Cutting through water fast, using streamline
The first concept of eliminating drag is called streamline and it centres around length. The leading edge of you (ie. your front arm) is where drag is first created or eliminated. Where, how firm, how long, and the placement of where you reach all combine to help stretch your body in a way that water will either pass by you cleanly or stop you dead in your tracks.
Swimming well is nothing more than mastering the basics, and this is one of the most important.
Think of your reach as a double target. One target is a point straight in front of the left arm, and the other target is straight in front of your right arm. The initial depth of that target is important because if you reach too high you will go out of balance and cause drag, but if too low then the water will create pressure on top of the lead arm forcing an early pull (hence destroying any real efficiency).
Correct streamline in each stroke or when pushing off walls also requires a high level of flexibility in the shoulders. If you don’t have it, start working on it. But if you do have it, make sure you use it and do it on every stroke on every length. This is the bread and butter of a good swimmer’s skill base.
When reaching out into each stroke, always extend that lead-arm fully, which means locking your elbow out and keeping your wrist dead flat. Only in this way can you reach as far as possible with minimal disturbance to the water flow.
The time spent in a reach is important too – it is only ever a split second but most people either stay there too long which stalls them, or they don’t pause at all. So there is definitely a middle ground that will keep you moving where you neither stall nor rush. Getting this glide time correct can be difficult because it depends on a number of factors which vary between individuals, so it usually requires a coach’s input to fine tune.
DRILL: Six Kick Drill (continue to Side-Kick until you know the position is correct before adding a stroke and breath)
SET: 10 x 50m, R20 – FINS (25m Six Kick Drill, 25m Swim). Make sure you push off underwater past the flags in a streamline position before your first stroke, on every length
Look for the article next time that talks about mastering Balance.
Training tips provided by Future Dreams Swimming
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