Steve's Swim Clinic

Updated April 28, 2010

SWIM POWER TESTING:
VASA Ergometer Swim Test - assessment includes stroke rate, stroke length per arm, average power, and applied force per arm. If you do not have a B&B bike the cost will be $50 (plus tax). If you do have one of our bikes it is Free. From March through to the end of August, Testing is available, by APPOINTMENT ONLY, on Fridays during regular business hours, however, please book by 2:00 pm on the immediately preceding Thursday. From September through Februaury testing is available on Saturdays as well.

SWIM CLINIC:
The swim clinic is FREE, and only available to those who have purchased a Cannondale, Guru, Devinci or Fuji bike from Bikes & Beans.

Please contact Steve at the store for more information, our contact info is on the top of the home page, click the Bikes & Beans logo on the top of this page to go there.

SWIM TIP #8 - BUTTERFLY: STROKE OF FEAR.
Now, come on, when will you ever do Butterfly. Probably never, but this stroke does have its merits.
Butterfly requires precision, timing, and power. Do it right and you feel like you are a wave of water - do it wrong and you feel (and look) like you are drowning. Master this stroke for even 25m, one length of the pool, and you are a swimmer.
If you can master this stroke, then more than likely, you are proficient in the others. This is also an excellent stroke to overload your front crawl muscles - just as in weight training - to achieve benefits down the road.
My advice is to limit sets of this stroke to no more than 25m at a time, however, drills and kick can have longer distances in the set. Also, when doing the full-stroke, do as much as you can from the wall push-off, when you begin struggling for form, switch to the one-arm butterfly drill for the remainder of the length.

SWIM TIP #7 - INCORPORATE BACKSTROKE TO ACHIEVE BALANCE IN FRONT CRAWL.
Another stroke that is often neglected by triathletes is the Backstroke. This is a shame as incorporating some backstroke sets on a regular basis will produce dividends in the long run.
A key benefit to the backstroke is that it asks you to utilize the same muscle groups used in Front Crawl, but in a unique way. Just as when you do weight training you would do different exercises, well each swim stroke is a different exercise. Focusing on one stroke at the expense of the others may lead to overuse injury.
Incorporate some Backstroke into your warm-up and cool-down, your easy swims, and perhaps even try doing a set of 50s between main sets of Front Crawl.

SWIM TIP #6 - WHY DO BREASTSTROKE?
A common question on a triathlete's mind is "I have limited time to swim, the only stroke I will do in a race is front crawl so why bother with the other strokes, especially the slowest stroke, breaststroke?"
If one was into weight lifting one would not stick to just bench press, but rather do a combination of exercises to work other muscle groups. The same applies for swimming - use different strokes to work the muscles in different ways contributes to stronger swimming overall.
Although on the surface the breaststroke does not appear to have any semblance or relevance to an effective front crawl it is none-the-less helpfull in learning proper technique.
One aspect of breaststroke that is very relevant to the front crawl is that the arm stroke is concentrated in the front quadrant - there is only a pull phase and no push phase to the armstroke. This pull phase to the breastroke is similar to the high elbow catch one must strive for in the front crawl. Due to the head being positioned forward in breaststroke the swimmer can actually see if they are doing the stroke properly and self-correct.
The breaststroke kick offers a break from the flutterkick. It is also useful in deep water starts to get a powerful start. People not used to the breaststroke kick may find that they will get a leg cramp if they try to go from a breaststroke kick to a flutterkick at the start of a race.
It is also useful should the swimmer's goggles get knocked off or fill with water during a race, or just simply maintaining forward momentum should water be swallowed or breathing interrupted - just as you would walk fast on the run instead of just stop.
All in all the breaststroke has its usefullness and the fall is a great time of year to practise the other strokes.

SWIM TIP #5 - DIFFERENT STROKES
The Fall is a great time of year to incorporate strokes like backstroke, breaststroke and even butterfly to your swimming workouts. Try to do no more than half your current swimming front crawl - at least to February.
Incorborating the other strokes will help balance your swimming muscles. Incorborate this 50% rule and you will find that your swimming in general will become more relaxed, fluid and effective.
In future tips I will be outlining the benefits of these strokes to the front crawl and triathlon in general.

Note to SWIM TIP #4 below
I have been trying out a minimilistic kickboard by FINIS called the ALIGNMENT KICKBOARD. I have used this myself, as well as have told my 2 kids it is the only board they are allowed to use in their practise, and I use them in my clinics. Although I still believe kicking without a board is better, this board allows swimmers who are able to propel themselves a little through the water a great indermediate step. The Alignment board encourages proper body position and is easy to use when doing drills that require the swimmer to kick on their side or one-arm swimming drills. It also allows the swimmer to stretch out the arms and back muscles, so the swimmer is not only continuing to work on the kick between swimming sets, but also allows the swimmer to stretch the arms and shoulders between sets.

SWIM TIP #4
KICK-BOARDS (forget em)
I very rarely use a kick-board for the simple fact that, once you are able to perform a basic swimming technique, it is a useless piece of equipment. If you are doing a 2 hour swim workout and need a set where you are not working on anything in particular and just need to get some distance in, well then fine, do a set and take a break. However, most people do not have time for such a long workout and should therefore use their time in the pool wisely.
Kicking without a board enables the swimmer to practise both streamlining, and relaxing of the upper body at the same time. Frequently when I see novices lick with a board then are holding it like they are trying to get leverage - their upper body is tense, plus their head is up causing their hips to sink and the back to arch, making it even more difficult to utilize a proper kick from the hip.
One can kick on the side and on the back to enforce a hip/body rotation that will aid their swimming.
One can also increase their "feel" for the water by experimenting with kicking with the arms down by the side, both arms extended over the head, or even one arm extended over the head.
If you are swimming for an hour or less use your time wisely.

SWIM TIP #3
HAND-PADDLES (are you overcompensating?)
Hand paddles offer the swimmer an opportunity for a greater "grip" on the water. This serves to enforce proper thrust technique in the pull-push phase of the arm stroke.

Hint, it is always better to just use the finger loops, the swimmer only needs these loops to keep the paddles in place on the recovery phase of the stroke, when the paddles are in the water the force should be directed striaght back until the hand exits the water - the swimmer technically does not need anything keeping the paddle on his hand in the water if he is swimming correctly. Securing only the fingers allows the paddle to "drag" if the stroke is incorrect, reminding the swimmer of proper technique.

Hand-paddles also allow greater training resistance, much like using heavier weights.

What size hand-paddles should you use? Unless you are swimming 10 or more hours per week your hand-paddles should not be much larger than your hand area. I do not use my hand-paddles at all unless I have had a few weeks in the water. If you do swim quite often you can use progressively larger paddles in a set, much like you would gradually increase the weight at the gym.

I see many people at the pool with poor swimming ability take out these massive paddles. I can only say that if I am not using paddles that large, with my ability and experience, do you think you should be?

SWIM TIP #2 (Nov 18, 2008)
USING PULL BOUYS
Pull bouys and kickboards are perhaps the most frequently used training tools, however, as with any tool they must be used correctly in order to receive the maximum benefit. Would you use a screwdriver to hammer a nail?

Pull bouys create flotation to the lower body so that the swimmer need not use their kick to maintain a proper body position in the water. They are typically placed between the thighs, but may be placed between the knees or ankles for more advanced swimmers.

Since the kick is now not needed to maintain body position, the swimmer can focus on proper arm stroke mechanics. Also, the body will role more easily since the body is positioned higher in the water.

The most common mistake swimmers make is KICKING with the pull bouys on. Some people want to go faster so they add the kick, however, since they are holding the bouys between the thighs, they must kick from the knees. Thus they are reinforcing an ineffective kick technique - a proper kick must drive from the hips. Training an ineffective kick technique will only serve to hamper their overall swimming ability, both with and without a wetsuit.

Do it right or don't do it at all.

Next week - HAND PADDLES

SWIM TIP #1 (Nov 14, 2008)
As much as possible - attend a COACHED SWIM.
If you run and cycle, for most people, the more distance you do the better at it you will become, however, if you attand a coached run or consult with someone who is an experienced cyclist you would be quite surprised at how much faster you will improve. Swimming, on the other hand, is very technique intensive. Just getting in the water and punching it will not get you anywhere. Body position, streamlining, relaxation, proper thrust mechanics all come into play. I was a lifeguard for a number of years and I would literally see people go to the lap swims, swim the same way, same pace same distance, every day for years and have absolutely no improvement. If they supplemented their daily swim with attending a coached swim once or twice per week I believe they would not only have improved their stroke, but they also would have increased their conditioning, caloric burning ability, and maybe even their speed. If a person were to swim 1000 metres every day the body will adapt, perhaps the first week the body will burn 800 calories, but eventually the body will only burn 500 calories. By doing the same 1000 metres as a workout interspersed with warm up, intervals, stroke work, cool down, the potential is to keep the metabolism always guessing. The other benefit to a coached swim is that when a person is swimming they have very little "awareness" of what they are doing because they cannot actually see themselves. Many people lift weights or do aerobics in front of a mirror to make sure they do the movement correctly. How many of you look at your legs when you run, or run or cycle by a store window to look at your technique. In swimming there are very few pools that have a mirrored bottom, sure you can videotape yourself but when you get back in the water to change your stroke you are back to square one. Having a coach to point out issues with your stroke will go a long way to shortening the learning curve.