NORTHERN PLANNER

1.                                       Here’s some advice on something I actually know something about. Hope it helps.

                                                      

                                                            Do swim frequently

If you don’t average about three swims a week you’ll lose your feel for the water – and that’s the thing that matters most, your technique will begin to deteriorate. No feel, no technique, no speed. If you look at some of the thrashing whales in your local pool, and compare the smaller, smoother ones swimming past them you’ll know what I mean. Swimmers seem to do better when they swim more frequently, instead of a few longer workouts each week. A few short workout are always better.

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’ll make bigger gains. It’s a bit like hitting a tennis ball as hard as you can and it never going in.

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 improve your skills. There are tons to do, just google swimming drills.

Do challenging workouts

One or two times a week (depending upon how frequently you swim) do part of your workout with oomph – push it. If all of your workouts are focused on technique, your technique will improve, but you won’t be able to go fast – if you try and speed up, your technique will go all over the place. Mix some hard stuff with technique work, let your body teach itself how to be graceful at speed.

Do easy workouts

There’s no reason to kill yourself unless you want to compete. There’s 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 the stroke itself, but you should always do things the same way – streamline, make yourself as thin in the water, as aerodynamic as possible. Quite simply, the less of you for the water to hold back, the quicker you’ll move through it.

                        

                                        Do leave the wall the same way every time

If you’re bothered about racing, always push off the walls the way you would 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.

8                                         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, or embarrasing skin tight Wham swimming trunks. It does mean don’t wear baggy beach shorts if you are trying to improve your style or learn how to hold technique when going faster. That’s more resistance against the water, which messes up timing and technique. You don’t want that.

Do ask someone to watch you swim

Better yet, get someone to video you. Getting some eyes to watch what you do is great for highlighting a problem with your technique you may have not noticed yet.

Use flippers occasionally

Among other benefits, swim fins or flippers can help a better body position and you will learn what that position feels like while you’re 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. And if you care about a toned bum, the extra resistance a flipper creates will give you that too. That goes for hand paddles as well.