Toronto Triathlon Club - Swimming Stroke Improvement Clinic

A special clinic with my regular Coach to go over the reasons behind her usual drills, proper arm stroke and kicking technique, analysis of our individual swimming style.

I was reluctant to sign up, because I thought I should be getting much of this information from my regular practise anyway, but I realized that if I don't go, I'll never find out what I'm doing wrong!  And I'm really glad I did go.

Warm-up: 400m

Drills: Shoulder Roll (to improve reach), Catch-up w/ board, Kicking, Pull w/ Touch to board between knees (to improve roll), Side Switch (to improve reach), Sculling to three positions (to feel the pulling pressure on the hands), Finger Drag (to keep elbow up) ... I probably won't remember all of them.

Stroke Counting: 25m - 21-24 depending on speed

Topics:

• High elbows: optional, but does take pressure off the shoulders - ultimately doesn't matter what you do in the air, only what happens under water
• Bilateral breathing: good for versatility in open-water, but some people are uneven with their stroke; consensus was: do what is most comfortable
• Counting kicks: a sort of cadence per stroke; 2 when tired, 4+ when passing, even more at the end to regain circulation in the lower body ahead of transition
• Kicking power: kick shallow in relation to the depth of the body to reduce drag;  increase speed for more power, use glutes and hamstrings, relax the ankles
• Pulling should be done by the lateral back muscles, not the shoulders

Stroke Improvement:

• Crossing arms in front of body: consciously enter the water wide and maintain hands outside the width of a pool's centre line
• Enter the hand before the end of the reach
• Roll the body for better reach
• Finish the stroke all the way through

4x 50m

0:55 / 1:00 / 0:55 / 0:47

1x 100m

1:55

Once I got to practise a wider stroke, it seemed so much easier to move my arm through the water.  This is what I will focus on in practise.

--Distance: ~1,500-2,000m
--Duration: 2hrs