THE DEVELOPMENT OF SWIM TECHNIQUE

INTRODUCTION

The aim of this article is to describe some means to improve our swim technique.

The swimming technique is conditioned by difficult movements coordination in a strange fluid how is the water. Our body was not created to the aquatic medium, for that reason, our only choice is to find the most efficient technique, allowing us to move in the water wasting less energy and in the fastest way possible.

THE SWIMMING TECHNIQUE SKILLS

With the aim to improve our swimming technique, we use the drills. Those allow us to get the skills. Like in other cyclic sports like running, we need to know what we are working on every moment. The drills allow us to focus in one specific aspect, isolating it getting the opportunity to correct the swimming technique flaws.

In order to learn or improve our swimming styles technique, we have different kind of drills to work on:

Ø  COORDINATION AND WELL TIMMING DRILLS

The aim of the coordination exercises is to improve the timing between upper-lower and right side-left side body movements. These drills help us to improve the main stroke technique, the upper and lower limbs movements and the timing. Some examples of these exercises:

1.      Different strokes combination (Upper body crawl-lower body butterfly)

2.      Different breathing timing combination (each 2,3,4 strokes…)

3.      One death arm freestyle/ Death point/ half recovery.

Ø  PROPIOCEPTIVE AQUATIC DRILLS

These drills objective is to improve the technique due to the better body posture perception and propulsive sensations in the aquatic medium.

1.      Body posture sensations drills

ü  Allow us to reduce the drag, and ease the timing coordination. One example is “glides in hydrodynamic minimal drag position”.

2.      Contrast drills

ü  Help our proprioceptive system to realise about the efficiency of our technique. One example of drill is “closed hands freestyle”.

Ø  EXAGGERATED DRILLS

The aim of these drills is to achieve one technique skill exaggerating the movement to better understanding and assimilation of the swimmer. Some examples of exaggerated drills:

ü  Thumb to armpit: Exaggerated drill to improve the high elbow and the rolling of the body.

ü  Flutter kick with total leg extension: We assimilate that we have not to flex to much the knees during the flutter kick, because that can increase the drag and stop ourselves.

PRACTICAL CASE

In this case we have one swimmer with low elbow during the recovery and a lack of rolling during the stroke recovery. This flaw implies a higher drag, more energy expenditure and, probably a shoulder injury due the forced movement during the recovery.

To correct this flaw we propose this drill progression:

1.      Flutter kick rolling with hand table: We make the swimmer focus only in body rolling, without arm stroke, making easy to achieve the skill.

2.      One death arm freestyle focussing with rolling and high elbow (with board): we focus with only one side, to make easy to the swimmer to realise and analyse the movement.

3.      Hand to armpit: Now we force the swimmer to touch his armpit, exaggerating the technical element, making necessary the rolling to complete the drill, and accentuating the high elbow during the freestyle.

“To finish, I have to say that there are more drills, different classifications and in another point of view another proposal or methodology that can be correct. I´ll write more about swimming technique during the next posts”

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Llana, S. (2016) Apuntes Aplicación Específica al Entrenamiento en Natación. Valencia

Lucero, B.(2007) The 100 Best Swimming Drills