In my last article I wrote about the value of embracing the off-season and some critical steps that should be taken to ensure a successful jumpstart into your next season.  One of the key components to this plan involves taking the time to work on our sport weaknesses and along with this comes drill and technique work.  The off-season is a great time to put a large amount of focus on drills simply due to the fact that we are not fixated on piling on the training miles and we can focus on key workouts that can improve our technique and efficiency.  The following article will focus specifically on your off-season swim plan and will include a discussion on equipment, stroke analysis, and finally swim specific drills.

Fortunately the necessary equipment for swim training is relatively minor and relatively inexpensive.  We could get in very good workouts by simply showing up at a pool with a pair of swim trunks and goggles, however, there are several other key pieces of equipment that should be included in every triathletes gear bag.  The first, and possibly most overlooked is a pair a good swim fins.  One of the most common weaknesses that I notice with most triathletes is poor ankle flexibility.  Most of us have a very difficult time pointing our toes and thus our kick suffers.  Rather than having a flexible ankle that snaps to a good kick many triathletes have stiff ankles, which cause our feet to drag in the water rather than propel.  A good pair of swim fins can help improve on this flexibility and doing regular kick sets, with and without a kickboard, throughout the entire season ensures that this flexibility continues to develop.  A good test to do in the pool is to place a pool buoy between your legs and swim two laps.  Do the first lap with your feet flexed (at a 90 degree angle to your leg) and then do the second lap with your foot pointed.  Notice how much drag your feet can add and how inefficient your stroke is when your feet are flexed.  When the pull buoy is removed the situation worsens since it typically causes your hips to drop and creates even more drag through the water.  Now that it has been mentioned, the next piece of equipment that should be utilized is the pull buoy.  The pull buoy is great for focusing strictly on our upper body stroke.  I do believe there is a time and place for swim paddles but during the off-season focus the paddles should be put to the side and pulling drills should be done with only a pull buoy.  This is a great way to develop a more efficient stroke by focusing on hand and arm positions as you work through the entire stroke cycle.  Once you develop more efficiency with just the pull buoy the swim paddles can be added as a great strength training aid.  Although there are other tools that can be included in your arsenal of swim gear the above mentioned items must be part of every triathletes training gear bag as these tools provide significant benefits when trying to develop a more efficient swim.

The next tool that should be utilized during the off-season swim focus is finding a coach or swim specialist who can give you a good stroke analysis.  This analysis should include a film session so that your stroke can be analyzed while you are able to watch.  In addition, any changes that are made in your stroke during this session should be video taped as well in an effort to show you the differences between your old stroke and your improved stroke.  If possible the video should include shots from outside of the water as well as in the water.  In addition, your stroke should be filmed from the front and the side as well as including footage of your kick.  Ideally, this session will enable you to receive input on valuable stroke drills that can be incorporated into your workouts that are specific to your flaws.  After working with these drills for 4-6 weeks you can then return for another session to see how much your stroke has progressed.

Have you ever experienced the embarrassment of having a 10 year old whip you up and down the pool?  Obviously this is not due to the fact that the 10 year old is stronger and typically it is not because they are more fit than you are.  However, the key is the fact that the 10 year old has developed a much more technically efficient stroke.  One of the hardest things for most triathletes to understand is that they can actually get much faster by working on their technique rather than just pounding out excessive yardage in the pool.  Each and every triathlete, no matter how slow or fast they are, should include stroke drills as part of their daily swim workouts.  As the season progresses the amount of time spent on drills can be significantly reduced; however, by even doing a short set of 6X50’s drills can help maintain an effective technique base which will only serve to reinforce good technique habits.  Although it is nearly impossible to describe swim drills in an article there are a number of valuable resources that can be utilized in an effort to learn some good swim drills.  A good coach should be able to recommend 3-4 drills, swim books can also be purchased, and simply chatting with someone with a good swimming background can help you learn various drills.  However, regardless of how you learn your drills, it is important that you take the time to get feedback on your drills to ensure that you are doing them right and also that the drills you are doing are beneficial to your specific stroke.

As stated before, the time you put into simple drills and technique work now will pay tremendous dividends down the road.  So enjoy some light easy training by taking the time to focus on your kicking and swim drills in an effort to develop the skills you will need to become a more efficient swimmer.  Just as with anything, starting off with a good solid foundation will help you build for greater success down the road.  So get out there and work on your swim technique so the next time a 10 year old challenges you, you can at least look good while you are getting whipped up and down the pool.