Swimming

Swimming How to swim better In this article you’ll find new tips to make better your style. Elvira M.Aguirre 21/10/2009

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21 de Octubre de 2009

*Swimming*

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Capítulo 1

Swimming Better To Do List - 10 Better Swimming Tips

for Swimmers

Swimmers To Do List - Improve Your Swimming

There are many things that swimmers can do to swim better.

This to do list of 10 ways to better swimming could help any

swimmer improve their swimming. Get this to do list done and

swim on!

Do swim frequently

If you don't average about three swims a week you will lose

your feel for the water and your technique will begin to

deteriorate. No feel, no technique, no speed. If the option is

between one or two long workouts or three or four shorter

workouts, swimmers seem to do better when they swim more

frequently as opposed to only doing a few longer workouts

each week.

Do swim with good technique

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Maintain the best possible technique at all speeds during a

workout. If you try to go fast with bad technique, you are

wasting energy. If you can teach yourself to go fast while

using good technique, you will make bigger gains.

Do drills as part of every swimming workout

Early in your workout, in the middle of your workout, or at the

end of your workout (or any combination of the three!) do

some specific technique work to reinforce good swimming

skills. There are many drills you can do to stay tuned up, or to

help you develop better technique.

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Do challenging workouts

One or two times a week (depending upon how frequently you

swim) do part of your workout with oomph - push the effort, go

hard, whatever you want to call it. If all of your workouts are

focused on technique, your technique will improve. But what

will happen when you try to go faster? You will get tired, your

technique will deteriorate, and you might as well call it a day. If

you are doing some hard or challenging workouts - mixed in

with technique work - as different workouts or as part of the

same workout - you will learn how to hold good technique

while going faster.

Do easy workouts

Depending upon your swimming goals, there may be no

reason to do more than one or two tough workout sets a week,

as long as you do one or two easier workouts, too. Work hard

on the hard things, and easy on the easy things, and each

kind of work will give better results.

Do streamlines

It might be a start, a push-off, or a turn, but you should always

do things the same way - streamline, then into the transition

between the streamline and swimming. But first, always a

streamline.

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Capítulo 2

Do leave the wall the same way every time

Always push off the walls the way you would if you were

coming out of a turn. When you starting a set, you should

push off the wall exactly the same way that you would be

pushing off the wall if you were coming out of a turn. Most

races have more turns than starts, and getting some extra

practice with any part of a turn is a bonus.

Do wear a swimsuit made for competitive swimming

This doesn't mean spend $300 on the latest and greatest

high-tech slicker than skin piece of swim wear. It means don't

wear baggy beach shorts if you are trying to improve your

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technique or go learn how to hold technique when going

faster. There are times to wear a swimsuit that gives you

some extra drag, but not before you have mastered good

technique.

Do ask someone to watch you swim

Better yet, get someone to video you. Getting some eyes to

watch what you do (or using your own via a video review)

while you are moving through the pool can yield some great

feedback on your swimming technique that you may have not

realized.

Do use flippers occasionally

Among other benefits, swim fins or flippers can help you

achieve (artificially) a better body position and you will learn

what that position feels like while moving. Then, when the

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flippers are off, you can try to recreate that position by feel,

since you will already have a better idea what it will feel like

when you get there.

Capítulo 3

Swimmers, Get to Practice!

Establish Swim Practice Requirements for Swimmers Practice

By Mat Luebbers, About.com

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Getting better at something like swimming usually requires

practice. Yes, some athletes will get better just through growth

and maturation, but under normal circumstances they have to

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practice skills, too. If they really want to get better, they have

to develop their fitness, and that takes practice. How many

times a week? Five? Two? Nine?

Take the About Swimming Poll on Swim Practice

Requirements

Different programs have various goals, and these goals

should be the primary basis for developing the practice

attendance system. There are several factors to consider

when looking at practice requirements. Among them are:

•Design or overall goals of the program

•Goals of the members of that program

•Swimmer's age

•Swimmer's other sport experience

•Swimmer's level of development

•Limitations on swimmer commitment

•Time of season

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•Length of practice

•Policy consistency within a program and among other

programs in the same system (such as a school)

If the team is recreational in nature, teaching swimmers the

different skills needed for competitive swimming, how many

times each week does a swimmer need to get to the pool?

Once a week might be enough to teach basic skills to 7-year

olds. Two or three practices per week would allow for more

instruction and rehearsal of the new skills, better retention and

perfection of old skills, and offer enough time to develop an

element of sport specific fitness. If the athlete is older, one

practice a week may not be enough to teach and develop

needed skills. If a swimmer wants to make the Olympics, they

may begin with a recreational team, but to have a chance at

reaching their goal they will likely need to move on to another

type of team.

A high school team would probably base its requirements on a

school-wide system for consistency set by the athletic

department. Based on the available number of practices, what

is required for a student to remain eligible for competition for

the team? This number should not be vastly different between

sports programs offered by the school. This does not mean

that if basketball requires four practices a week, swimming

should require four as well. It does mean that if basketball

allows its team members to miss one practice a week with

prior permission, then the swim team would be likely to have

the same policy. The number of practices that need to be held

to meet the team goals will vary. An established team with

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experienced swimmers (that practice only with the school

team during the season) might have as many as nine or ten

practices each week. A new team, a team that has swimmers

that practice with their club team during the season, or one

that does not have swimmers capable of handling the stress

(both positive and negative) associated with two-a-day

practices might only hold four to five weekly practice sessions.

Capítulo 4

If the athletes in a program are used to practicing three times

a week for soccer, and now are required to practice five times

a week for swimming, there needs to be some basis for this

difference, and that difference needs to be sold to the

swimmers. More practices are needed because? Individual

programs must answer that question, but reasons could

include shorter practice times, a higher element of fitness

development required, more time needed to teach skills, or

different program goals from those of the soccer team. What if

the athlete has other commitments, perhaps some type of

religious services or extra educational needs? Should the

athlete be allowed to miss more practices than those that don't

have those same conflicts? Certainly faith or education are

more important than sport; how a program deals with potential

conflicts to attendance must be handled consistently and with

common sense.

Where is the line drawn between forcing the swimmer to make

a choice and allowing them to participate in a multitude of

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activities? Should they be encouraged through all levels of

development, and at all ages, to do as much as possible, or

should they be steered towards narrowing their focus, with the

potential of developing to a higher level in fewer areas? What

is the program's overall goal, and how does that interact with

the goals of the members?

Capítulo 5

What about a team that is trying to qualify swimmers for

Olympic trials or place swimmers on a national team? What

does it take to reach that level? It could take a few - or as

many as 14 - practices each week - maybe more! The number

must be determined by the coaching staff and sold to the

athlete.

A program might have vastly differing requirements for

different groups within the same team. This could be for

several reasons. It may help to develop and introduce the

novice to the sport in a graduated, controlled manner. It might

keep some athletes in the sport longer, perhaps long enough

to get them to reach the next level of commitment. It might

serve as a revenue generator, allowing overall team dues to

remain lower.

Swimmers need to practice to get better beyond the level of

improvement that might be achieved as they mature. The

number of practices needed to improve will vary among

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swimmers and teams, but some number will be needed. The

team leadership must establish that number, make decisions

on recommending or requiring practices, then get the team

membership to buy in to that part of the program. It is up to the

swimmers and parents to make commitment to themselves

and their team in order to improve their abilities. So get to

practice and...

Swim On!