The
Zen of Swimming + Workout
by
Gareth
For
runners and cyclists wanting to compete in triathlons swimming can be very
hard.
Why is swimming so difficult ?
The way that you train in running and cycling – you get
more results the harder you work, just does not work in swimming. In
swimming if you work harder you tend to go more slowly and waste a lot of
energy in the process.
Why is this? The reason is because water is the most
resistive environment that you can work in. You may have experienced the
‘drag force’ if you raise your head and upper body when cycling at speed.
Well, water is 800 times denser than air. The more force you use, the harder
the water pushes back against you. Harder swimming does not work so we need
“smarter swimming”.
My
rules of swimming are:
1 - “Reducing Drag is the most important focus,
maximising propulsion comes later.”
2 - “ Any part of the body that is moving forward in the
water has to cause the least amount of resistance.”
3 - “ Any part of the body moving backwards in the water
has to find the maximum possible resistance.”
4 - “ Do not ‘push down’ on the water, only ‘push’ back
on the water when the hand and fore-arm is vertical.”
5 - “Economy of force. Use the least amount of effort
that will still move you forward effectively.”
6 - The three R’s of swimming: Swim with “ rhythm, range
and relaxation.”
7 - All swims must include drills that will improve your
technique and “feel” for the water.
Tips
for reducing Drag:
Swim smoothly, think long and streamlined, keep the head
on the centre line or ‘vertical axis’. Use a narrow kick that does not
extend outside the “body shadow”. Always push off the wall in a tight
streamlined position.
The head, torso, hips and legs need to be as horizontal
as possible. This is achieved by holding the head in the “neutral” position.
Eyes look down and slightly forward, 1 to 2 metres ahead. The water level is
between the crown of the head and the hairline.
Minimize “ up and down” movement of the body as this
increases drag. Hand entry: The hand must extend into the water smoothly,
slowly and carefully. Reach forward, extend the shoulder forward and move
the hand down into the catch gently.
What
if you are already a good swimmer ?
If you have come from a competitive swim background then
you do have quite an advantage as a triathlete. However the swim leg of a
triathlon is very different to an event in a swim meet.
1 – In a swim meet the event is swum at maximum
effort. You want to touch the wall at the finish having given all you
have, if you have the energy to swim another length then you have not put
enough into the swim.
2 – In a Triathlon you need to have lots of energy left
over to put into your cycle and run. We need to stress economy of movement
and efficient, easy speed.
3 – The goal in a swim meet is to swim at the fastest
possible pace. In a triathlon it is better to swim at between 80 to 95%
of your maximum. The more efficient your technique and the better your
conditioning then the faster you can swim before running into problems.
4 – Events are often swum in Open water. Technique
changes are to develop a more continuous pull and use bi-lateral breathing.
Open water skills are navigation, drafting, pack swimming, passing large
packs and specific skills to deal with waves and rough water.
5 – Distance swimming is the norm. Swim distances range
from 400m to 1500m or more for “ironman” events. Training should focus on
distance work.
This Month's Swim Workout:
Stroke: Free. Multi-sport Date: 07/10/03 Plan: 18 RPE: 7-10
Main Focus point: Soft Catch; Finish end of stroke
Distance: 1,850 – 2,050 Aerobic: 46 %. Anaerobic: 43 %. Lactate: 11
%.
Warm
Up: Swim “ spinning” low force on arm pull Type: EN 1.
250 m as: 50m free /50m free with fist/100m free /50m free with fist
RPE: 07 100 m – Kick - 25 m as: Front / Left side / right side / Back
Entry
& Catch - at easy cruise pace Dist: 400m RPE: 06 Rest: 30 secs.
4 by 50m as: 25m Head up free (watch hand entry), 25m easy free
Second Set: Interval set @ cruise pace RPE: 08 Rest: 45 secs.
Type: EN 2. Lane 1 - 4 by 200 m. Lane 2 – 5 by 200m
Even splits for each 50m, Hold same time, stroke rate & D.P.S for all.
Breathe as: 1st 50 - 5 strokes, 2nd 50 - 3 strokes, 3rd 50 & 4th 50 - 3/2/3.
Finish end of stroke: thumb brushes thigh, turn palm in & lift elbow up
Sprint set: Build and Pace. Dist: 200m RPE: 09 Rest: 90s
8 by 25m fast: maximum stroke rate (dynamic rest).
Cool
Down: Easy Pace 50 m Slow backstroke
Distance: 200 m 150 m Super slow freestyle.
Definitions:
RPE = In my
workouts they are on a scale of 1 to 10. Easy warm up might be 5 to 6. A
swim at cruise pace is 6 to 7. Hard Anaerobic swim would be 8 to 9 with a
maximum effort at 10.
EN is a scale describing aerobic work. EN 1 ( medium aerobic ), EN 2
@ anaerobic threshold, EN3 is VO2 Max work. I will go into this more in a
later email.
DPS is Distance Per Stroke.
Dynamic rest means to rest say after a sprint swim by moving in the
water. Could be kicking on back, easy backstroke, easy freestyle etc.
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