip up when I rotate for a breath, especially if I am doing an ocean swim.
Make your own list of things you could work on to be a better swimmer. Then use it!
Swim on
My swim better list goes something like this (these are only a few of the many things that could make anyone's list). Depending on what is going on with life, I try to remember these things and put one of them into play when appropriate:
Swim more often. I know I can get by with two swim workouts a week and still swim OK, but if I want to swim better, I know I have to swim three or four (or five) workouts each week.
Mix up my workout routine. If I am not training for a specific event, race, or meet, I usually go to the swimming pool and do almost the same workout every time. If I want to swim better, I need to mix up my swim workouts; do some of them with higher intensity sets, some with lower intensity; some with longer swims, some with shorter; some pulling and kicking, too.
Do more swim technique drill work. I do some swimming technique work within every workout, but if I want to swim better I know I need to do more. What works for me is to make one of those added workouts almost exclusively a technique workout. I keep doing some technique-oriented sets within every workout, but I make one workout each week a much more technique focused swim.
Get a good swimming catch. I try to swim with an good early vertical forearm or a good catch; fingertips pointed down, pressing back on the water with everything between my fingertips and my elbows, trying to engage my lats and pecs and hollowing my armpit (try a wide-arm lat pull down on dryland and check the way your armpit develops a hole between the lats and pecs).
To be a better swimmer, I have to check this arm position very often or I get lazy and let my catch start late or I let me elbow drop or change orientation so I lose some of the forearm press on the water.
Pay better attention to my body position and my hips and shoulders. When I swim freestyle I try to keep my hips and shoulders rolling or rotating, but if I want to swim better I have to check that body roll more frequently, perhaps even doing specific body roll swim drills to help. I tend to get distracted when I am swimming - my mind wanders off to many other places. When that happens, I need to get back in the moment and make sure I have not flattened out, make sure I am still rolling my body appropriately.
Kick more. I tend to let my legs float along, doing an easy, soft two-beat kick. If I want to be a better swimmer, I know I need to kick a bit more, particularly when I leave a wall.
Keep an eyes down head position. I tend to do this pretty well - keep my eyes looking at the bottom of the pool, maintaining a neutral head position so the top of my head points where I am going. Still, to swim better, I need to check this often, as I can sometimes let my head tip up when I rotate for a breath, especially if I am doing an ocean swim.
Make your own list of things you could work on to be a better swimmer. Then use it!
Swim on
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