The cross-training routine that was previously posted on this thread had a variety of advice. Although quite a few people have mentioned to me that they prefer to swim, and don't really want to lift weights. That's understandable, but attempting to compromise I suggest these 4 critical exercises, 3xweek. This could take as little as 15 minutes, but will have significant impact on your swimming base times.
Here's why:
Ankle flexibility is crucial, as this is the anchor on your ship. Even if you don't improve power or strength, having your ankles flexible will reduce the drag and improve body position. So, I recommend a minimum of 6 minutes (3x per week), on the bike with your toes pointed. This is primarily to warm up the ankles as well as training the range of motion.
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Don't be discouraged if you can't do this next stretch right away. When I started 8 years ago I couldn't get my knees off the ground, and my SDK was ineffective. Just have patience, and after several months you should notice a gradual improvement. Not everyone is gifted with natural mobility in the ankles, but the good news is this can be earned. Try and hold the stretch for 3x20 seconds.
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Moving up the body line, core stability is critical for maintaining the right trajectory while swimming. Be sure to bring the elbow all the way around the knee, and tighten the core as you go through the motion. Pick a weight that enables you to do 3x12 reps on both sides.
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This last exercise is great for your core, but I've noticed it is also really good for the upper body, especially the catch phase of the stroke, as well as engaging the lats on the horizontal axis. Again, 3x12 reps, and these four exercises can be made into a short mini-routine that most aspiring swimmers should at least consider.
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Happy swimming,
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So I finally have my video on FLOSWIMMING here it is
100 free SCM - 51.60 which converts to 46.02 SCY
swimming.flocasts.org/.../65295
I'm not a fan of vertical kicking
I've done some
I believe sprint kicking distances for time is much more useful
stuff like
8 x 25 on :45 3 easy 1 fast
or
8 x 50 on 1:00 desc 1 - 4
or
8 x 100 on 2:00 desc 1 - 4
the whole point is there comes a time when you're kicking a set distance as fast as you can holding nothing back and when you're done you have a time to compare previous kicks to
The problem here is the first set is 75% easy. The others are okay, but short in distance. If you want to emphasize kicking and ankle flexibility you'll need to do alot more yardage.
The vertical kicking is done over and above your workout. Its only added time to the workout. So for example, it would be IN ADDITION to you sets listed above. Most people aren't fans of it cause it isn't easy if you are pushing yourself on it. Like I stated, if you don't do it hard or fast enough you don't breath. :D
You can also do "vertical kicking" to train kicking and flexiblility. It doesn't add yardage to your workout but still can kick your ass. Get some weights from 5 lbs up to 25 lb plates and have fun. You can switch it up with fins (use alot more weight), hands out of the water, bricks in the hands, etc.
Basically its like water polo training. Its a good switch and break up of a workout.:applaud:
I've tried that, but having very inflexible ankles in the past, doing vertical kick doesn't give you the same traction on your feet. The water has limited resistance, and adding a weight belt doesn't increase the elastic pressure of the water (it just makes you heavier), which equals very little change in the ankles. Sure, your legs and torso will be well trained from vertical kicking which will make you fit, but not necessarily fast. Increasing the range of motion, first in the feet/ankles, will ensure you actually get closer to that 90% capacity.
You can also do "vertical kicking" to train kicking and flexiblility. Get some weights from 5 lbs up to 25 lb plates and have fun. You can switch it up with fins (use alot more weight), hands out of the water, bricks in the hands, etc.
The water has limited resistance, and adding a weight belt doesn't increase the elastic pressure of the water (it just makes you heavier), which equals very little change in the ankles. Sure, your legs and torso will be well trained from vertical kicking which will make you fit, but not necessarily fast. Increasing the range of motion, first in the feet/ankles, will ensure you actually get closer to that 90% capacity.
Try it. Not only does it make you heavier, you have to kick faster and harder....otherwise you'll be on the bottom of the pool. Faster and hard equals more water pressure on the feet and ankles.
Also work on more flexibility out of the pool. Part my stretching before swimming when younger was sitting on our ankles (on folded towels, mats, etc) and rocking back. Eventually you can push yourself to a standing position from there.
Give it a try, it should be a good experience, most people that race open water seem to really enjoy it.
it is indeed very cool, the other side of speed life saving is surf life saving which is done (as the name suggests) on the beach and the surf swim is a very eye opening experience for someone whos not done open water before.
i found that
1) breathing was sometimes difficult coz i timed it wrong
2) keeping my heading was also hard because when your in the water and you look up to see where to go everything seems so small
3) if you thought swimming was a non-contact sport... think again! lol
also, if you dont do well in cold water it can turn out not to be pleasant. the Baltic sea was so cold it really messed with my breathing, then there was the issue of not being able to see the bottom of the sea bed...not good with the combination of overactive imagination!
all good fun in the end though.
Thanks for sharing Alex, that does sound interesting.
it is indeed very cool, the other side of speed life saving is surf life saving which is done (as the name suggests) on the beach and the surf swim is a very eye opening experience for someone whos not done open water before.
im definately taking this on board... i do seem to have half decent flexibilty in my ankles but obviously it could be better.... i started yesterday at the gym with 8 mins of toe pointed cycling followed by 3x20sec ankle stretches and some skipping to go with the warm up.
I'm glad to hear that you'll give it an honest try. You know, I'm certainly not the fastest swimmer, but through personal experience I was able to improve a previous limitation. For 10 years I struggled with my kick, and it was only after training the ankles that I found significant improvements in my SDK and timed kick sets. Hopefully other people will have similar results.
after a couple of weeks ill up the time on the bike.
You can increase the time if you prefer, but I've found that 8-12 minutes/3xweek is ideal for the ankles. Try not to think of it as biking in the traditional sense, but think of extending the range of motion in your ankles, a little slower and more fluid(no pausing or relaxing of the ankles), imagine the water (ball) rolling off the top of your feet on each cycle. (Be sure to tighten the toe straps over the front edge of your shoe.)
JMiller, can i ask you what you think of things like Spinning and Pilate's?
gyms offer these types of classes and i enjoy spinning (especially the sprint bits) do you think they could be useful classes to use? at my university (home of a lot of the UK's olympic swimmers) have spinning bikes in their poolside gym so im assuming they think spinning is of worth too.
pilate's is all about core stability and flexibilty surely thats useful?
Sure, pilates and spinning are great cross-training tools. You know, at the end of the day, it comes down to what your personal experience is. Trying a different approach is useful because everyone has unique range of motion variables, and discovering those differences is critical for improvement.
SCM
3x200 DPS
4x75 kick on 1:20 Build
3x50 2easy/1fast on 1:00
2x200 DPS
4x50 kick on 1:30 1easy/1fast
100 easy
6x50 best average on :45
3x100 DPS on 2:00
4x25 kick with fins on 1:00 FAST
200 easy
Yes, this is a duplicated post, but spending time on the ankles should
be a priority for anyone wanting to improve their swimming. Even long
distance swimmers could benefit from less drag in their feet.
Apparently, computer modeling shows that 90% of the power in the dolphin kick comes from the feet.
www.npr.org/.../s...oryId=93575235
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