Swimming is an excellent form of exercise for people of all ages and fitness levels.
Whether you’re a novice, intermediate, or advanced triathlete, improving your swimming technique is crucial to increasing your speed, endurance, and overall performance.
In this blog post, we will discuss the best ways to improve your swimming technique and suggest sample training sessions for each level.
Table of Contents
Novice Triathletes
As a novice triathlete, the key to improving your swimming technique is to focus on the basics. Start by learning proper body positioning, breathing technique, and stroke mechanics.
Here are some tips to help you get started:
- Body positioning: Keep your body in a horizontal position, with your head in line with your spine. Your hips should be close to the surface of the water, and your legs should be straight and close together.
- Breathing technique: Breathe out slowly and fully as your head turns to the side to inhale. Try to exhale continuously, so that you are not exhaling when your head is underwater.
- Stroke mechanics: Focus on the “catch,” which is the initial phase of the freestyle stroke where your hand enters the water. Reach forward with your arm, and then pull back towards your hip with your forearm and hand.
Sample Training Session:
- Warm-up: 5 minutes of easy swimming
- Drill: 4 x 25m freestyle with focus on body positioning
- Main set: 4 x 50m freestyle with focus on breathing technique
- Cool-down: 5 minutes of easy swimming
Intermediate Triathletes
As an intermediate triathlete, you should already have a good foundation of swimming technique. To improve your technique further, focus on increasing your stroke rate, developing your kick, and improving your overall speed.
Here are some tips to help you get started:
- Stroke rate: Increase your stroke rate by taking shorter, quicker strokes. This will help you maintain a higher speed without expending too much energy.
- Kick: Focus on developing a strong and consistent kick. Your kick should be small and fast, with your feet close together.
- Speed: Practice swimming at a faster pace to improve your overall speed.
Sample Training Session:
- Warm-up: 5 minutes of easy swimming
- Drill: 4 x 50m freestyle with focus on increasing stroke rate
- Main set: 4 x 100m freestyle with focus on developing kick
- Cool-down: 5 minutes of easy swimming
Advanced Triathletes
As an advanced triathlete, you should already have excellent swimming technique. To improve your technique further, focus on refining your stroke mechanics, building your endurance, and incorporating open-water swimming into your training.
Here are some tips to help you get started:
- Stroke mechanics: Refine your stroke mechanics by focusing on the catch, pull, and recovery phases of your stroke.
- Endurance: Incorporate longer-distance swimming into your training to build your endurance.
- Open water swimming: Practice swimming in open water to improve your navigation skills, sighting technique, and ability to swim in a group.
Sample Training Session:
- Warm-up: 5 minutes of easy swimming
- Drill: 4 x 100m freestyle with focus on refining stroke mechanics
- Main set: 4 x 200m freestyle with focus on building endurance
- Cool-down: 5 minutes of easy swimming
Conclusion
In conclusion, improving your swimming technique is essential to becoming a better triathlete.
By focusing on the basics, developing your technique, and building your endurance, you can take your swimming to the next level.
Use these sample training sessions as a guide, and remember to always listen to your body and adjust your training as needed.