The off season is a great time to work on fine tuning your technique for whatever sport you play. Lately I’ve been so focussed on running and prepping for my spring marathon that I’ve had to remind myself to work on other aspects of triathlon, especially the swim. Winter is when we spend most of the time in the pool, so this is the time and place to really work on technique.
Oh yeah, did I mention I’m doing Ironman Mont Tremblant this August? I am. While swimming is the shortest section of the event (2.4miles/3.8km), having a strong swim will give you confidence going into the race and save your energy for the harder aspects of the event that lay ahead (the 180km bike and 42.2km run).
I wish I could say that I was a really strong swimmer, but I’m not. I do OK in the water, but not as good as I do on the run. I never had any formal swim training until I did my PADI DiveMaster certification, and that was more so to pass the time and distance skill testing requirements, as opposed to demonstrating perfect swimming form. Honestly, determination, hard work, and to a certain point, fear, have all powered my swims thus far. But with an ironman coming up I figured it was time to get a little more formal training to make sure I was moving through the water as smoothly and efficiently as possible.
It is really hard to critically analyze oneself - so I decided to hire a swimming pro to do it for me. If I was going to do it, lets do it right. So last month I signed up for a professional swim analysis from Tommy Ferris of Ignition Fitness, which included underwater video analysis of my swim stroke and the feedback necessary to make improvements.
I have to say I’m really glad I did. The swim coach clearly captured images of my swim technique that I was doing well and also many other things that I needed to work on, as well as providing me feedback on how to correct my form and technique issues.
Here are a few of the significant snapshots that I thought would be interesting to share. I like the screen shot drawings my swim coach did on the video clips, makes me feel like Football's John Madden was critiquing my moves.
Shot 1:
A clear shot of my centre-line and how I rotate through evenly with my swim stroke. I was actually doing this well!
Shot 2:
Apparently, I hold my head too high up in the water, and it creates drag. I need to lower my chin and decrease water resistance in the process to improve movement through the water. I think this is a bad habit from my youth where I always tried to look forward to see what was ahead.
Shot 3:
I keep my elbows nice and high out of the water, which is excellent for swimming in open water conditions, especially when there is wind, waves and chop. I usually feel pretty good fighting chop and this is probably why. At least I’m doing that right!
Shot 4:
While my elbows stay high above of the water, I tend to drop them out of proper formation when I sink below the water surface. If I kept my elbows at a 90 degree angle on the downstroke I would create more speed, less drag and flow better.
Shot 5:
As my downstroke loses it form, my hand tends to exit the water early and too wide from my body. I would create a more even stroke and efficient water flow around me if I kept my hand closer to my hip when exiting the water on the recovery stroke, saving energy and creating more speed.
Shot 6:
The overall summary shot of everything I need to work on all in one doodled up screen shot.
Keep my head down, engage the core more, keep my elbows high below the water like I've been doing above the water, don't take my hands out too early and exit next to the hip. Other wise I'm looking good and just need to practice these new form suggestions until they become second nature.
I've already been practicing these tips in the pool and am looking forward to comparing my swim time at the Welland Canal this June. Here's to faster swim times!!
