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Swim drills: the key to efficiency Part 1 By Karen Buxton Now is the time to focus on technique to develop a more efficient swim stroke. Below is a list of drills to incorporate into your swim sessions. These drills, which focus on pull, recovery and feel for the water, can be part of your warm-up or cool-down and if done consistently, definitely make a difference. Single arm: Keep one arm in front while you stroke with the other. Think about reaching over a barrel — bent elbow in the beginning to initiate a powerful pull. Fist: Swim with your fingers closed into a fist. This drill helps promote elbow bending in the beginning of the pull. Catch-up: This is an alternating single-arm drill. Wait for your hand to meet the other in front before pulling (touch and go) with the other arm. This drill works on your pull and rotation. Finger-tip drag: On your recovery, drag you finger tips lightly across the water before entering for the next pull. This works on high elbow on the recovery. Scull: On your stomach, with arms stretched out, place your palms together and thumbs up. Rotate hands so that thumbs are down and “push” water out just past shoulder width. Rotate hands to thumbs up and “push” water back in (almost a figure 8.) Feeling the water pressure with your hands and arms should move you forward in the pool. Keep your face in the water during the drill, raising your head to breathe while kicking. Next: drills to work on body position and rotation Karen Buxton coaches triathletes, duathletes, cyclists and runners and can be reached at kbuxton@ultrafit.com |
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