A few weeks ago while assisting at a clinic in FLA, Coach Shane Eversfield gave some ideas about how to use the tempo trainer to help in training for longer distances. The first step was: “Find a tempo at which you can comfortably swim a 500.”

There was more to his set, but at this point I’m still trying to nail down a “comfortable 500″ with the tempo trainer. I know that I can swim 500, but I’d never done so with a tempo trainer and I was nervous what it might teach me about my (bad?) swimming habits.

The first time I tried it, I chose a setting of 1.3 seconds, which feels downright slow when I do 50s or even 100s, but I know that I can maintain good form at that pace.

After 250 yards, I gave up on the set! My stroke was getting sloppy, my SPL went from 16 to 20, my turns went form flip to open and I was “stealing” extra seconds at the wall just trying to figure out how to regain control. The issue was not one of a lack of fitness, but rather swimming at a coordinated, consistent effort for the duration at a set tempo. The remainder of that set I continued at the same TT setting, but did repeats of 100s & 50s, which went just fine.

The following week I attempted it again. My goal was still to complete the set. I managed to alternate flip & open turns for a few hundred yards, then went to all open. The turns were taking 3-5 beeps from initiation to completion (instead of the 3 I was striving for), and my stroke rate stayed between 16-18. It was a better set, and I finished having set a new PR for 500 yards at 8:50, which is 1:45/100.

I was thrilled, but knew that I was capable of swimming even better. With the metric of SPL, I knew that if I could keep my strokes consistent at 16 SPL, or improve my turns that I could easily take 20-30 seconds off the set. Never before had I understood swimming so well. Can you imagine just staring at the pace clock wondering how you could get faster for your next effort? There was no question about it…to get faster I simply need to swim more consistently and now I had objective measures to follow.

Yesterday was my 3rd such attempt at completing 500 yards with the tempo trainer, and I set a new PR for 500 of 1:40/100! I started at the same setting (1.3s) and started the set with 14-16 SPL (how did that happen???). I was hitting every wall around 15 SPL with a well timed flip turn & pushoff using exactly 3 beeps for the turn and taking my first stroke on the 4th beep without feeling breathless.

The consistency with which I was swimming shocked me! After 300 I knew this would be another PR, not because I was trying to swim faster…just trying to swim better, following a plan. The manager stopped me with 25 yards to go to tell me the swim team would be arriving soon, but even with that 3-5 second delay included, I finished the set in 8:25, for a new PR (for the 2nd time in 2 weeks). Subtacting the 3 seconds or so I stopped for the manager, that’s 1:40/100. No blazing fast, but faster than MOP.

My focuses were primarily on maintaining some core tension and rotating from the core with the aid of my (2 beat) kick. I think that’s how I got down to 14 SPL for the first few lengths.

I can’t tell you how enlightening this is for me. I’ve never had this much control of my swimming before. Funny thing is that 2 weeks ago I would have said the same thing, and 2 weeks prior to that I would have said the same thing. It just keeps getting better.

Just wanted to share, I hope you all can experience the same sorts of improvements not just in swimming, but in your approach to planning your training.

Triathlon Swimming Techniques

Some coaches will say that the “catch” is the first part of the swim stroke, that without a good catch, you’re odds of going nowhere fast increase dramatically. I’d like to propose that the opposite is true. That the catch can only happen as a result of your body position and rotation being properly set up.

Swimming Occurs in Three Dimensions

By considering the catch as Phase 1 of the stroke, you are at risk of overreaching and overextending not only the elbow but also the shoulder joint. When a swimmer focuses only on reaching forward and trying to then bend the elbow to 90 degrees, the shoulder joint is typically fully locked out in abduction and external rotation.

From this position, bending the elbow to 90 degrees and pulling results in increased forces on the shoulder joint itself and requires a great deal of strength to hold this position relative to the water. Not to mention that most people will then try to force their arm through the water in this position, adding to the repetitive stress placed on the shoulder itself. Thinking of the catch as phase one of the stroke allows for little room to consider the catch in it’s natural context, which is part of the three dimentional act of swimming.

The Three Phases of the Basic Swim Stroke

I’d like to propose that the catch is the final portion of the swim stroke. That it happens only after several other important body positions have been established.

Phase one is placing the body on an edge, like the hull of a seaworthy boat which will have two stable positions on each side allowing it to lean into the waves without tipping over. The body is first placed on it’s “edge” around 40-70 degrees of rotation. Not 90 degrees, and not zero degrees.

Phase two (whcih really happens simultaneously with Phase 1) involves the lead arm piercing the water at an angle just lateral to the center axis of the body (11 oclock and 1 oclock respectively for the left and right sides). The downward angle of the arm should be adjusted to allow the swimmer to lean forward into the armpit and buoy the hips up towards the surface.

Phase 3 involves great patience as the body should ride this stable edge as long as possible so as to not interfere with any forward motion already created. Many coaches and systems call this the “glide”.Most slow swimmers are slow because of frequent placement of body parts in a way that increases frontal surface area. Once you have reached the “skating” position with minimal drag you need to preserve as much forward motion as possible before destabliizing the vessel of your body.

Once the recovering arm begins to pierce the water (Phase 2), body rotation then begins as the recovery arm pierces down and forward (at the 11 or 1 oclock position) accompanied by a quick forward flick of the opposoite leg (also known as the 2-beat-kick or 2BK).

The Forearm Flop initiates the true Catch

At this point and only at this point, the lead arm can then gently begin an inward rotation of the shoulder accomanied by bending of the elbow so taht the forearm “flops” inward and the body skates past. This is the catch and it’s a far simpler movement than usually described. What makes it complex is the fact that it is happening in 3 dimensions and must be timed so as to not upset the fore/aft nor the rotational balance of the body when the catch takes place.

The catch and pull are the result of proper body positioning and fine attention to the movement of the lead arm, and as such, is the last phase of the stroke.  As the lead forearm “flops” to the catch position, the remainder of the pull involves pressure at the elbow, not the hand, while keeping the forearm verticall aligned with the pool bottom. All the while the new lead arm is piercing the water and the body has already rotated to it’s opposite stable edge between 40 -70 degrees.

Next time you are in the pool, try implementing the “forearm flop” on one side at a time.  Don’t worry initially about the pull itself, just focus on the timing of the flop.  Swim a length (or half a length) focusing on only one side’s timing while not concerning yourself with any other parts of your stroke.  Soon you will find that the catch becomes a much more powerful part of your stroke, leading to “free speed”.

Please let me know any comments or concerns you have about the technique I described above.  If you’ve tried it, let me know how it’s feeling!