Ten Steps for a faster Swim - Part 2
Learning to relax in the water and balance your body is an important part of swimming development
In Part 1: How to approach your swimming we looked at how effort, rhythm & timing, balance, feel for the water, and streamlining can affect your swimming speed vs the amount of effort that you expend.
Key area 2: is to understand some key factors of preparation, which will help you to get the best return for your investment of valuable time.
How to improve your preparation
6. Warming up properly
It seems such a trivial issue, but by building into your training session correctly you will be better placed to make the most of the main thrust of your training. An example of a suitable warm up, which can be adjusted up or down in volume to suit might be;
Warm up: (600m)
150FC + 50 BK
100FC +100BK
50FC+150BK
Build set: (300m)
(50 FC build to a fast finish with 20sec)
2x (100 drill (Single arm or catch up) with 20 sec)
(50FC as a fast first 15m with 20 sec)
7. Pace control
Use the pace clock or time yourself regularly on repeat swims. This gives you a clear perspective on how well you are performing and allows you to adjust your effort to control your speed. Here you will learn to balance the effort vs. efficiency issue given that you are getting regular feedback with your times.
8. Race Pace Preparation
If you are preparing for a particular race, whether it is a sprint event or an Ironman, try breaking the distance down into sections that can be performed at race pace.
Example: Race pace set working toward a 400m sprint Triathlon
Main set: (800m +recovery swim)
Repeat set twice (add up times from each set and compare)
2×50m Sprint with 20 sec
1×100m at target race pace with 20 sec
1×200m at target race pace with 20 sec
After 1st set add in a recovery swim before starting set two.
9. Stroke Efficiency
An efficient stroke is one where you get an excellent return in both distance travelled and speed gained. To check for good stroke efficiency you need to count the number of stroke you take per length vs. the speed you swim the length in. As a rule of thumb base your calculations on 1 stroke per second. So if you are swimming 25m in 30 strokes and 30 seconds, to swim with more efficiency you would need to reduce the number of strokes along with the time taken. The optimum for most age group triathletes would be around 20 strokes and 20 seconds. A great stroke efficiency set worth trying is 8×50m repeats adding your time recorded to the number of strokes taken for the 50m swim. Reduce the total score for each 50m on numbers 1-4 and start again on numbers 5-8.
10. Warming down properly
Swimming easy at the end of training really does help put your swimming technique back together especially after a harder set. Easy swimming also plays a very important part in active recovery and if done correctly will help to remove the toxic waste products that leave you stiff and sore from training.
An example of a recovery swim at the end of a training set
3×100 FC easy with 20 sec at a heart rate of approx 50/60 beats below max
6×50 FC easy with 3/4 fast strokes at the start of every 50m with 20 sec
3×100 FC easy with 20 sec
30 seconds after completing the recovery swim check your HR if it is above 100 add another easy swim to bring it down. A similar protocol is currently in use in British Swimming and has proven to be very effective as a recovery set.
In summary
All these key points give you an overview to both your technical approach and also to your training preparation. Don’t underestimate the value of the simplicity of swimming. Making things complicated leads to confusion and frustration. Try to keep things simple and learn to relax in the water environment. Tension leads to early fatigue and limitations with stroke technique. Relaxed, rangy movements will not only lead to faster swim times but will also drastically reduce your energy costs.