- 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
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.
- 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 either 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.
- 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 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 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.
