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!
Parents
Former Member
I found swimming with just the band very difficult at first, but with practice and a focus on using my abs to keep my legs high and balancing by pressing my chest down, it has gotten much easier (and has really helped my swimming beyond the drill). Another thing I found helpful when I first started the drill was rotating my whole body when my legs started to sink, so that I could translate that downward motion of the legs more into rotational momentum. That's not a very good description, but that's the way I thought about it while I was swimming and it helped.
This is a great description I find, absolutely.
The purpose of this drill is to get you to find YOUR own way to improve body balance. You know, with several drill come several side effects. So called Catch Up may favor dropped elbow bug.
With the band around, there's not any side effect that I can think of. Translating leg sinking momentum into rotational momentum is great (it just can't be bad).
However, like you smartly pointed out, the real benefit becomes apparent when you remove the band and experiment a smoother than usual full stroke.
Congrats!
Reply
Former Member
I found swimming with just the band very difficult at first, but with practice and a focus on using my abs to keep my legs high and balancing by pressing my chest down, it has gotten much easier (and has really helped my swimming beyond the drill). Another thing I found helpful when I first started the drill was rotating my whole body when my legs started to sink, so that I could translate that downward motion of the legs more into rotational momentum. That's not a very good description, but that's the way I thought about it while I was swimming and it helped.
This is a great description I find, absolutely.
The purpose of this drill is to get you to find YOUR own way to improve body balance. You know, with several drill come several side effects. So called Catch Up may favor dropped elbow bug.
With the band around, there's not any side effect that I can think of. Translating leg sinking momentum into rotational momentum is great (it just can't be bad).
However, like you smartly pointed out, the real benefit becomes apparent when you remove the band and experiment a smoother than usual full stroke.
Congrats!
