Mid-November Swim Drills

Like I said in the last post, this is a good time of year to work on your technique. As we get older it becomes harder and harder to change habits and start new ones. I feel that this drill set is very foundational and will assist in setting you up for more technically proper swimming as the triathlon season progresses. I emphasize regular swimming in between each of the drills with focus on what that drill was doing for your swimming. It helps the brain to connect with the new motions you are telling your body to do. Do this drill set after you warm up. Follow this drill set with your regular main set.

Scull- do on stomach . Concentrate on high elbow like you would want in your stoke. You can use a buoy and/or a snorkel. Move your hand back and forth keeping your elbows stationary. Really feel the water. You will start to notice when your stroke "slips" when swimming after doing lots of these. I would suggest 4x25 in a practice.

Swim with a buoy and band around your ankle. How does this feel. Do 2-4x50. After you get the hang of this take out the buoy.

Six kick one arm, when you are kicking hold your top arm, bent at the elbow, like you are about to enter the water to begin your stroke. You will sink in the front, that's okay. This helps with alignment, it also helps to get a downhill feeling in your stroke. Do 2-4x25 on each side.

Twelve kick, triple switch- Kick 12x on one side. Do three strokes to switch to the other side. 2-4x50

Remember to do a 50 in between each kind of drill. As you are swimming think about applying those principles to your swim. Connect the brain to the body.

The previous blog post with vertical kicking is also very foundational for this time of year.

You can also go to the gym to improve your swimming. Lac activation exercises will help to activate and engage your lats while swimming.