Masters Monday: Off-Season Freestyle Tune-Up

by Erin Trail, 303 Ambassador and Altitude Multisport Coach
Swimming is one of those things that, no matter how good you are or how long you’ve been doing it, you can always learn how to improve.  I’m a life-long swimmer.  High school butterflier (ouch), high school swim coach, US Masters swimmer since 2004, and now triathlete. Swimming is my JAM.  I’m not speedy, but I sure can swim a pretty freestyle.
 
I recently got my US Masters Level 2 Coaching Certification and had the pleasure of learning from two of the top Masters coaches around.  The day following the certification class, I had the opportunity to help coach their Stroke Clinic.  In this clinic, the coaches took swimmers through a drill progression.  Looking at the notes, I was a bit skeptical, but in seeing the improvement in swimmers new and skilled, I’m now going to be putting the swimmers in my tri club through a similar progression at an upcoming practice.
 
The thing about swimming is that there is no brute forcing your way through it.  Swimming is technique driven and SUBTLE.  You have to play around with body position and find your aqua-zen to really learn.  As an engineer, this was tough for me.   I’m very black-and-white, tell me how to do it and I’ll get it done.  Swimming is all about the grey and feeling (literally) your way through it.  A little tweak here, a head adjustment there, does it feel better?  Are you more efficient?  Are you faster?   And if you get some yes answers to those questions, you have to practice those tweaks and adjustments often to reinforce those new good skills.
 
As a swimmer I prefer to do drills as part of my warm-up for EVERY workout.  Drills are a great way to practice body position awareness, focus on a specific skill that needs a bit of attention, and become a better swimmer.  And the off-season is a PERFECT time to really practice and reinforce those good techniques.  Next time you’re in the pool, try some of these drills out and see if you notice any changes or efficiencies in your stroke:
(do yourself a favor and wear fins, it will really help you out)
Front Glide: face down, one arm stretched up past your head, one arm stretched down past your hip; breathe on your down arm side. Do 25 on your left, 25 on your right (no strokes).  Practice keeping your core tight, body long, chin slightly tucked.  When breathing, you should have one goggle remain in the water (ie don’t bring both of your eyes above the water surface).  This helps with body alignment and balance.
Front Glide: face down, one arm stretched up past your head, one arm stretched down past your hip; breathe on your “up” (stretched over your head) arm side. Do 25 on your left, 25 on your right (no strokes).  Pay attention to head position – does it feel different from Drill 1?

Paddle Balance Drill: Take one paddle, and place it on top of your head.  Now put your face down in the water and start swimming.  The force of the water, when your head and body are properly aligned, will keep the paddle placed in the center of you head.  Having a hard time keeping the paddle in place?  Tighten your core, lengthen your body, keep your chin slightly tucked.  Expert level: bilateral breathing while keeping the paddle in place.  Do this for a 50 or a 100 to really gain an understanding of how keeping your body position as long as possible helps you to move through the water.
 
 
 
Catch-up drill: keep one arm extended past your head and take a stroke with your other arm.  Your stroke arm will “catch” your extended arm as you enter your hand into the water just prior to your pull.  Swap arms after every “catch”.  Important: do not actually touch hands when doing this drill, as that promotes cross-over.  Instead, keep your arms extended up and out, just slightly outside of your shoulders. Practice this for a 50 to gain good timing for stroke initiation.
 

Paddle-Fist Drill: Grab a paddle along the flat surface in each hand and swim.  Notice how your arm entry and catch seem to be maximized?  Do a 50 of that then ditch the paddles and make a fist with each hand. Focus on a really fast entry (like you’re punching through the water) and extending that fist out with a nice long reach (it helps if you sing the Mighty Mouse theme song).  Finish each stroke with a strong catch and high elbow.  Practice this for a 50.
 
 
 
And now you’re set up for a good swim!  As you make your way through the main set, pick a drill from the above list and use that as a reference point.  Work on your catch, body position, arm entry – just one focus for the set.  With each workout, change that focus to a different drill principle.  Over time, these drill techniques will become practice and you’ll become a better swimmer.