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.
1199
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.
1200
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.
1201
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.
1202
Happy swimming,
1203
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
30x25m on 30 sec
5 recovery, 1 sprint (100% effort)
4 rec, 2 sprint
3 rec, 3 sprint
2 rec, 4 sprint
1 rec, 5 sprint
Looks like a good set, thanks for sharing...
i also realised that, with my hand pull, i shouldnt be deliberately moving my hand beneath my opposite arm pit, to get that high elbow position and forearm dominant stroke.... instead i should be rotating my body, taking the armpit toward the hand more, keeping the hand just shy of the center line of my body. now it all makes sense, it all flows better, and when i get the rhythm right in the sprint it feels like i have a lot of power there. also with this greater rolling of the body, my reach is better and im getting the elbow position right as well
That makes sense... Sullivan does reach forward significantly which alters his shoulder position, even though his hips stay relatively flat. Here is the video again,
www.youtube.com/watch
Perhaps swimming like Foster works better for you?
www.youtube.com/watch
This picture of Bernard is also worth a second look.
Bernard.doc
.
anyone got any tips on fly swimming? it probably my worst stroke (tie with *** stroke...depends how im feeling) and id like to improve, even if its only a bit.
Have you seen this video?
video.google.com/videoplay
.
anyone got any tips on fly swimming? it probably my worst stroke (tie with *** stroke...depends how im feeling) and id like to improve, even if its only a bit.
i seem to struggle quite bad, so bad i think i got to the point where i just believed that your body is either cut out for it, or it isnt and no amount of practice will make it any better.
i can normally bosh out a half decent 50 but dont ask me to do more, my shoulders totally tie up and its difficult to even get them out the water toward the end of a 100. swimming slower doesnt help matters at all, that just makes it harder.... its like the only speed i can go to make fly kinda work, is almost flat out, which is no good lol
i used to hate, hate with a passion sets like 8x50 fly on 1:15 (used to merge 2 lanes and do it from a dive so we could swim without colliding hands....up one lane, down the other, from a dive)
i'd get like the first 1 or 3 done with a minor struggle but after that it just got way to hard. ive never been good at fly, even when i was like 10-11years old, i was no good at it....the coaches basically gave up trying to correct my stroke lolor even bother getting me to do fly at all, strange considering every other stroke was technically superior to everyone elses in the pool at the time.
my strokes better now, and i can manage a few more lengths than i could from when i was 10 but im guessing thats simply down to being stronger and nothing more. the stroke probably needs a lot of work on.....
timing and rhythm, kick, flexibilty and power..... i dont have the powerfullest of lower bodies, but im working on it in the gym
Chris,
Thanks for posting on my thread. You've mentioned in the past that you prefer me not to over-emphasize your accomplishments, and so I'll respect that. However, not every viewer of this thread may be aware of what you have already achieved.
Personally, I'm looking forward to reading and possibly seeing your future results. You have previously mentioned there are other backstrokers in the world who potentially have the talent to eclipse your performances, but that doesn't mean they'll actually put in the effort to reach a higher measure. It may be fun to swim fast, but it's not easy.
All the test sets are hard (esp the 100s and 200s) but my experience is that the set was EVEN HARDER with alternating swim/kick. My legs were absolutely shot (even more than usual) and after each repeat I was sucking wind big time.
I have always been a believer in hard/intense kicking but I have gradually been coming to the conclusion that even I don't do enough of it, considering how much I use it in races. I am hoping that this sort of set will help improve leg conditioning in the back half of a race.
:cool: See what I mean? Keep up the good work. :cool:
We had our first test set of the season yesterday and I thought I would share.
First a little background: our coach believes in recorded test sets that are repeated about once a month. Rotating through the test sets, it works out to doing them once a week and then repeating after four weeks.
Here are the ones that he records:
5 x 200 on 7:00 from the blocks
5 x 100 on 4:00 from the blocks
8 x 50 on 2:00 from the blocks
50 "drop out" set, start at 60 sec, drop one sec per 50, record first interval missed (lately I've been doing these butterfly).
We definitely do other high-quality sets but they are not routinely recorded.
Anyway, yesterday's set was the 5 x 100 test set. I normally either do it backstroke (most common) or butterfly. Yesterday I tried something different though: I did it backstroke but SWAM repeats 1, 3, 5 and KICKED repeats 2 & 4. The efforts on the kicks were every bit as intense as those on the swim, and I stayed underwater longer (I didn't worry about surfacing by 15m) so there was a hypoxic aspect of the kicks.
In my case, on the swims I did 10 SDKs off every wall but on the kicks I did 15 SDKs off every wall.
All the test sets are hard (esp the 100s and 200s) but my experience is that the set was EVEN HARDER with alternating swim/kick. My legs were absolutely shot (even more than usual) and after each repeat I was sucking wind big time.
I have always been a believer in hard/intense kicking but I have gradually been coming to the conclusion that even I don't do enough of it, considering how much I use it in races. I am hoping that this sort of set will help improve leg conditioning in the back half of a race.
These sets look very familiar, I can recall doing the 5x100 on 4:00, many times for sure... These sets certainly help to measure your sprint endurance fitness levels.
Here are the ones that he records:
5 x 200 on 7:00 from the blocks
5 x 100 on 4:00 from the blocks
8 x 50 on 2:00 from the blocks
50 "drop out" set, start at 60 sec, drop one sec per 50, record first interval missed (lately I've been doing these butterfly).
For the viewers who aren't aware of Chris Stevenson's Master WR's... here are the video's... (his underwater kick is remarkable!)
50: www.youtube.com/watch
100: www.youtube.com/watch
200: www.youtube.com/watch
.
Does this mean that one (not me) might end up having done 30 or 35 50's with the last 50 in 25"? (and are we talking SCY LCY? SCM LCM?)
Yes, that's right. It can be done in any course, I do it in SCY.
Of course the starting time can be adjusted as you like if you want more or fewer 50s. Or you can do other strokes (I've been doing them fly the last few times.)
What is interesting about the set is that you start out relatively easy, getting lots of rest. Really just finding a comfortable pace.
The second 10 50s is slightly harder but no big deal.
But it gets harder in a hurry for the last 10 50s. It is amazing that what feels SO EASY at first will hurt quite a lot at the end...! :)
50 "drop out" set, start at 60 sec, drop one sec per 50, record first interval missed (lately I've been doing these butterfly).
Does this mean that one (not me) might end up having done 30 or 35 50's with the last 50 in 25"? (and are we talking SCY LCY? SCM LCM?)
How do you keep count on these sets? If the first is on the 60, the next would be on the 59, then 57, 54, 50, etc. which is about were I'd start to lose count.
Coaching involvement is pretty helpful!
In addition, we have a digital clock that can be programmed. It beeps to start each repeat and resets to zero. ( Plus the digital clocks are so much easier for me to read, it is truly tough to go back to the analog ones!)
So the coach sets it up and also keeps track of the intervals for us ("this one is on the 54" and so on) as he records the first missed interval for each participant. We have a great, involved coach who exhorts and encourages us.
