jocelyn petrella, professional triathlete jordan jones, professional triathlete
TRANSCRIPT
Top 10 Ways to Swim Faster1) Swim frequently
Try to swim at least 3 times a week
Infrequent swimming can lead to a decreased feel for the water and your technique will probably begin to deteriorate
Shorter, more frequent swimming is better than a couple of longer swim sessions per week
The more you swim, the faster you’ll get…there’s a reason I started swimming 4-6 hours a day in high school
Top 10 Ways to Swim Faster2) Work on good technique and incorporate
drills into every workout
When you are getting back to swimming from a long break, just focus on technique
Trying to swim fast with poor technique is wasting energy and you are setting yourself up to race with poor technique…break those bad habits!
Improper technique can lead to injuries
Top 10 Ways to Swim Faster3) Eliminate drag in the water
Balance the body so the hips and legs ride as high as the upper body
Make the body longer by stretching out your stroke (DPS drills—e.g., Swolf)
Roll onto your side with every stroke and breathe bilaterally
Top 10 Ways to Swim Faster4) Swim hard some days
Once or twice a week, really push the effort
Examples 100 repeats at 500 pace 1650 time trial or a T20 or T30 400 repeats with short rest 50s hard with 5 seconds rest And my favorite set: 10x200s, 10x100s, and 10x50s
Top 10 Ways to Swim Faster5) Swim easy some days
Go hard on the hard days and go easy on the easy days
Recovery swims are important so that you can go fast when it counts (either in workouts or races)
Top 10 Ways to Swim Faster6) Use fins sometimes
Fins can help you achieve a better body position and then you can try to recreate that “feel” once you take the fins off
Fins can also help with ankle flexibility, thereby improving your kick
Make sure to buy the right fins
Top 10 Ways to Swim Faster7) Practice in a 50 meter pool or swim in
open water
There are too many turns in a 25 yard/meter pool which equates to too much rest
Long course pool swimming is better and open water swimming is better yet
Top 10 Ways to Swim Faster8) Go to a swim clinic or take some private
lessons
Even just 1 clinic or a couple of private lessons can really help
However, it’s easy to slip into bad habits so you’ll have to practice and remember what you learned
Top 10 Ways to Swim Faster9) Have a friend take a video of you
swimming
What you think or feel you are doing in the water is probably not what you are actually doing
Backstroke example
Top 10 Ways to Swim Faster10) Work on core strength
Why? To prevent injuries To gain efficiency and power
Exercises: superman and sideroll (can be done with an exercise ball), plank, ball plank, leg lifts, abs, med balls, squats, lunges, etc.
Is training in a pool fine or should I try to swim in open water?
Importance of open water swimming at least occasionally.
Focus on race day preparation!Sport is inherently unpredictable.Train for all predictable aspects of triathlon
racing.Be prepared for little things that you do on
race day but never in the course of training. From a fitness standpoint pool swimming can suffice, but race day preparation is integral.
Challenge of starting swim with possibly thousands of competitorsLeaky/foggy goggles
Sighting! Particularly when not on feetTendency to drift to one side
Fear of open waterAdjust to cold water
Learning how to swim on feetLearning how to swim on hip
Open water swim challenges
Racing – 4 common questionsHow do I avoid getting clobbered at the start
of a race?No fistfights, focus on the raceBe comfortable swimming near others,
perceived vs real threats, accept some contactLine up according to ability
Newbie on outer edgeGet out quickly, first 100y all out, first 300y
extremely hard. Train for this!
Racing – 4 common questionsHow do I gauge my effort in a race?
First 300y should feel extremely hard, don’t worry about this
Settle in after this period, focus on finding feet and getting into a rhythm
Swim should be intense, likely more uncomfortable than bike/run
Scout buoys beforehand, gauge distancesCheck watch, get used to doing this in the pool
Racing – 4 common questionsWhat are some techniques for sighting during
a race?Firstly, put BodyGlide on to stay comfortableHead down in normal position, look up before
turning to breathLearn your rhythm, one sided breathing early
then bilateral breathingStop if confused, particularly with sunLearn site points other than buoys