Alright, Typhoons, you know that I preach healthy foods, but very few of you actually know what I am talking about. The truth is that I have been looking for a few resources to help explain what (exactly) I am talking about. So, without further ado, here are four must-watch videos for your swimming nutrition!
Enjoy getting healthier!
To all the Typhoon swimmers out there (and really every swimmer), please take a look at this video and watch Ryan Lochte (the fastest swimmer in the world today). He hits every turn harder than the previous, and goes into his last turn with outstanding underwater work. Take a look:
I have been having quite a few parents ask about “taper”. Some parents have a general idea, some parents know a great detail of what they used to do as swimmers, and some have no idea. Either way, it is a good thing for all parents to understand what taper is, and what type of taper we (the Hamden/North Haven YMCA Typhoons) use.
First and foremost, taper is the significant decrease of yardage per hour while maintaining intensity within the practice sets. So, while we will practice for relatively the same amount of time, there is more purposeful (and fast) swimming with more rest after each swim or set.
With that said, let’s take a look at the three different types of taper:
We utilize a progressive taper with our Juniors and Seniors as we typically plan for a 14 day taper period. Again, this has been scientifically proven to be the most effective form of taper throughout several studies which involve highly trained athletes. Typically, sprinters will see a decrease in time of 3% to 6% while mid-distance and distance swimmers will experience a 2% to 4% decrease in time.
For the Silver and Gold groups, we do more of a steep step taper where we will decrease the yardage within the last week of training to a significant exponential amount. This allows swimmers (and coaches) to focus strictly on race technique, starts, turns, and breathing patterns.
Hopefully this helps our parents a bit in understanding what taper really is along with which kind of taper we use throughout our seasons. However, if you do happen to have any questions, comments, or feedback just leave a comment below.
I wanted to post this video for our swimmers (and other swimmers out there) to watch. This is the arm technique that needs to happen in butterfly in order to obtain/maintain max velocity in the pull. Notice in the video that the arms enter the water around shoulder-width and Ian Crocker goes right into an EVF (early vertical forearm) and begins the pull phase which is nearly a straight pull down the side of his body.
This arm technique in comparison to the key-hole approach is much quicker, produces more velocity, and increases turnover which decreases times! Enjoy the video!
This is a great article that one of my Twitter folks added to their updates, and I’m really happy that they did. It’s not only a great article for our Hamden North Haven Swim Team swimmers, but it’s also an excellent article for anybody else as well! I hope you enjoy and take something out of it!
Check it out: http://bit.ly/z84YU
I was recently (yesterday) approached regarding breathing technique and frequency for the butterfly stroke. As a swim coach, I like to see as little stroke and velocity altering movements as possible. In other words, breath as little as possible. However, if you are going to breath (which is somewhat inevitable), try to stay as low profile as possible. You can do this in two ways as long as they don’t alter your stroke velocity significantly.
The first is a fading technique called side breathing. It’s basically a freestyle breath to the side instead of a “regular” breath. This may be a little difficult at first but it helps maintain an extremely low profile through the water and when it is mastered should not have a significant effect on the overall stroke velocity.
The second is to breath up, but jutting the chin forward in the water while maintaining a head position of 45 degrees (give or take). This will, essentially, give you a lower profile than trying to lift the body/head up because you are trying to stay lower keep the chin in the water.
Either way you choose to breath, make sure that you stay as low in the water as possible, and maintain the same stroke efficiency and speed throughout.
As always, if you have any questions feel free to let me know by leaving comments and/or follow the discussion by subscribing to this blog!
Happy swimming!
Throughout the next couple of weeks and probably through our Pre-Season Clinic, I will be giving a little bit of info on the practices and practice sets that we’ll be swimming throughout the upcoming Short Course Season for the Hamden North Haven YMCA Swim Team. A lot of these innovative practices came from experimental sets throughout the summer, and a lot of information gathered from various top-level college and club coaches.
So, let’s start out with the importance of One Arm (OA) drills and swims. OA drills are all well and good, but drills are swum for the swimmer to focus on stroke technique. I would like to talk quickly about OA swims at 85% effort or more. These swims allow the coach to see a lot of real technique and efficiency/inefficiency areas.
The first technique area that I look for in the OA swims is a quick/high catch. As soon as the swimmer enters the water and reaches full extension, I am looking for an immediate early vertical forearm (EVF) position and the fingertips pointing or progressing toward the bottom of the pool. A common mistake that swimmers make is having the hand scull out or pull in an S shape. This is wasted movement based on scientific and biomechanical studies.
The second area that I am looking at is the acceleration of the arm through the pull phase of the stroke. Following the entry and EVF, the swimmer needs to accelerate their arm through the pull phase. This acceleration will create denser water and will propel the swimmer at a greater velocity and therefore give the swimmer a greater distance per stroke. The common mistake that swimmers make with this is maintaining a constant rate of pull throughout, or slowing of the pull at the end of the stroke into the recovery.
The third and last pertinent (in my opinion) area that I am looking for is the consistency and rhythm of the kick. I am looking for the swimmer to have a great driving kick. Without that consistent and driving kick the swimmer will increase drag, reduce the efficiency of their body position, and significantly tire themselves out due to inefficiency. The common mistake that swimmers make is to stop the consistency of the kick or don’t time their kick appropriately.
So, with all of that said, we will be conducting several OA swims and drills throughout the Short Course Swim Season along with other unique practice schemes. Stay tuned for more…subscribe by clicking on the RSS button!
I absolutely love this workout; it includes thinking outside the box, and is truly the direction that our Hamden North Haven YMCA Swim Team Juniors and Seniors will be going in the next year or so with a couple of their practices!
Our Hamden North Haven Swim Team (the YMCA Typhoons) will always hear us, as we coach our Juniors and Seniors, that there are a lot of factors that go into swimming a faster time. The easiest change for swimmers, in my opinion, is the speed, efficiency, and power of the flip turn.
If you look at a majority of swimmers who use flip turns in their long axis strokes, the start to finish time (last stroke to feet leaving the wall) is around :01.25 give or take a few tenths. A few things to keep in mind as you analyze your flip turns in your next practice:
We’ll always say that working on stroke technique is one of the most important focal points for all swimmers, but in order to provide a little more advantage swimmers can try to concentrate on their flip turns. I hope this post helps some swimmers out there, but if you have any questions, comments, concerns feel free to leave a comment on here or e-mail me at any point! All the best, and happy swimming! Go Typhoons!
Ladies and gentleman, boys and girls, children of all ages…..your Hamden North Haven Swim Team Coach is back with another freestyle technique drill! In a previous post regarding freestyle drills, I discussed the 3 Touch Drill which is a great addition to your drill sets when you want to work on a high elbow recovery for freestyle technique. Another great freestyle drill is the finger drag. The finger drag is a slight variation of the 3 touch (or vica versa) which also promotes a high elbow recovery. That being said, all the other details of the stroke still prevail throughout this drill (entry point, high catch, rotation, proper pull, proper kick, proper breathing).
So, how do you do the finger drag drill the right way?
After the pull phase of the stroke simply drag the tips of your fingers on the top of the water with an exagerated height on the elbow. You want to essentially be carrying the lower half of the arm with the elbow, and while keeping the tips of the fingers in the water move your hand up the side of your body (almost in a “tickle” motion). Try to keep the hand as close to the body as possible as your pass by the should and head, start your rotation to the other axis while maintaining the high elbow and fingertips in the water. Finally, complete the recovery phase by entering by the wrist of your arm transitioning to the pull. I would suggest that the swimmer breath every three strokes while doing this drill, but it is always up to the individual swimmer and/or coach.
Some things to keep in mind whie you are coaching this or observing this as a parent:
I’m sure there are a lot of other things running through your head as you are watching your swimmer do this drill, but those are just a few to keep in mind. Later on this week I will touch base on the zipper drill which is a variation of the finger drag and the 3 touch drill. As I always say, make sure that you are reenforcing the good habits so you get rid of the bad ones, and always encourage the swimmer to do better (never discourage in any way)!
Happy Swimming, and Go Typhoons!
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