SWIM FOCUS WEEK
Emphasis on technique. Swimming is a discipline where 80% of being a fast swimmer is technique and 20% conditioning.
Monday: (30-45 minutes)
BALANCE is todayʼs focus, and the goal is to have the body plane in the water, resulting in less drag.
DRILL:
20 x 25 yards with 5 sec rest (500 yards) !!Stand with your back to the wall, drop completely below the !!surface, push off in a streamline body position. Maintain a !!pelvic tilt to stabilize core and keep you eyes looking down at !!the bottom, of the pool. I do NOT mean drop our head down. !!Maintain cervical neutral (same place your head would be if you !!were standing). If you are in balance, you should feel the back, !!of your head, your rear end, and heels break the surface !!simultaneously. when you feel yourself slowing, initiate the !!kick and swim the rest of the lap.
MAIN SET:
(1000 yards) !! !!10 x 50 on 5 seconds rest !!Keep the above drill, in mind, not only as you push off the wall !!turning, but feel your core strong, as you are swimming. This !!provides a stable axis, for generating power, in your swim. !!5 x 100 yards on 10 seconds rest !!Steady, sustained effort with a perceived exertion moderately !!hard. Attempt to set a pace you can maintain, for all 100s.
COOL DOWN:
(500 yards) 200 pull 100 kick 200 swim
Tuesday: (30-45 minutes)
KICK is todayʼs focus, and what is the most efficient technique, in longer distance swimming and triathlon. The kick in triathlon swimming is more about maintaining balance, than creating speed. It than follows, that the focus is not on the magnitude or intensity, of the kick but the cadence. ( sound familiar)? I would like you to focus on a 6 beat kick, for todayʼs workout. This means that for every 1 RPM, of the stroke, you will be kicking 6 times. (each leg counts as 1)
DRILL:
10 x 50 on 5 seconds rest (500 yards) Although, the focus today, is KICK, try to keep yesterdayʼs concept, of balance, in mind. We will begin with the push-off with the gliding off the wall, keep your streamline position, holding your pelvic tilt and looking at the bottom, of the pool, initiate the kick, when you feel yourself slowing, keep you hands our front and kick the rest, of the lap. NO FINS!!! the kick is generated, from the hip. think of your hip joint, as if it is Indiana Jonesʼ whip. Your hip joint is what is holding on to the whip, and if you can allow the knees and ankles to remain relaxed, you will have generated a lot of force at the foot.
MAIN SET:
1000 yards (1000 yards) A straight 1000 yards swim. Easy to moderate effort, to work on the two days, of technique. Sustained effort. ! COOL DOWN:! same as Monday
Wednesday: (30-45 minutes)
ROTATION is todayʼs focus. You should picture yourself as a chicken on a rotisserie, holding a great pelvic tilt, and rotating rhythmically 45 degrees, side to side. This image should suggest that your head DOES NOT TURN, to take a breath, but the rotation of your trunk lifts your mouth above the water, so that you can take a breathe.
DRILL:
10 x 50 yards on 5 seconds rest!! (500 yards) Again, donʼt forget two previous dayʼs focuses. I would like you to swim these 10 x 50, picturing that your hips or pelvis is driving both the entry of the hand, on one arm, while simultaneously driving the pull, on the opposite side. This should result, in a more powerful pull. So, I would really like you to over emphasize the length of your stroke by pushing your shoulder directly forward. We will now document you distance per stroke (DPS). Generally, the least amount of strokes, the more efficient the stroke.
MAIN SET AND COOL DOWN:
choose from Mon or Tues
Thursday: (35-45 minutes)
HIGH ELBOWS is todayʼs focus. Your elbow should always be oriented above your hand, in swimming. Keeping your elbow high during the recovery allow correct fingertip entry, and allows the best catch of the water, with the pull.
DRILL:
20 x 25 yards on 5 seconds rest!! (500 yards) If you can continue to think and incorporate the previous 3 days, of technique, these will be easier drills. Fingertip drill: from the beginning of the recovery, to the entry of the hand in the water, keep the elbow high, and allow the fingertips, to just skim over the surface of the water. Zipper drill: imagine that you have a zipper running up your side, and that you are
Dzipping it up, as you begin your recovery. I want you to alternate these drills every 25 yards.
MAIN SET/COOL DOWN:
choose from above
Friday: (30-45 minutes)
CATCH is crucial to the propulsive phase of the pull. The goal of the pull is to push the maximum amount of water straight backwards, which results is maximum forward displacement. The catch is not just down with the hand, but with the entire forearm and arm. To be able to achieve this we need correct angle of the arm and hand at entry, keep the elbow oriented above the hand and initiate the pull with the rotation of your hips.
DRILL:
20 x 25 yards on 5 seconds rest (500 yards) Fist drill: swim with you fists closed, this will give you the feel of pushing the water with your forearms and arm, rather than just your hand. Alternate one lap fist drill, with l lap, a swimming, where you attempt a perfect stroke.
MAIN SET/COOL DOWN:
your choice
Saturday: (30-45 minutes)
OPEN WATER is the focus. This requires both mental and conditioning training. To orient oneself how much distance you are covering in the open water, you can count your strokes. You practiced this earlier with your DPS. so, for example, if you took 25 strokes per lap, than in the open water, in you counted to 100, you would have covered 100 yards. Also, if you are getting the heck beat out of your, counting can keep you relaxed and focused. Also, if you are swimming where the water is rough, and coming at you from the right side, than you will need to breath off your left. So, it is important to have practiced this before, it is actually a necessity.Also, sighting is a skill that must be perfected, not only to maintain speed, but to maintain efficiency, so that you are not wasting energy unnecessarily.
DRILL:
10 x 100s on 10 seconds rest (1000 yards) Alternate 1 lap breathing to the (R) every stroke, 1 lap breathing to the (L) every stroke, 1 lap sight every 5th stroke breathing as you normally would, and 1 lap bilateral breathing.
Sunday: (30-45 minutes)
TECHNIQUE, TECHNIQUE, TECHNIQUE is todayʼs focus.
DRILL:
12 x 100 yards (1200 yards) Alternate (2 x 100) Balance drill Kick drill Rotation drill High Elbows drill Catch drill Open Water drill
COOL DOWN:
300 yard pull 200 kick with or without fins 300 swim