Turns – Individual Medley

 Pool Competitor Training Tips, Tip of the Week  No Responses »
Mar 312013
 

I focused on a previous post last week about the importance of Turns. Here is a pretty cool clip from Swim Technique covering turns for a 100 IM.

In the video, you will see that the swimmer shows two different back to breast turns. The first such turn is a Back-to-Breast Bucket Turn where you go straight over. The second turn is a traditional Back-to-Breast – touch the wall, spin the knees up, and get off the wall on your stomach. Which, I might add, he does very well. If you watch this movie in QuickTime, use your arrow keys to proceed through the video frame by frame. That is a great way to slow it down so you can see every nuance.

The Bucket Turn is an older version that can be fast. I have a variation of that style turn where I make my flip go over one shoulder instead of straight over. For some reason this is definitely faster for me. The Bucket Turn and the Crossover Turn below are ways to significantly speed up your Back-to-Breast turn once you master the technique. However, you need to make sure you set up with a good breath going into the wall as it takes some explosive energy to execute. I’ve got this mastered for a 100 IM, but for a 200 IM, I feel a bit more winded and therefore do a standard Back-to-Breast open turn.

Here is a clip of Ryan Lochte doing the Back-to-Breast Crossover Turn – also known as the Suicide Turn. Click Turn Back To Breast Crossover Locthe. A GREAT turn and now THE common turn among elite swimmers. But it is also known as the Suicide Turn. Why? Because there is a high risk of getting disqualified. When swimming backstroke, you must finish the lap and your touch on your back. The touch on this turn is driving the lead arm up and over across your body on that final touch. The danger is that it is incredibly easy to wind up touching on your side. As you can see on Ryan’s clip, Ryan dives his left arm over across his body lifting his left hip to air. He then tucks his chin, folds at his waist, spins his knees to his chest, drives his head to his knees (getting incredibly compact),  and leaves the wall at a slight angle on his right hip.

Here is Eric Shanteau with the same turn.

For a step-by-step guide to the Crossover Turn, this is one of my favorites.

For a more detailed look at a Fly to Back turn check out this clip.

For a Breast to Free turn, check out this clip.

And finally, this clip from GoSwim has some very sage advice about how to work turns into your practice. Some solid technique is shown in this one.

That should keep you all busy and out of trouble. Now go practice those turns!

Open Turns

 Pool Competitor Training Tips, Tip of the Week  1 Response »
Feb 032013
 

dog_flipturnTime to brush up on those open turns we do so many of in practice.  ”Why coach, why?!?”  Hmm, well because “I told you so” just isn’t going to fly with you masters swimmers, let’s give you a few “whys” behind how open turns can be your best friend, just like Fido here.

It is really easy to get sloppy in doing your turns. Sometimes it is fatigue, sometimes it is laziness, sometimes it is inattention or sometimes it is even because you just don’t know how. Whatever the reason, it is the simplest thing to stick with once you nail down the mechanics. Here are some benefits of fine tuning those open turns.

  1. Save energy
  2. Save time
  3. Be faster than the lane next to you! :-)
  4. Feel and look like a pro! We know what that means to you…
  5. Prep yourself for competition – you know you want to :-)
  6. Spare an injured body party – say your back – from the load it takes from flip turns and do so without sacrificing too much efficiency!

This post at Swimming World has a pictorial step-by-step guide for freestyle open turns.

http://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/premium/tips_on_technique/fly-2004-03-02.asp

This post, also at Swimming World, has a pictorial approach to breast and fly open turns. Now you can see the similarities once you have touched the wall.

http://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/premium/tips_on_technique/fly-2003-10-27.asp

And for a video on this, check out GoSwim’s Freestyle Open Turn Sequence which is done in a 4-part series.

Freestyle Open Turns Step #1

Freestyle Open Turns Step #2

Freestyle Open Turns Step #3

Freestyle Open Turns Step #4

Go out there and make us coaches proud of those super efficient and speedy turns!

Freestyle: Breathing & Head Position

 Stroke Tips, Tip of the Week  No Responses »
Jan 232013
 
Photo from http://www.paulsadlerswimland.com/SSC/Glossary.aspx

Photo from http://www.paulsadlerswimland.com/SSC/Glossary.aspx

Today, I’ve got a follow up to the Sunday post this week on Get Rid of That Drag. In this follow up, we’ll see a video from SwimTherapy, a group out of the UK.  One very  common error in freestyle is the head position. This video covers that and different styles of breathing – unilateral, bilateral, exhaling throughout the time your face is in the water, or exploding the exhale immediately before turning for air. Video is very clear, numerous angles above and below, and terrific commentary. Check it out!

Get rid of that Drag!

 Stroke Tips, Tip of the Week  1 Response »
Jan 202013
 
Photo from azcentral.com

Photo from azcentral.com

You have got to watch these YouTube videos Faster Freestyle By Decreasing Drag and How To Swim Faster Freestyle with High Legs & Low Drag. Posted by J Shaules from SynergySwimming. His approach to teaching on this video is hysterical. While most definitely irreverent, he does make some excellent points. I especially like the first drill in the first video which is done in the deep end. Richard Quick used this drill in his Championship Swimming DVDs. Give it a go!

 

Open Water – Let’s Go!

 Open Water Competitor Training Tips, Tip of the Week  No Responses »
Jan 132013
 

Lake TahoeEven though it is only January, it isn’t too early to start thinking about the open water season. Triathletes and open water swimmers need to establish good technique and build their endurance in these winter months.

If you’ve got a wetsuit, and a strong constitution, you can even head to SF Bay and start the year with some Bay swims. Water temps are generally 50 or so in January and warm up to 61 or so in September. Brrr!

There are two terrific training groups that work out of SF Bay. One is SwimArt led by Leslie Thomas. Check them out at Swim-Art.com. I’m sharing with you today a video she has posted on You Tube that has a few very useful tips on open water swim. You’ll find that at the end of this post. As of this date, Swim-Art has not yet published their 2013 calendars. They do have a note that due to America’s Cup, they will have some limits to their normal activities from July to September. I have to tell ya, I’ve been on one of their bay training clinics and it was outstanding!

Another is Water World Swim led by Pedro. They currently have open water swims with Pedro, 10am on Sundays at Aquatic Park. And from March-September, they have “Swim with Pedro” on Thursday nights at 6pm. Fee is $15. Check out their calendar here for more swims. Lake Almanor

And of course, there are the Dolphin Club and South End Rowing Club to consider as well. These two alternate days using a shared facility located at 500 Jefferson St which is on the edge of Aquatic Park. For $6.50 you can swim and have access to their facility (lockers and showers).

Be sure and check out Pacific Masters competition schedule. Last year they had a large amount of open water swims in our region and this year even more. We usually launch the open water season with a nice 1-mile open water swim in Santa Rosa at Spring Lake Park sometime in May. To warm you up, they do have two meets coming up that have events targeting distance swimmers. They would serve as a great way to launch your training for tri swims or open water competitions.

The first is The Olympic Club 1500m swim in an indoor 25-meter pool. They run just that event! It takes place on Saturday, January 17th. You can check it out and register for it here.

The second event is The City Mile 1650 swim in an indoor 25-yard pool. Again, this is the only event of the meet and it takes place on Sunday, February 24th. You can check it out here.

Both are terrific options to test yourself out and set the foundation for 2013. Go for it!

Ok, on to tips. Check out Leslie’s tips on her YouTube video.

Breaststroke Timing – Part 4

 Stroke Tips, Tip of the Week  No Responses »
Jan 062013
 
Swimmer

Photo by © Cokie Lepinski

Breaststrokers know the finicky nature of timing in that stroke. When it is on, your stroke feels incredibly smooth, powerful and almost effortless. When it is off, it feels absolutely horrible! Take time away from the stroke (say from a knee injury), and your timing definitely suffers upon your return.

From on deck, what I notice is that many masters swimmers struggle to find proper timing. One of the biggest questions I get about breaststroke is when to time the kick in relation to the pull. This is a bit tricky. Many a coach has been heard calling out from deck, “kick your hands forward”. While they mean well, the instruction is somewhat flawed. In fact, many of us initiate our kick too early in the stroke because of this misconception. Watch the best breaststrokers in the world of late, and you’ll notice that their kick takes place behind their arm action.

Two great posts are available for further information on how the best of the best time their kick. Check out this post by a Santa Clara swimmer, Russell Payne. He describes his struggle changing from an “accordion breaststroke” (where the kick starts with the catch and pull of the arms) to this more recent evolution. Then, check out this one by who he references in his post, Russell Mark, USA National Team Staff Member.

What Payne describes as accordion breaststroke, is what many masters swimmers do. They draw their hands in on the outsweep and feet up at the same time, exposing their entire frame as one unit of massive resistance. But, if you separate your kick just slightly from your pull, you lessen that resistance by getting the front half of your body into a streamline, allowing the kick to really propel you forward.

In a nutshell, you want to be very patient with your legs. Wait to draw your heels up until your arms “turn the corner” to your insweep from your outsweep. Two key elements to success here are 1) you need to have a very quick draw of your heels to your hips; and 2) on the shoot through recovery of the arms, you need to drive your body forward, pressing your chest down, fully extending those arms out front, and squeezing your ears with your biceps. Take a look at these two pictures that definitely illustrate this point.

Photo from SwimmingandMore.blogspot.com

Photo from SwimmingandMore.blogspot.com

In this first photo, Michael Phelps has drawn his heels up and by the time he gets the arms extended out front, he will be on the down kick with his legs.

Daniel Gyurta. Photo from http://coachjoshwilkinson.edublogs.org

Daniel Gyurta. Photo by Francois Xavier Marit, Getty Images. Obtained from http://coachjoshwilkinson.edublogs.org

This photo is of Hungary’s Daniel Gyurta. Here you can see that he is one step farther along in his stroke than the Phelps photo above. He has completed his recovery and his legs are on the down sweep. This allows him to minimize resistance and maximize his streamline.

How do you do it? Practice, practice, practice. Kicking without a board in a streamline position (as if you just ended a breaststroke pull) is one way to establish your feel for this. Then, give a try to the Pull Stop Kick Stop drill highlighted in this previous post on Breaststroke Timing – Part 2. By learning to separate the pull from the kick, and then gradually putting it back together, you’ll reset your timing and get back to feeling smooth and powerful with your breaststroke.

Give it a try and let me know how things are progressing.

Freestyle & The Ice Block

 Stroke Tips, Tip of the Week  No Responses »
Sep 052012
 

Want to know what Early Vertical Forearm looks like? Below is a video from SwimAffect that shows a point by point breakdown of front quadrant freestyle with a high elbow. As you watch the video, take note of not just the front part of the stroke where they demonstrate early vertical forearm, but also look at the back half of the stroke.

Something I learned from Coach Stu Kahn (Davis Aquatic Masters) at the 2012 USMS High Performance Camp in Greensboro, NC last week was to consider a Late Vertical Forearm and an Even Later Vertical Palm.

A Late Vertical Forearm is the back half of your freestyle pull where you are at 90 degrees finishing the Early Vertical Forearm. It is the second fastest spot in your freestyle stroke! To find speed, you need to accelerate your hand all the way through the back half of the pull while maintaining a position with your palm pushing water back (but not up). Your opposite arm is out in front at the point you begin your Late Vertical Forearm.

The Even Later Vertical Palm – ELVP – is key to that back half of your stroke. Coach Stu used imagery as a way to guide your stroke. Picture yourself grabbing on to a block of ice in the front where you make your initial catch. Initially you pull the ice until you go from EVF to LVF at that 90-degree mark. From that point you are then pushing the ice block back, hence the need for the palm pushing back all the way to your hip.

Coach Stu’s tip is to “close your armpit” as you transition from EVF to LVF (feel like you are popping a small balloon in your armpit). Your wrist should be flexed when you get down to your waist, not pushing up to the sky. Hold the water all the way back. Some of the world’s greatest freestylers swim in this fashion: Ryk Needling, Michael Klimt, Inge de Bruijn, Federica Pelligrini, Ian Thorpe, Dana Vollmer, Missy Franklin, and Katie Ledecky to name a few. While they may vary in the front end of their stroke, it is in the back end of their stroke that they share a common element of a palm push. Even the great Cal sprinter Nathan Adrian doesn’t really have an EVF (he has a straight arm style), but does have a very strong LVF and ELVP. Remember Janet Evans? She held on to the water on the back half of her stroke and that is what made her incredibly efficient even with an otherwise un-textbook windmill straight arm stroke and no early vertical forearm.

An easy way to wrap up here is to remember to:

  1. catch the water sooner
  2. hold on to it longer
  3. accelerate your hands through the pull / push of the ice block

Dynamic Warm Up – Yoga

 Health, Tip of the Week  No Responses »
Aug 262012
 

Reading on my iPad, I stumbled upon this article on dynamic warm ups for athletes using Yoga. Now I should warn you that I am not a Yoga person. Tried it years ago, and it just wasn’t something that worked for me. Perhaps it was the class, the instructor, the time in my life, a host of injuries, whatever. It left me worse than when I started, so I abandoned it after about 5 classes.

That being said, I am very open minded about Yoga and think it can be a terrific aid to our daily lives. After seeing this article, I have to admit, I hope to try Yoga again. I’ll be on the hunt for a class and an instructor that fits me, with all my silly injuries and limitations. For now, I’m going to try incorporating these 6 simple exercises into my morning routine to accompany some of my core work and back exercises.

What struck me about this article, and video, is that these are do-able exercises for me! I really like how she tells you what each exercise will do for you. We adults often desire the “why” behind what we are asked to do. They supply this!

Here’s the video. The link to the full article can be found below. I do recommend you read the article – it is short. :-)

Article Link: Yoga For Everyday Athletes Women’sHealth

Freestyle Flip Turn Drill

 Drills, Dryland or Cross-Training Tips, Fitness Swimmer Training Tips, Pool Competitor Training Tips, Tip of the Week  No Responses »
Aug 182012
 

Here’s a great drill for mastering flip turns. It comes from our friends over at GoSwim. This drill uses the concept of a waterfall to teach the move where you drive your head to your knees. Pretty cool, and definitely something you can do on your own.

Step by step instructions that go with the video are:

Why do it:

Making sure the set up for your turn is direct, helps improve the speed into and out of the wall. Using the water as a substance, and your momentum to help you through the turn also saves energy and eliminates extraneous movements.

How to do it:

1) Push off the wall underrwater with your hands held down to your sides.

2) Very soon after your push, tuck your chin so the water hits you on the back of the head (like standing under a waterfall and leaning forward).

3) Allow the water to push you around without using your legs or arms. If you donapos;t make it all the way around, thatapos;s fine, this is just to teach you the initial sensation.

4) Move to directly on the surface, pushing off the same way, and tucking your chin to allow the body to flip around.

5) Finally, swim into the wall to gain some momentum, stop swimming a bit sooner than normal to allow both arms to be behind you, tuck your chin and roll into a flip turn.

How to do it really well (the fine points):

Make sure you never pop up prior to the turn, but submerge into the wall on each turn. Make sure you are not lifting your head as you approach the wall, but practice looking at the bottom to start building an awareness of turning without seeing the end. Most of all, when learning this, donapos;t muscle the first couple of steps, stay soft and slow, and feel the water pushing you around.

Coach Cokie’s note:

I would add one more “fine point”. When you flip, be sure and flip straight over, not off to one hip. On  the video, most of the swimmers do flip straight over onto the wall. However, a few flip slightly to one side and come out on one hip. When really trying to master flip turns, get yourself to flip straight over. You’ll use your dolphin kicks (or flutter kicks) to corkscrew you onto one hip and your first breakout stroke finishes straightening out your body. That comes in a future lesson!

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