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"Elements of good swimming form" by
Coach Katherine
Since the swim is
the first portion of your triathlon, it is very important to come
out of the water feeling warmed up but not exhausted. If you can
learn to swim efficiently, you will save precious energy for the
bike and run portions of your triathlon. There are several key
techniques that you can use to become a more efficient swimmer.
The first skill to practice is balance. Your hips and legs will do
the opposite of what your head does. Lowering your head position in
the water will help bring your hips and legs closer to the surface,
creating less drag and making it easier to swim. Imagine that you
are trying to “hide” your head just under the surface of the water
while swimming. You can do this by relaxing your neck and allowing
the full weight of your head to rest in the water, looking directly
at the bottom of the pool. While breathing, again try to relax the
weight of your head into the water so that only a small portion of
your face is showing.
The second skill to practice is length. Longer vessels travel
faster than shorter ones (imagine the speed of a rowing shell vs. a
rowboat). To be as long as possible when swimming, you should try to
have one arm in front of your head at all times. This means that
you should delay pulling your front arm until the recovery arm has
just entered the water. This skill can be difficult to do,
especially while breathing, if you have not already mastered proper
balance – so practice balance every time you swim.
The third skill to practice is core body rotation. Most of the
power you generate to move through the water should come from the
rotation of the core (torso) of your body, not movement of your arms
or legs. When you swim flat on your stomach, you are presenting a
larger surface area to the water, leading to more drag. Try instead
to roll onto your side with each stroke you take, so that you can
reduce your surface area and slice through the water with less drag
and more power.
The fourth skill to practice is relaxing your legs. Swimming for
triathlon is much different than racing in a pool, since you need to
save your legs for the bike and run. If you have become proficient
with the skills of balance, length, and core rotation, you should be
ready to relax your legs. Try swimming a few lengths of the pool
without kicking, allowing your legs to effortlessly trail behind
your body without dragging.
Becoming a smooth, efficient swimmer is simply a matter of practice.
Rather than going to the pool just to get in enough time or
distance, consider spending your swim time doing fewer laps while
trying to perfect the skills of balance, length, core body rotation,
and relaxing your legs. Finding a “swim buddy” is beneficial
because you can take turns watching each other swim from both the
surface and under water and give helpful feedback. Within a few
weeks, you should start to feel more comfortable and smooth in the
water, and maybe you will even begin to look forward to the swim
portion of your triathlon!
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