Taking the plunge (2)

A swim training program will always follow certain elements. The general pattern will normally be, the 'warm-up,' 'stroke count' or 'drilling set', ' swim sets' swam at' aerobic' or 'anaerobic pace', with a 'swim-down' at the end to stretch out.
For more experienced swimmers equipment such as small fins, hand paddles bands and pull/kick floats can be incorporated into an overall training programme. However the equipment should be used as a training aid to help improve strokes and body position. For those of you keen or competitive swimmers/triathletes out there, pull-buoys and fins can be overused, this is the lazy option when feeling tired, use only when required to enhance a certain training set.

Most swimming pools are 25metres long, half the Olympic size pool, 50 metres. So to get used to knowing how many lengths that you have achieved each time you swim will give you a comparison of if you are improving in a given time frame. However this will depend on what stroke/s you swim and if you are doing any kicking or drilling. It is useful to keep a record or 'log book' of your training swims and to total up the overall meters swum or lengths covered each time.

Swim warm-up

When you first enter the water, you should allow your body time to adjust so the first few strokes, swimming with control and not as quick as you can. You should definitely swim some lengths at a slower pace for a few minutes.

Competitive swimmers always take 10-15minutes swimming steady and incorporating kicking, with the legs only, using a pull float to work the arms only and stroke drilling. This is their warm-up so the muscles and heart can be prepared to work harder.

Your warm-up could be to swim 4-8 lengths on freestyle, 4 lengths kicking the legs only and then change to another stroke for another 4lengths swimming.

Stroke counting and drilling set

Next, aim to do some repeats of lengths in what is called a ' set'.
So an example would be to swim 8 x 50metres (8x two lengths in a 25m pool) have enough rest after each two lengths so you feel recovered. It could be up to 30seconds rest.

Think about how much effort you are applying for how far in metres that you are covering. A good way to check that you are swimming efficiently is to count your strokes each length. If as you swim more lengths your arms become tired, it could mean you take more strokes. Each time that you start the two lengths on the set of 8 x 50m, as you push off, count your strokes for each length and notice if the next length you swim, is the same amount of strokes. It is possible you may take an extra 1 or 2 strokes per length but if your total number is increasing every length thereafter then the muscles are probably becoming tired. Think about either pulling the arms more powerfully through the water or feel like you are stretching and lengthening out the arm strokes in the water more. Also be aware your legs continue to kick rhythmically and not drag behind you.

On any set you could incorporate some ' stroke drills' every other 50m .
A ' drill ' which may help to give the feeling of longer strokes is called' freestyle catch-up'. This drill, keeps one arm out in front of the body, just under the surface of the water, at the hand entry position all the time. As the other arm is pulling through the water and then lifting out (recovering) to re-enter the water, it meets the other hand (catch it up!) and then the other arm pulls through and meets the hand in front again.
You will need to keep your legs kicking well to keep the body lifted in the water and also be able to carry on with a regular breath pattern.

To really focus on each arm, you could swim similar to the above drill with the left arm held out in front and pull through two whole arm cycles on the right arm and then repeat the same on the left arm and then swim four complete strokes.

This will help your body get used to the ' feel' of the stroke and keep a rhythmic pattern to your stroke and breathing. It may also help to lengthen out your stroke.
Drills are better practiced near to the warm-up as they prepare your stroke correctly When your body becomes fatigued later on it could cause the stroke patterns to be ineffective and drills could be practiced poorly or incorrectly.

Swim set and pace
After preparing your stroke and cardiovascular system with the warm-up and drill/stoke count set you are ready to work a little harder! On the warm up and stroke sets it is likely that you have been swimming at an 'aerobic pace'. You would have found that you would have not been too fatigued so far. This means your muscles have been working efficiently with the help of utilising a regular oxygen supply.

Aerobic swimming gives our muscles endurance and is used to swim longer training sets. If however you have been finishing the lengths very out of breath it is likely that you have worked your 'anaerobic' energy system. This means you need to swim at a steadier pace on the earlier section.

The anaerobic energy system makes your muscles and heart work harder and quicker but with shorter bursts of energy.

An example set would be to swim 8 x25m as fast as, possible but with enough rest between each 25m so that you are not out of breath before starting the next length. After this swim 50m at a steady pace to let the muscles recover and if you have more energy you could repeat all of this set again.

Swim-down

It is very important to lengthen the muscles out at the end of a workout and to gently lower the heart rate after swimming quickly, ignoring the swim-down could mean sore muscles the next day . A swim-down should be a few lengths swam at a steady rate with easy breathing and can be swum with a different stroke.