Swim II, Spring 2013, Class 4

Swim II

Class 4

This week you’ll continue to work on setting up the proper side-lying position to make the best catch.

The ideal position is with the forearm/hand set up vertically in the water, near the centerline of the body, early in the stroke, and then pull against it to move forward – like a paddle set down in the water. For this to happen, the elbow must be facing to the side at extension. For this elbow position to be possible, the armpit and palm must face down. The body is a machine with joints and a range of motion. They must be organized properly to allow the desired movement patterns.

Warm-up (200):

200 as 25 kick / 25 swim

Drill Set (500):

Do this set twice through.

Side Kick (100yd) – one arm is out front for 25yd and then switch to the other for the return trip. Palm flat, armpit facing down, head down, body rotated up as much as possible without changing the first three points.

Side Kick Switch (100yd) –

Note: Make sure your head stays still through the switch from one side to the other, as if it’s on a skewer.

Do 10 kicks in the Side Kick position (head down), then begin to recover the arm from your side. As it passes your head, begin to pull through with the extended arm, take a breath and get your head down, ending in the Side Kick position on the other side. 10 more kicks and then switch again.

Swim “The Rails” (50yd) – focus on landing in perfect side kick position every stroke. Imagine there are a set of rails beneath you, about a foot apart, and that the length of your arm, the side of your body, and your leg must land on one rail before every stroke. Breathe every 3-5 strokes so you can feel it on both sides.

Main Set (900):

Goal is to build endurance with higher intensity work that in the prior three weeks.

6 times through (or as many times as they can do until it’s time for a cool down):

50 moderate – swim the “rails”

5sec rest

50 moderately hard – add a strong kick

5sec rest

50 hard – add a strong pull

30sec rest

Cool Down: Easy swimming

Swim II, Spring 2013, Class 3

Swim II

Class 3

This week we began work setting up in the proper side-lying position to make the best catch. For the past two weeks the focus has been to slow the front end of the stroke to eliminate any push downward that can move our body out of its position at the surface. Once the side position is learned, the catch becomes a powerful set up for anchoring your arm in the water so your body can move over it.

The ideal position is with the forearm/hand set up vertically in the water, near the centerline of the body, early in the stroke, and then pull against it to move forward – like a paddle set down in the water. For this to happen, the elbow must be facing to the side at extension. For this elbow position to be possible, the armpit and palm must face down. The body is a machine with joints and a range of motion. They must be organized properly to allow the desired movement patterns.

Warm-up (200):

100 easy free

100 as 25 kick / 25 swim

Drill Set (500):

Do this set twice through in order to practice everything more than once. Another good practice is to drill down the pool and swim back with a skill focus. Either way, 500-1000yd of varied practice will make a tremendous difference.

Side Kick (100yd) – one arm is out front for 25yd and then switch to the other for the return trip. Palm flat, armpit facing down, head down, body rotated up as much as possible without changing the first three points.

Side Kick Switch (100yd) –

Note: Make sure your head stays still through the switch from one side to the other, as if it’s on a skewer.

Do 10 kicks in the Side Kick position (head down), then begin to recover the arm from your side. As it passes your head, begin to pull through with the extended arm, take a breath and get your head down, ending in the Side Kick position on the other side. 10 more kicks and then switch again.

Swim “The Rails” (50yd) – focus on landing in perfect side kick position every stroke. Imagine there are a set of rails beneath you, about a foot apart, and that the length of your arm, the side of your body, and your leg must land on one rail before every stroke. Breathe every 3-5 strokes so you can feel it on both sides.

Main Set (900):

3x (100 easy/5sec rest/100 moderate/5sec rest/100 fast/30sec rest)

This is the same format as last week, but now with a different focus as follows:

100 easy – Swim “The Rails”, landing in perfect side position every stroke, and stretching into it

100 mod – After landing on the rail, let your extended arm fall slowly into the catch position

100 fast – After making a good catch, accelerate your pull backward

Acceleration is critical. If you pull back with constant velocity, you will swim slowly. The stroke moves from slow out front to fast at the finish.

Cool Down (100):

100 easy swim

Swim II, Spring 2013, Class 2

Swim II

Class 2

This week we took what we learned about the catch phase of the stroke and applied it in a longer set.

When working on the arm stroke it is CRUCIAL l that you are in the proper position before you begin that motion. That means being on your side at a 45-60deg angle (for most people, including Olympians), fully extended and NARROW, GLUED to the surface. If you don’t make it here, you will create resistance and have a tougher time making a good catch.

Also check out the separate post on the kick and catch, aptly titled:
Freestyle Stroke: Kick & Catch
Here you can see a breakdown of each, frame by frame.

 

Here’s the workout:

Warm-up:

200 easy swim

200 kick 25/swim 25

Drill Set:

150yd - 25yd drill / 25yd swim

Prone Forward Sculling – sets up and strengthens proper elbow, shoulder, hand position

Face down in the water, kicking lightly to keep legs at the surface. Shrug shoulders forward so that elbows end up even with your temples. Hands are under the elbows. Scull with small motions like “figure eights”. See the end of the post for a couple video links to give you a visual.

Swim – after you reach forward on your side, let your arm fall slowly into the catch position, the position you were just practicing with forward sculling. Only after you let it drop substantially do you apply pressure. For many people it will feel like you’re using the back half of the stroke, but in reality you’re just NOT applying force for the front one-third – like the pros.

150yd - 25yd drill / 25yd swim

Side Forward Sculling – a position even closer to that experienced when swimming

Your body is angled at about 45-60deg with your head facing down. Your lower arm sculls and your upper arm lies flat against your side. You should be able to watch your extended arm sculling, elbow high, with hand below it facing backward. Your side-lying arm should be breaking the surface from shoulder to hand.

Swim – now you’ll fine-tune things by duplicating the side forward sculling position in your swim stroke. Make sure you rotate the full 45-60deg each stroke, not just on your breathing side. Once you extend on your side, stay rotated, and drop your arm slowly into the catch position. Then give it a strong pull and rotate through to the other side.

Main Set:

3x 300yd “broken” swims

100yd – swim easily, making a slow catch, feeling your body glide across the surface

Rest 5sec , or a couple deep breaths

100yd – swim at a moderate pace, focusing on rotating fully to both sides, especially after you breathe

100yd – swim at a fast pace. You’ll rotate more quickly into the extended position, and then focus on letting your hand angle down and guide your forearm quickly into the vertical position

Note: continue to look for the feeling that you’re “on top of the water”. When you drop the hand and forearm down slowly, you can feel the water running along the underside of your arm all the way up past your armpit. It’s as if there’s a barrel of water you’ve reached over and now you’re using its weight to pull yourself past.

Cool Down:

100 easy swimming or kicking

Total 1700yd

Swim II, Spring 2013, Class 1

Swim II

Class 1

This week we went to work on the arm stroke in a way that links it to body position. It is often forgotten that how you pull, the direction in which you apply force – up, down, backward, sideways, at angles – move your body in the opposite direction. You want to apply force backward to move your body forward. Ideally, you want to time it so well that your arm doesn’t move backward at all, but stays in one position – anchored – in the water.

You want your body to move over your anchored arm vs. pulling your arm backward through the water.

Warm-up:

200 easy swim

200 kick 25/swim 25

Drill Set:

100-150yd

Prone Forward Sculling – sets up and strengthens proper elbow, shoulder, hand position

Face down in the water, kicking lightly to keep legs at the surface. Shrug shoulders forward so that elbows end up even with your temples. Hands are under the elbows. Scull with small motions like “figure eights”. See the end of the post for a couple video links to give you a visual.

200yd

Swim – allow your hand/forearm to drop effortlessly down into the catch position before pulling

You’ll move from extended and narrow, to an arm position similar to a forward scull, before applying force. It’s gentle out front.

100-150yd

Side Forward Sculling – a position even closer to that experienced when swimming

Your body is angled at about 45-60deg with your head facing down. Your lower arm sculls and your upper arm lies flat against your side. You should be able to watch your extended arm sculling, elbow high, with hand below it facing backward. Your side-lying arm should be breaking the surface from shoulder to hand.

200yd

Swim – get on top of the water

When you drop the hand and forearm down slowly, you can feel the water running along the underside of your arm all the way up past your armpit. It’s as if there’s a barrel of water you’ve reached over and now you’re using its weight to pull yourself past.

Pacing Set:

8x50, 10sec rest

Start very slow, with every stroke taking a long time. With each succeeding fifty, add a tiny bit more effort. You’ll move from slow to moderately hard over the 400yd.

Cool Down:

200 easy swimming or kicking

Total 1600-1700yd

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WYyowAvb5U

This is a good demo of why you always want your palms facing backward vs. down. It is different (not better or worse) from the head down version we worked on. His arms/hands are angled at about 30-45deg in order to produce down force to keep his head up. Your hand/forearms will be vertical and in front of your head.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CHt4J6nJvo

A good primer on sculling. At 3:00 she moves to a face down position and you can see her turn down force to back force that moves her forward. This is slightly different from the “elbows forward” front scull I usually teach that puts the arm in the beginning catch position. All this swimmer would need to do is shrug their shoulders forward and get their elbows and hands about even with the top of their head.

Swim II - Class 5 - Breath Timing

WEEKS 5 – BREATH TIMING FOR RHYTHM AND POWER

There are many places in the arm cycle where you can take a breath, but only a small range where it works to keep your stroke consistent and powerful. The idea is to put the breath in a place where it makes it easy to get a consistent shoulder motion. You never end up stalled on your side, needing to move your arms in asynchronous ways in order to continue swimming. Basically, you don’t want to be waiting until you’ve already rotated onto your side before you start your breathing motion. This is too late. Early in the arm cycle is best.

Michael Phelps – example of early turn of the head to start breathing motion; note that his body position does not change as a result of doing this, he's simply getting a small “head” start. His opposite arm has not yet entered the water.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ax77_hHq9Dc&feature=related (the above image is from the first 20sec)

Here he is moments later after his breath. He has turned his head back down and can see his arm out front making the next catch. This is crucial positioning to ensure an even and powerful stroke. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQ8iw8q2F9U

This is the Natalie Coughlin video from above at ~45sec. As a result her mouth comes up early and she breathes as early as possible. Her opposite arm has just entered the water. She actually began her head turn before it touched.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KB4fJxMWX3U

Here’s a video of Bob Bowman, Michael Phelps’ coach, talking about breathing. He discusses many of the things we go over in class. It’s good to know the pros are at work on the same techniques. We can duplicate many of the things they do, we just won’t move as fast. J

Key points:

·         The head moves in line with the body – no lifting of the head or raising of the chin.

·         He discusses the bow wave created by keeping your head in a steady position, just breaking the surface, and that a good check is to get a goggle in the water. Many of you are currently able to demonstrate this. Keep it in mind during your warm-ups.

·         Even in the first underwater frames where Michael is breathing, you can see that 1) he moves his head early toward his breathing side and his mouth comes up first, and 2) that he gets his head back in the water early, able to see his extended arm making his next catch.  This is exactly what we’ve worked on in class.

Practice Set:

Warm-up (500yd: 200 easy free, 200 as 25kick/25swim (choice of kicks), 4x25 fast with 20sec rest between each.

Early Breath:

·         How to do it: Just before your opposite hand touches the water, while it is passing your head during the recovery, start to turn your head for your breath. Your body won’t have rotated all the way around of course, but this will get you started early and provide some power at the front end of your breathing side pull. You may feel as if you’ve been lifted out of the water a bit, but this is okay.

·         Make sure your breathing side arm is out front while your other arm is recovering. This way you will have it to use to assist in rotating your body to breathe.

Note: it’s easy to start to move your arms quickly when you begin to move your head a bit early, but there’s really no hurry. As your recovering arm comes over the top, turn your cheek into your extended arm’s armpit. Then keep it turned as you pull, seeing how early in the pull you can get your mouth up for air. Your arms should move very slowly for this one and as a result you’ll have to be well balanced to avoid bouncing.

Pre-Set (2-300yd): Swim slowly and work on turning your head to the breathing side as your non-breathing arm recovers over the top.

Main Set:

5x200yd continuous as:
50yd – slow early breath timing as described above

Rest 10-30sec

50yd – "lay it out", rotate fully into the non-breathing side after each breath (your breathing-side shoulder will rotate under your chin as your arm extends out front)

Rest 10-30sec

50yd – see the non-breathing side arm out front after each breath (if you can’t see it, try a Catch-Up stroke, touching both hands out front every time – this is a good intermediate step)

50yd - "Gallop" - This is a stroke many pros use and amateurs can learn from and perfect to gain a lot of power. Start by using the very front of your breathing side stroke to start your breathing motion. Press down with your hand and turn your head to breathe, then pull hard with the breathing side arm. Grab a breath and get your head back down. Your non-breathing (extended) arm will have barely moved during this time. You'll be able to feel yourself rise a bit as you pull and breathe, but you'll be able to lay your head on its side very easily and create a deep trough in which to breathe. This is because you'll be accelerating forward with the most powerful part of your pull. Then you'll feel the weight of your body coming back down on the non-breathing side extended arm, which gets stretched out and creates a ton of potential energy for the next pull on that side.
Note: With practice, you'll be able to do this stroke without the press out front, and be able to wait until your catch is made - a more perfect stroke. But in the beginning the front press must be used dramatically to get the feel for the "gallop".

Cool Down (200):

200 easy swimming

Here are a few good video examples:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l48Kwa6izsE
This is a horse galloping. Imagine you're the horse and you're breathing as you push off and leave the ground. Then you get your head back down as you land powerfully, ready to push off again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imNApHWTyfs
Here's a pretty good amateur video of a swimmer doing a "gallop" stroke. You can see the early head turn and quick breathing side pull. The stroke looks asymmetrical but the time spent on each side is the same. The catch motions are different on each side - that is the difference you see.

http://www.theraceclub.net/aqua-notes/the-hybrid-freestyle-for-middle-distance-events/
And finally, a great article I just found from one of the top coaches around, Mike Bottom. He has three versions of freestyle and a "hybrid", which is the "gallop" stroke I speak of and teach. He has some great videos of these different versions and I see them regularly through the various classes I teach.