Measuring your progress

Progress can be defined in many ways. Two ways to evaluate your progress is capacity for distance, and capacity for speed. But the most important measure of improvement for recreational and competitive swimmers is the progress of their swimming efficiency. To measure your progress you need to establish a starting point, then regular comparisons to that point must be done.

Dynamic stretching

An effective warm up will increase muscle temperature and the body's core temperature, and improve blood flow through the entire system. A warm up period is important before any athletic event or performance. There should be multiple goals for the warm up, including preparing the athlete both physically and mentally for the physical activity and competition ahead.

There are three major types of stretching that have been performed prior to sporting activities:

• Static stretching is a constant stretch held at an end point anywhere between 15 sec and 5 min.
• Dynamic stretching is an activity specific functional stretching exercise that should utilize sport specific movements to prepare the body for activity. Dynamic stretching focuses on movements patterns requiring a combination of muscles, joints, and planes of motion, whereas static stretching typically focuses on a single muscle group, joint and plane of motion.
• Ballistic stretching involves active muscle effort and uses a bouncing type movement to increase the range of motion without holding the stretch at an end position. Unlike static stretching, ballistic stretching triggersthe stretch reflex and can increase the likelihood of injury in individuals who have not progressed appropriately or do not have the correct training background for this form of stretching.
  

Power training

Power training consists of ultrashort sprints designed to stress both the force and speed of contraction of muscles fibers involved in competitive swimming. The purpose of power training is to increase stroking power.

Training effects

Stroking power increases because of several adaptations

• An increase in muscular strength
• An increase in the rate and pattern of muscle fiber stimulation by the central nervous system
• An increase in the rate of force development within muscles
• Increases in the ATP and CP content of trained muscle fibers

Guidelines for constructing Power repeat sets

• Set length: 50 to 300m. Three to six sets can be completed in a training session devoted to power training.
• Repeat distances: 10 to 12 1/2 m. Efforts involving sprinting for four to eight stroke cycles can also be used for this purpose. Stroke-simulated land efforts on swim benches or weight machines are also effective. For those methods, 4 to 12 repetitions are optimum in sets of three to six.
• Rest intervals: 45 sec to 2 min between repeats in the water. Exercises on land can be done continuously for the prescribed number of repetitions. Athletes should take rest periods of 2 to 3 min between sets.
• Training speeds: Training speeds should be maximum or near maximum. Stroke rates should be as fast or faster than those used in 50 races. Swimmers should maintain distance per stroke at a reasonable length so that they do not thrash indiscriminately.

Adequate amounts of power training in the water should be part of the training plan during all phases of the season. Power training does not require much time, so it fits easily into the weekly plan without sacrificing other types of training. Swimmers should emphasize it during the early season so that they can increase swimming power before the emphasis on the lactate tolerance training begins. The goal during the middle of the season is to maintain the swimming power, and then try ro increase it again during the latter portion of the season.

The best way to motivate athletes to continue striving for greater speed during power training is to time their repeats. Swimmers should therefore apply progressive overload by trying to improve their times for power repeats. Because it is difficult to time this repeats acurately, you should try starting timing these repeats when the head of the swimmew passes under the flags and stopping when the head passes the marker that indicates that the swimmer has covered the prescribed distance.

Sprint training (lactate production training)

Lactate production training consists of short sprints at near maximum speeds for improving anaerobic power. 

Sprint training (lactate tolerance training)

Sprint training has been given too little attention by coaches and athletes because they were concerned with endurance training. Increased aerobic endurance contributes more to improved swimming performance in all events of 100m and longer than any other physiological adaptation. Adaptations tha occur through sprint training contribute to improved performances in all events, not only in sprints but also in middle distance and even distance swimming. Improvements in speed and power provide long sprint and middle distance swimmers with what is known as easy speed, tha ability to take races out faster with less effort. They also provide middle distance and distance swimmers with what is termed a finishing kick, the ability to sprint faster during the final portion of their races. Sprint training can be used to increase the maximum swimming speed so that swimmers can take races out faster and to improve buffering capacity so that sprinters can maintain a speed in races closer to their maximum sprinting speed. There are three types of sprint training: lactate tolerance (Sp-1), lactate production (Sp-2), and power training (Sp-3).

Games for baby swimming

Treat your first few trips to the pool simply as extra play sessions, allowing your child to become accustomed to the new environment and encouraging a love of water by making the fun time using games. Just as children love playing at home and at school, so they will love playing games in the water. Games also support learning on a variety of fronts as they involve skills such as coordination, logic, and memory. As such, they are invaluable learning aids when you are teaching your child to swim. 

By fully integrating games into your lessons, you will be able to introduce new skills to your baby in entertaining ways. You can also use them to provide fun breaks for your child after she has tries new or challenging skills. Play the games suggested below with your child, but adapt them to suit her and the pool that you are in.

Functional training for swimmers

Functional strength training involves performing work against resistance in such a manner that the improvements in strength directly enhance the performance of movements so that an individual's activities of daily living are easier to perform. Simply stated, the primary goal of functional training is to transfer the improvements in strength achieved in one movement to enhancing the performance of another movement by affecting the entire neuromuscular system.

Water adjustment for baby swimming

For the first few lessons, simply play in the pool with your child while he becomes accustomed to the water. This is a very important part of the program - if your child is comfortable with water streaming down his face, and happy in the pool, he will be able to easily move on to being submerged under the water in later lessons.

Slowly conditioning your child to feel water on his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth helps him to graduallu adapt to the sensation of the water on his face when he goes underwater. The best way to do this is through play.

Training parameters

The parameters of training refer to guidelines used to construct conditioning programs. The parameters that swimmers and coaches should be concerned with when planning a training program are:

• duration,
• frequency,
• intensity, and
• mileage.

Training duration and frequency refer to the number of hours per day and number of days per week that athletes spend in training. Training intensity relates to the speed of training, and training mileage concerns the number of meters that athletes swim per day, per week, and per season.

Principles of training (part 3)

Specificity principle

This principle refers to the fact that physiological adaptations will occur only in the tissues and organs stressed during the training process. At least four aspects of specificity must be considered when planning a training program for swimmers:

1. the activity that the swimmer is training for,
2. the stroke the swimmer will use in competition,
3. the competition speed, and
4. the portions of the metabolic system that need to be stressed.

It is clear that swimmers must do most of their training in the water. It is also recommended that they swim a large percentage of their training mileage in their main stroke or strokes because that is the only way they can be certain that they are training the muscle fibers they will use in races. A final important point about specific training concerns the various phases of the metabolic system. Endurance training and sprint training emphasize different aspects of those systems. So, athletes must swim both endurance and sprint repeats in their primary stroke or strokes to target all phases of the metabolic system for optimum improvements.

Principles of training (part 2)

Overload principle

The basis for the overload principle is that adaptations will not occur unless the demands of training are greater than the usual demands made on a particular physiological mechanism. When you increase the usual demands on as system, we say that the system is overloaded.

Although simple in definition, the overload principle is complex in application. Although the demands of the training must be sufficient to stimulate adaptation, they cannot be excessive or the training effect will be lost through injury or failing adaptation. 

Principles of training (part 1)

The purpose of this series of posts will be to describe how to train. The first steo in this process is to describe the principles on which training is based.

Advanced one arm butterfly (butterfly drill) [video]

Another butterfly drill that will help you improve your stroke rhythm, the pull and push of the arm stroke, and focus on getting the chest down in a more sustainable manner than the full stroke. From a head leading position, do butterfly with one arm only, while the other arm remains at your side. Breathing should be made during the pull and push phase and not during recovery. 

This drill is quite advanced and should be teached to beginners.

Body wave (butterfly drill) [video]

This drill is part of a butterfly drills series that will help you learn how your body should move during butterfly swimming. The other drills of this series, that I will try to describe in another post, are bowing, dipping, dolphin dives, weight shifting, deep to shallow dolphin, and back dolphin.

From a head leading float position, dip the head, then chest and flow this action down to your hips and feet to create fluid wave, and forward motion emphasizing the action high in the body. An advanced version of this drill is with your hands leading.

6 kick switch (freestyle drill)

This drill can be used effectively for feeling the length of the stroke and proper alignment. Moreover, it's a very good drill if you want to teach core centered swimming. You kick on your side for six kicks, your low arm is leading, the other arm is at your side. You then switch sides and arms positions and repeat. A more advanced version of this drill is with your face in the water while doing the kicking. You can also have your fingers touching the side of your body while switching sides and arms positions like you have a zip on your side and you are trying to zip (or unzip) it. This tip will also help you maintain a relaxed high elbow recovery.

Race strategy (defensive tactics)

Swimmers can use several defensive tactics to counter the offensive tactics described a few days ago.

Race strategy (offensive tactics)

In races between swimmers with similar times, the swimmer who makes an unexpected move that upsets a competitor's race plan often wins. A surprising move can frighten or demoralize a competitor and cause him to respond with a poor performance. For that reason, swimmers should know the common offensive and defensive strategies for racing. They should know when to make unexpected moves that will upset their opponents, and they should learn how to counter when an opponent swims his race in an unforseen manner. Today I'll write about offensive tactics.

Overtraining

Overtraining is the term used to identify a condition that appears when athletes perform poorly because of training. The condition is also called failing adaptation because the adaptation process reverse itself and causesloss of previously gained training effects. In other words, athletes become worse rather that better because of their training. Some believe failing adaptation is caused by an athlete's exceeding his tolerance to a particular form of training or by the cumulative effects of normal training that are not balanced by adequate nutrition or sufficient time for rest and recovery. Anxiety and emotional upset are other factors that have been implicated. Severe anxiety caused by a crisis in an athlete's emotional life can also be a potent stressor, which, when added to the stress of normal training, can cause failing adaptation.

Recovery training

This type of training refers to easy swimming used to hasten recovery from more intense training and from competitions. Recovery swimming stimulates and enhances the rate of improvement in aerobic capacity and anaerobic power. It also increases the amount of intense swimming that athletes can perform weekly because it hastens recovery from such training.

Safe holds for baby swimming

The following holds offer you comfortable and safe options for moving with your child. With all these holds, make sure your hands are secure but relaxed (and not clenched), as this will indicate your confidence. Also talk to your child throughout to reassure her.

The Waltz (hug) hold

This hold provides the most security for your child, and should be used if he is unsure or clinging to you. It is the ideal hold for the first few trips to the pool. Move a child from the Waltz hold to the face to face hold only when you feel him relax in your arms. Hold your baby up in your arms, slightly to one side of your torso, so that he is straddling you around the waist to chest area and is only slightly immersed in the water. Use it when getting in and out of the pool and while your baby gets acclimated to the water.

Warm up procedure for competition

The major portion of the warm up should be a reasonable period of easy swimming. This activity will allow swimmers' oxygen consumption mechanisms to respond faster when the race begins so that they will more quickly reach an optimum level of oxygen consumption. As a result, they should be able to swim farther and faster before becoming fatigued.

Besides increasing blood flow and oxygen consumption, swimmers should include activities in their warm up that wil increase their range of motion, their stroke mechanisms, and their sense of pace. Another purpose is to focus on strategy for the race. Available research and the reported experiences of successful coaches and athlees suggest the following warm up procedures. They include low intensity swimmingto increase blood flow and oxygen consumption as well as activities to increase range of motion and stroke efficiency. Attention is also given to the practice of starts and turns. Finally, they include a physical rehearsal for the race in the form of paced swims.

Guidelines for increasing propulsive force

Always wait until a high elbow catch position has been achieved before apllying backward force against the water. Inexperienced swimmers try to apply force when the arms are facing downward or against the water. They must learn to wait until they have positioned the undersides of the arms and the palms of the hands to push back against the water before apllying force. The arms and hands should travel through approximately one-third of their underwater armstrokes before swimmers begin to push backward against the water.

The arms should be flexed approximately 90 degrees when the catch is made, and they should not be extended or flexed further by any significant amount during the propulsive phases of the strokes that follow. In other words, swimmers should form a boomerang-shaped paddle with the undersides of the arms and hands when they make the catch, and they should press backward against the water throughout the stroke without changing the shape of the appreciable. In this way, the work of forward propulsion is done by the large adducting and extending muscle groups of the shoulders and torso instead of the small muscle groups that tend to rotate the forearms and hands. The only exception to this rule occurs in the backstroke, in which the arms extend backward and below the thighs during the propulsive phase of their strokes.

Overload endurance training

Overload endurance training is the third level of endurance training and it should be done at speeds exceeding those at which the anaerobic threshold occurs. This sort of training is highly anaerobic and produces severe levels of acidosis. What I just said may cause you wonder why it is in the category of endurance training. It is placed in this category because of it's training effects which are:

• An increase in the maximal oxygen consumption of all trained muscle fibers including FTb fibers
• An increase in the number of capillaries around all trained muscle fibers including FTb fibers
• An increase in the amounts of myoglobin and mitochondria in all trained muscle fibers including FTb fibers
• An increase in the rate of lactate removal from all trained muscle fibers including FTb fibers
• An increase in the buffering capacity of all three categories of muscle fibers

Threshold endurance training

A few weeks ago I blogged on basic endurance training. Today I'm going to continue that post with guidelines for threshold endurance training. Training in this category should be done at a speed that approximates the swimmer's individual anaerobic threshold. The training effects of this type of training are:

• Increased percentage utilization of VO2 max
• Increased lactate removal from muscles and blood
• Increase in number of capillaries around slow twitch and fast twitch muscle fibers
• Increased myoglobin and mitochondria in slow twitch and fast twitch muscle fibers
• Increased stroke volume and cardiac output
• Increased blood volume
• Increased pulmonary capillaries
• Improved blood shunting
• Increased VO2 max, particularly in fast twitch muscle fibers

Fundamentals for reducing resistive drag

Water is a 1000 times more dense than air, so when the body moves forward through it, the water resists its movement with a force substantially greater than the resistance of air. That force is resistive drag. Swimmers will accelerate forward so long as the propulsive forces they apply are greater than the resistive drag forces holding them back. They encounter resistive drag as they move forward because they must actually push streams of water molecules out of their way to open a hole in the water for the body to pass through. The resistive drag is directly proportional to the turbulence they create as they swim down the pool and is determined by four factors:

• the space swimmers take up in the water,
• the shape they present to the water,
• limb movements that push water forward instead of backward, and
• the friction between the body and the streams of water that come in contact with it.

Choosing a suitable pool for baby swimming

There are a number of important points you should bear in mind before you select a pool in which to teach your child. Think of the care that you put into looking after your baby, and make sure that this extends to choosing a suitable swimming pool for your baby. Take your time and carefully check out the pools near where you live. The pool and changing facilities must be clean, and the water clean, clear, and warm.

 

Back to the pool!!!!

Today was my first day in the pool in the last few months and it was just great to be in the water again. Although the weather was cloudy I really enjoyed it. In the videos below it's me swimming the four different strokes. I apologize for the low quality of the videos, this is something I'm going to work on. From now on, I'll try to perform all the drills in the videos that I will post in this blog.

I would really like to read your comments on my videos (be gentle on these ones, as I said it's been a few months since my last training).

Basic endurance training

There are six broad categories of training that athletes must use to maximize the potential of the various physiological systems in their bodies. These are:

1. Endurance training
2. Sprint training
3. Race-pace training
4. Recovery training
5. Strength and power training
6. Flexibility training        

Today I'm going to write about endurance training and more specifically about basic endurance training.

Aqua yoga

Aqua Yoga is a series of yoga exercises done in water that combines the therapeutic and afloat nature of water with the stimulating and balancing of yoga. In short it takes the principles and movements of yoga and adapts them to the environment of water. With the release of gravity the body is able to find the most advantageous stretching. Aqua Yoga combines slow stretching with the use of breathing and relaxation as the water provides resistance for the muscles to work against. Aqua yoga is a natural and all-encompassing way to promote and sustain fitness and health.

Stroke length and swimming speed

Swimming speed is determined by two factors, stroke rate (SR) and stroke length (SL). SR is represented as the number of strokes a swimmer takes per minute and as you have already found out reffers to how fast you can move your arms. This is something that is predermined due to hereditary factors and it takes very little improvement through training. The other factor that determines swimming speed is SL which refers to how far your body travels during each stroke cycle and not how far your hand moves. What a swimmer does between strokes affects SL more than how he pushes the water back. Thus minimizing drug will improve SL far more than an increase in propulsion.

The importance of body language in baby swimming

Even before babies can speak, they are very capable interpreters of their parents' body language, and they will pick up tha slightest nuances. Facial expressions, muscle tension, tone of voice, and reactions will all convey clues to the babies about their environment and how they should act. It is therefore vital that parents are relaxed and confident with their babies in the water, as they will pick up on their parents' cues, whether positive or negative. 

Setting goals

Athletes (and people) who succeed are goal-oriented and they have a vision. They create sensory-rich dreams and they turn those dreams into action through goal setting. Goal setting is a master skill for personal growth and peak performance. If you don't know where you are headed, you're probably going to wind up somewhere other than you want to be.

The benefits of baby swimming

There is a wide range of benefits available to babies and children who are taught to swim in a gentle, gradual pace. Parents around the world have witnessed first-hand the many enhancements to mental, physical, emotional, developmental, and social well-being that result from teaching their children to swim.

 

Butterfly drills for beginners

A few drills that will help you learn the basics of butterfly or improve it if you are not a beginner. You can do this drills with fins on at first.

1. Dolphin drill

Purpose: To feel the body action of the butterfly stroke while at the surface.

Procedure: Push off the wall on your front side aling the surface, keeping your hands down by your sides and looking down at the bottom of the pool. Just the back of your head will break the surface. Use your head to start the body action, push downward with the forehead to start the whiplike action of the kick. Keep the head angle changing, but primarly look down. As you push your forehead down, allow the hips to come up. Then, allow your heels to slide above the surface, and begin to kick down. Your head will become to come back up to break the surface as you kick down. Break the surface with your head and repeat. You will break the surface in the following pattern: head, shoulders, hips and heels. Keep the motion fluid.

Focus: Be sure to keep your head moving at all times. Look dow at the black line on the bottom of the pool. Remember to move with your forehead first. Develop a steady rhythm.

Baby swimming

Today I'm going to post a video that shows the progress that a baby can make during swimming lessons.
Enjoy!!!

Backstroke drills for beginners

A few backstroke drills that will help you learn tha basics of backstroke. These drills are mainly for beginners but they will also help more experienced swimmers too.

1. Slow flutter on back

Purpose: To practice correct body position for the backstroke while adding the kicking.

Procedure: Begin with a floating position on your back and gradually add a slow fluttter kick. Kick just fast enough to keep the bottom of your rib cage at the surface.

Focus: Stay relaxed, keep your head back until your ears are submerged and the water touches your goggles and chin.

Chronic shoulder pain

Chronic shoulder pain (CSP) is an inflammatory condition caused by the mechanical impingement of soft tissue between the acromion and the coracoid process of the scapula. The most common cause of CPS is friction between the proximal head of the humerus as it rubs across the soft tissues surrounding the shoulder joint: the supraspinatus tendon, the biceps tendon, and the coracoacromial ligament.

(http://hphy36208.pbworks.com/w/page/10004728/Shoulder-Joint-Sprains-)

An introduction to Watsu

Watsu is a portmanteau of water and shiatsu, is a form of body massage performed while lying in warm water (around 35° C). It was developed by Harold Dull back in 1980, when he started applying Zen Shiatsu stretches to students floating in the warm pool at Harbin Hot Springs in California. The receiver of Watsu treatment is continuously supported by the therapist while he or she rocks and gently stretches the body. Because it is performed in the water, the body is free to be manipulated and stretched in ways impossible while on the land.

Baby swimming floating exercise

Hello everybody, this is a floating exercise for babies. I'll try to write something about babyswimming in the next few days.
Enjoy!!!

High elbow drills

Today I'm going to post a few videos about high elbow drills (at recovery and during the catch).

The purpose of the recovery is to to place the arm in position for another underwater stroke. While this is an important function, it does not provide any propulsion, so the goals of the recovery should be : to get the arm over the water with the least disruption of lateral alignment, and to provide a short period of reduced effort for the arm, shoulder and trunk muscles. The shoulder should come out of the water first, followed by the upper arm and the elbow. The forearm and hand are last to leave the water. To do that the body should be rolled approximately 45 degrees toward the recovery side through the first half of the recovery so that the arm can carried over the water with a high elbow. The elbow should be the highest part of the arm from the times it leaves the water during the recovery until it enters the wtaer again in front of the shoulder. To accomplish this, the arm should be flexed at the elbow so that the forearm and hand can be carried almost directly below and only slightly outside it. Recovering in this manner will reduce the amount of outward arm motion during the recovery, and that will reduce the tendency for the swinging arm to pull the hips out of alignment.

Abs exercises in the water

A few drills that will help you strengthen your abs in the water

Body Balance

As most of you might already know, body balance is one of the key aspects of fast swimming. Balance in the water helps you position the body right so that the arms and legs can simply work to propel you rather than keeping you afloat in the position you think you want.While balance is essential for all skilled movement, learning to relax in the water is invaluable for developing swimmers, it frees your arms and legs for more effective use.

Teaching Swimming

It is common that when you start learning swimming to make mistakes even if you have a swimming instructor on your side. These mistakes are made in the order of learning the various skills that are needed in swimming. Sometimes you learn in the wrong order or even skip some of them. I will try to provide you with the correct order and explain why you need to follow this order.