Science of Sport: Stroke Your Way to a Faster 1500 Meter Swim

By Anna Sablick, CTS Expert Coach

If I had a penny for every time I heard an aspiring triathlete say, “I’d do it, but I just can’t swim”; or a competitive triathlete say, “I’ll be fine if I can just get through the swim”, or “I hope it’s wetsuit legal!”, I would probably be retired on a beach in a Maui right now. Too many people are turned away from the sport of triathlon simply because they feel they’re hopeless without water wings. Others constantly struggle to “make up time” on the bike and run or a race because of a slow swim. What most people don’t realize is that swimming is probably the easiest of the three triathlon disciplines to improve.

The central paradox of swimming is that the faster you get, the more difficult it becomes, due to an increase in resistance. To be a strong and efficient swimmer, you do not have to spend five hours in the pool at a time, do speed intervals day in and day out, or spend each paycheck on the next gear upgrade. Speed in the water largely comes down to technique. Once you have the technique nailed, it’s time to start working on endurance, pace, speed, and strategy. Nailing the technique first is crucial, because if you spend hours in the pool pushing yourself, but you’re swimming inefficiently (w/ poor form), it is unlikely that you will see dramatic improvements.

Technique

It is important to note that many of the traditional techniques used in swimming (even those used 10-20 years ago) have changed. For instance, instead of using the traditionally taught S-Shape pull, a more simple and powerful pull is now recommended. In addition, sitting lower or deeper in the water with your head looking down at the bottom of the pool has proven more effective than riding high and looking forward. You may have heard this technique described as “swimming downhill”. Finally, the trunk or core plays a much larger role in generating power through the freestyle stroke than it once did. Picture Tiger Woods’ famous golf swing and use your hips to drive your body’s center from side to side. The biggest misconception of freestyle is that it is done on your stomach, hence the name: front crawl. Executed correctly, your body rotates from side to side along an axis that runs the length of your body.

Drills
Here are a few drills that will make you smoother in the water in no time:

Body Balance
First, find your “Sweet Spot”. This is a position on your side with both arms at your side. Your head should be turned looking up towards the ceiling, while your belly button and back are facing the walls of the pool. Kick gently. If done correctly (ie, you find a comfortable and balanced position in the water), you could theoretically stay in this spot all day long. This drill is the foundation of hydrodynamic swimming. By learning to swim on your side rather than your stomach, you will move through the water smoothly and quickly like a sailboat rather than laboriously like a tugboat.

Shark Fin
The Shark Fin drill teaches proper and efficient over-the-water arm recovery. In proper freestyle, the elbow always leads (i.e., it exits the water before the hand). To perform the shark fin drill, begin in your sweet spot, but with your bottom arm out in front. Your top arm should be down by your side. Rotate your neck so that your face is in the water looking straight down at the bottom of the pool. Maintain neutral alignment of the head, neck and spine. Next, slide your top arm up towards your ear. Allow your thumb to simply slide up the side of your body from your hip to your ear, and then back down to your hip. Rotate your head to breathe and repeat the sequence.

Two Beat Kick
A two beat kick (i.e., two kicks per arm stroke) is typically most efficient for triathletes as it preserves the legs for the bike and run. Your kick should fall into a rhythm with your arm stroke rather than a beat of its own. Ankles and hips should be loose, while knees bend slightly.

Race Day
When it comes to open water racing, remember one simple rule: the shortest distance between two points is a straight line.

Sighting
The key to open water swimming is trying to hold the straightest line possible from one buoy to the next. Since you don’t have a large black line to stare at as you typically do on the bottom of a pool, you will need to use landmarks, buoys, flags, or a pack of colored swim caps ahead of you. You will want to decide what you are going to focus on BEFORE the swim. Because the sun is also often a factor, it is a good idea to purchase a pair of reflective goggles. During the swim, you will want to pick your head up every 3-15 strokes to make sure that you are staying on course. The raising of your head should be a fairly fluid motion and should not drastically interrupt your stroke pattern. A sighting drill should be periodically included in your workouts and can either be performed in a pool or in open water. Simply pick a stationary object, and practice lifting your head every few strokes.

Drafting: It’s NOT Just for Cyclists
One of the primary goals of the triathlon swim is to get out of the water as fast as possible while conserving energy for the bike and run. One of the best ways of doing so is by picking a pair of fast feet slightly ahead of you and staying within a few feet of them. The advantage you can gain by riding someone else’s wake is quite substantial. You can experiment with this in pool by leaving the wall 5 seconds behind the person in front of you versus 10-15 seconds behind.

Pacing
Pacing is slightly different for each individual, so I will address the two main groups. If you are a stronger swimmer, it is best for you to position yourself towards the front of the swim start. Start out fast for the first 100-500 meters and then settle into a steady pace. You want to hold strong through the halfway point of the swim and then kick it in for the last 100-300 meters, warming the legs up for the bike. If you are on the weaker end, position yourself towards the middle or back of the pack and possibly a little towards the outside to minimize contact with other swimmers. Try to relax at the start and then once the pack thins out a little, you can increase your pace. You will not gain any time by trying to fight your through a mob of anxious swimmers, so just sit back, relax, and HAVE FUN!

Train Your Weakness, Race Your Strength
So, if you are one of the many triathletes who constantly struggle with the swim, make the pool your priority for a while. Begin by focusing on technique, then incorporate endurance, pace, speed, and strategy into your workouts. Pretty soon, you will be racing your previous weakness!

© 2005, Carmichael Training Systems, Inc.