Can anyone suggest drills to help me swim as fast without a pull buoy as I do with one?
I work hard at practice 5 days a week and make incremental gains every so often. But my improvement over the past year can't compare to the amount I improve when I grab a pull buoy.
So - I need to be working on my body alignment? Keeping my legs high in the water? Strengthening my abs? I try to work on all of those things but I would really appreciate any drill or workout ideas.
Thanks!
I am a goes-faster-pulling person. With the pull-buoy I don't have to use much energy to maintain body position so it's more energy for getting propulsion. I probably get a little body dolphining with the pull-buoy on to help me finish the arm-pull, which is all that my kick normally accomplishes anyhow. I don't use the ankle strap - my feet would rather just go along for the ride instead of working.
The biggest difference is that I get to wear my great big paddles when I pull. I make a high-elbow, deep catch and they don't seem to bother my shoulder joints (but do tire the muscles). I have a much higher turnover rate with the paddles and pull-buoy than I ever get with a 6-beat or 4-beat kick.
When coming up w/ seed times for my occasional meets, I can typically just use my practice times for intervals done with paddles/pull-buoy.
I am a goes-faster-pulling person. With the pull-buoy I don't have to use much energy to maintain body position so it's more energy for getting propulsion. I probably get a little body dolphining with the pull-buoy on to help me finish the arm-pull, which is all that my kick normally accomplishes anyhow. I don't use the ankle strap - my feet would rather just go along for the ride instead of working.
The biggest difference is that I get to wear my great big paddles when I pull. I make a high-elbow, deep catch and they don't seem to bother my shoulder joints (but do tire the muscles). I have a much higher turnover rate with the paddles and pull-buoy than I ever get with a 6-beat or 4-beat kick.
When coming up w/ seed times for my occasional meets, I can typically just use my practice times for intervals done with paddles/pull-buoy.
