One of my favorite parts of any workout is doing some drills. Not only do they break up the monotony of swimming back and forth, but they're a great chance to improve efficiency and focus on technique.
I'm always on the hunt for new drills to add to my repertoire. I put together this list of freestyle drills and explanations that are my current favorites, but I'm looking for some new ones both as a swimmer and a coach. What else do people do?
The list:
Catch up swimming
Finger drag
3-6-3 swimming
Sculling
One arm swimming
Closed fist swimming
Over swimming
Slow and technically perfect
One drill in particular that I like is kicking rotated to the side with head positioned for breathing as arm recovers slowly. Roll to the other side with a strong propulsive force with opposing arm, and do the same (it's the roll over drill in the old popov vid). It easily points out problems with rotation and breathing. But it can also make your stroke worse if not done with feedback. I do it with fins first and see if I can keep form when I remove them
One drill in particular that I like is kicking rotated to the side with head positioned for breathing as arm recovers slowly. Roll to the other side with a strong propulsive force with opposing arm, and do the same (it's the roll over drill in the old popov vid). It easily points out problems with rotation and breathing. But it can also make your stroke worse if not done with feedback. I do it with fins first and see if I can keep form when I remove them
