Freestyle drill sequence

Globuggie, May I suggest some drill progressions that I wrote up for Total Swim Magazine? www.totalimmersion.net/.../drillforwarming.html Note, I assumed the reader was basically familiar with the TI drills, circa Swimming Made Easy, because hey, they were published on the official TI website. It does sound like you are familiar, so I hope you find them helpful. Matt

Thanks, everyone. I've looked at the TI website, and I can't seem to find descriptions of the drills. I see that you can buy drill cards, but I'm in college, so I don't really have any money to spend. Is there a way to get drill descriptions for free?

There is a regular poster on this forum, gull80, that is a big believer in TI. I'm sure he can provide you with a ton of useful information on this, his favorite topic.

globuggie, send me a message and i think i can help you out with the TI drill stuff. John

Unfortunately, I'm not really familiar with the Total Immersion drills. Is there somewhere I can get a description of the drills?

Go to www.totalimmersion.net. That is where you can find out more about the drills. John

Globuggie, Here are some links to articles descriping the basic drills: www.totalimmersion.net/.../drillcard.html www.totalimmersion.net/.../drillcard2.html www.totalimmersion.net/.../drillcard-3.html (Note: when I refered to the "skating position," I was talking about this third drill.) I looked through the web site for other articles about the drills. They have not posted descriptions of the "switch" drills I described. (BTW, for the skeptics out there, TI is in the process of publishing on the web for free the functional components of a book they still have in print. So, roll your eyes all you want about TI's evil intent to actually make money on books their advocates have actually written, but ask yourself how many other publishers post on the web the working bits of books still in print that they are selling.) You can see other articles about various TI notions at the archives for their newsletter at www.totalimmersion.net/mag-feb03-p1.html The basic idea behind the switch drills is start in the skating position, take one stroke, end in the skating position on the other side. Maintain your balance through out and maximise your streamline. When you can do that, you can move on to double (2 strokes) and triple (3 strokes) switches while staying balanced and streamlined. Then you carry those skills into whole stroke swimming. My drill progressions help me move from basic balancing to whole stroke swimming in accordance with that. If it is still vague to you, and you are willing to take out a home equity loan for a whole...$15 for Swimming Made Easy (drills for all four strokes) or $20 for Triathlon Swimming Made Easy (just freestyle but tailored for triathletes; more proof, as if we needed any, that you can mark up the price by at least 25% if you put the label "triathlon" on any fitness product), you can get the whole hog description of the drills. I know, I know that might set you back the price of one whole pizza, but greatness requires some sacrifices. BTW, you may be able to find these books in your library, or on interlibrary loan. (Remind me again, exactly how is it that TI is ripping us off.) Please understand, my sarcasm is aimed at some well known and well loved kibitzers, and not you. Lots of us would be happy to help you out, for free. Matt

Originally posted by aquageek There is a regular poster on this forum, gull80, that is a big believer in TI. I'm sure he can provide you with a ton of useful information on this, his favorite topic. That's right. But remember, swim on your side and bring your Visa card. Because at TI, you're taught to swim like a fish, and they don't take American Express.

Globuggie, I reflected a bit on our conversation. I'd like to make one thing clear. My general point is that whatever drill sets or progressions you prefer, the best time to use them is during warm-up. I tailored my article in Total Swim for the TI crowd. They have a common set of drills with which I am familiar and I really like. You may or may not care for TI. Whatever stroke techniques you do like, your warm-up is the time to reinforce good stroke habits before you start the aerobically challenging part of the work-out. As I described in my article, lots of teams have warm-ups that are "garbage yardage" sets of low intensity, whole stroke swimming. That does two things. It prepares your body to do more challenging work later in the practice. It also reinforces whatever stroke habits, good or bad, you already have. The first part is fine and necessary. The second part may not be what you are trying to achieve with your practice; indeed, it may set you back. Instead, how about low intensity drill work so that you prepare your body to work harder AND reinforce the good habits you are trying to develope. That way, the first whole stroke you take will be a lot closer to the form you are trying to develope. You can achieve both these objectives during warm-up, regardless of whether you follow TI or not. I'd also point out there is no precise science behind drill progressions. I decided to use TI drills in warm-up, experimented a little, and came up with a sequence that worked for me. You can do the same using whatever school of thought appeals to you. Think about the stroke mechanics you want to develope, pick drills that seem to work towards that objective, and experiment with the sequence. You'll find what works for you. BTW, when I swim with a team, I simply do my drills for as long as they are on the "official" warm-up set. I try to stay out of my lane mates' way, and stop when they stop. I then join in the rest of the "official" work-out. No one has ever indicated to me they have a problem with me warming up that way, and I have done this with 4 different masters teams. Matt

Those drill descriptions are helpful, but I don't think I fully understand all the switch drills. It looks like the point is to switch from floating on one side with the lower arm extended to the other side with the other arm extended. From the little video clips, it looks like the underswitch drill is basically an underwater recovery and the overswitch is a normal above-water recovery (please correct me if I'm wrong), but I don't understand the zipper switch. Is it a combination of the other two? What exactly is its point?