Improve your breaststroke pull

Two days ago I wrote about the key points that swimmers and their coaches should have in mind during the breaststroke kick. Today's post will be about breaststroke pull.

Of all the competitive strokes, breaststroke is the slowest, and there is a reason for this. The double arm pull, though truncated, is strong, but the recovery of the arms creates resistance that slows the swimmer. The kick is powerful, but again the recovery of the legs creates tremendous resistance that slows the swimmer. The puzzle for the coach and athlete is to find ways to lessen the resistance and maintain the momentum created by the powerful pull and kick. Because of the dramatic decelerations, streamlining is key to the stroke, especially at critical moments such as the transition from pull to kick.

Improve your breaststroke kick

Yesterday I wrote about some key points for backstroke that swimmers should have in mind during their practice. Today's post will be about the key points swimmers and coaches should focus on during the breaststroke kick. For the majority of the beginner or leisure swimmer, breaststroke is difficult to learn and even more difficult to master. Some coaches prefer to teach it first and before they start to teach any other stroke because it's easier to learn the breaststroke kick if you haven't learned the flutter kick. Either way, it needs time and effort to master this skill. I'll provide some key points of the breaststroke key to help you.

The aim with the breaststroke kick is to catch onto and press backward against the water with flared-out feet and sins, all the while maintaining horizontal streamlining with the rest of the body. This takes specialized ranges of motion of the hip, knee and ankle. It;s easy to describe the kick but difficult to do well.

Key points to master backstroke

The fundamentals of backstroke and those of freestyle share many similarities. Both strokes are swum horizontally in the water with the body rolling on its long axis, both are asymmetrical with alternate arm stroking and alternate leg kicking, and in both, the arm pull is down the length of the body. In backstroke, however, the head is more easily controlled and does not lead to as many problems as in freestyle, and freestyle is faster because of biomechanical advantages.

There are some key points that all swimmers should focus on if you want to master that stroke. It is better if you focus on one point each time to gain the most out of each point. If you train an age-group squad you should try to mix the focus on every set (e.g. 20x50 back, change focus every 1 or 2 length).

Lunge with rotation (dynamic warm-up)

Another great exercise you can add to your dynamic warm-up is the forward lunge with rotation. This exercise primary targets the abs, hips, and legs - thighs and builds lower body strength and core stability.

Improve your forward starts

There are four kinds of forward starts: the traditional grab start and three variations of the track start, including a leaning forward track, a full backward track, and a medium backward track. Swimmers should try each one of them and use the one that works best for them. Generally, track starts give swimmers more stability on the block, and both of the leaning back track starts allow the swimmer to use the arms to pull against the block for momentum. They also create more impulse, or greater time of force applied against the block. The forward track start is the quickest to the water but the least powerful. The full backward is slowest of the block, and often the back leg is bent to an extreme that compromises the power that the start produces. The medium backward splits the difference - it is quick and powerful.

Traditional grab start

Medium backward track start 

Dynamic warm-up for swimmers (knee to chest)

Today I'm going to describe another dynamic stretching exercise, which is called knee to chest, thar is great for a swimmer's dynamic warm-up. Knee to chest warms up and builds dynamic flexibility in the hamstrings and lower back. It also challenges balance and core stability.

Procedure

1. From a standing position, lift tha right knee and pull it to the chest. Simultaneously raise yourself up on the toes of your left foot.
2. Hold this position for a count of two before returning to the standing position.
3. Pull the left knee to your chest while rising up on your right foot.
4. Continue alternating right and left sides until you perform 10 to 12 repetitions on each side.

Qualities a talent should have (part 2)

Today I'm going to continue yesterday's post on the talents a swimmer should have and improve. Today's post is about the physical qualities and the anatomical characteristics.

Qualities a talent should have (part 1)

Success in swimming derives from certain skills, qualities, behaviors, habits, abilities, and attitudes which from now on will be named as talents. No one talent will make a swimmer a champion; conversely, there is no one talent whose relative lack will prevent a swimmer from becoming a champion. Just as no swimmer has every talent, no swimmer has none of them. Coaches can teach these talents, or at least most of them, and swimmers can develop them. These talents fall into three groups: psychological qualities or skills, physical qualities or capacities, and anatomical characteristics. Today I'll refer to the psychological skills and the other two groups will be analysed tommorow.

Dynamic warm-up (caterpillar progression)

Today I'm going to show you a video of a dynamic stretching exercise, called ''caterpillar'', which is great for warming up the body. This exercise improves the dynamic flexibility of the shoulders, upper back, core, hamstrings, and lower legs, and it also helps keepin the body temperature elevated.

Recovery mistakes in butterfly

The three most common mistakes swimmers make when they recover the arms are to recover them too high, recover them with too much effort, and drag them through the water.

Periodization for swimmers

Periodization is the scientific and systematic process of designing a season by breaking it into various phases. For as long as athletic records have been kept, the best athletes in the world have recognized the benefits of periodized training, starting with the ancient Greeks as athletes prepared for the Games of the Ancient Olympiad. More recently, Eastern European nations used periodized training to maximize performance in athletes participating across a range of sports. Through the 20th and now 21st centuries, the principles underlying periodization have continued to be developed and become scientifically validated. In most sports, the season is typically broken into four phases:

Kicking mistakes in backstroke

The mistakes that swimmers make most often are to (1) pedal the legs and (2) kick too deep. In addition, swimmers who lack ankle flexibility will not be fast kickers.

Body position mistakes in backstroke

The most common mistakes made with regard to body position are (1) swimming with the head too high and (2) piking excessively at the waist.

Purposes of goal setting

Elite athletes are goal-setting machines, and the habit of continual goal setting is a primary reason they climb the ladder to the elite level. An important part of creating an environment of excellence is encouraging continual goal setting. Too often, goals are thought of as big intentions for the end of the season. But for goals to nurture future high performers, they have to be everywhere all the time. Goal setting means having a point or purpose that you are trying to accomplish in everything you do.

Testing the kinetic chain (the tests)

Todays post is about the tests you can use to assess swimmers' physical strengths and weaknesses aling with the health of their kinetic chain. These test are: (1) the core stability test, (2) the shoulder flexibility test, (3) the scapula stabilization test, (4) the rotator cuff strength test, and (5) the vertical jump test.