What order to develop my stoke in?

[Steve Holmes]

Right guys I am new here and I have just started training again and I thought I should try and get my swimming right rather than just put in the miles training. So I decided to get the swim smooth book and work on some stroke development training and I am looking for some advice on the best order to put my stroke training together in.

A bit of background I competed in my first sprint triathlon in May and loved it and I have been training on and off since then. I work long hours and i am away a lot which can make swimming and cycling training difficult to get regular sessions in. Then in August I had a big bike crash coming of my new time trial bike shattering my left shoulder blade in 3 places ripping a hole in my shoulder muscle and snapping the ligament in my right thumb. Great just what I wanted. This has taken me out of training for 8 weeks and I am only just getting back into it.

Before my crash I could do 400m in about 7:30 and I think I am a classic over glider with low stroke rate and little roll. I have started my training by putting the effort in to breathing bilaterally and I am finding it really difficult, I struggle to swim much beyond 100m without running out of breath. I am finding my right arm collapses and makes breathing on my right side very difficult. I have a stroke rate of around 50 SPM which I realise is a bit slow but when I have tried to raise it I still struggle to do more than 100m.

I am trying to work out what amount of my troubles are recovery from injury and what are poor bilateral breathing technique. I would really value any input into what order I should work on my stroke and how to best develop my training. One issue I have is I am not allowed to use my fins in the pool which make 6-1-6 drills difficult which is one of the things I think would help my breathing.

Anyway thanks for taking the time to read this and I really appreciate any advice given.

PS I know it takes time and I have to be patient but after 8 weeks off I am desperate to get things back on track!!

[Mike A]

I'll leave it to others to suggest a training order, but have you tried a 3-2-3-2 breathing pattern? I struggle to sustain "breathe every 3" bilateral for any distance, but with 3-2-3-2 I find I can last quite a bit longer. If you use SwimSmooth's breathing mantra, it translates as "bubble-bubble-breathe-bubble-breathe". If you still struggle with bilateral, then alternating breathing side every length is arguably the next-best-thing.

We seem to have a bit in common, by the way - I currently do 400m in about 7:30, stroke rate around 50-55, and struggle to breathe to the right!

[Paul Newsome]

Hi Steve and Mike

Thanks for posting. Actually this development process is one of my greatest passions within coaching as it's so important to get it right.

Back in 2009 (prior to Swim Types being launched) we posted this page on the website which is a standardised format for how we'd approach the stroke:

http://swimsmooth.com/hierarchy.html

...it aims to show you what order you should work on aspects of your stroke, albeit quite broadly.

You have the new book now Steve (hope you like it!). This was published in 2012, but the Swim Types website was published in 2010. Of course I'm sure you've probably seen:

http://www.swimtypes.com/overglider.html

...the nice thing about Swim Types is that whilst we still recognise the Hierarchy for a broad approach to stroke correction (and indeed there are of course similarities in the development process for each Swim Type), the Types process allows you to get a little more specific with the step-by-step process to correct your own stroke. Aside from actually visiting one of our fantastic new certified coaches http://swimsmooth.com/certifiedcoaches.html (if you're based in the UK) or attending one of our Clinics, this has proven to be a very good way for the tens of thousands of swimmers out there whom have downloaded the specific Guide for their Type and using it to consolidate and compliment their existing programs. We couldn't of course have added each Guide to the new book due to the restriction on size that the publishers had on the content of the book and of course the readability of the book as a resource.

As such, you'll find the downloadable guide will help give you this definitive structure that you crave and what's more, as an Overglider, it will help eliminate some of the paralysis by analysis that comes from not connecting the dots and trying to work on too much at once. This is of course very important for anyone seeking to improve their swimming efficiency and this is the number one aim of the Guides - keep it simple and keep it specific.

Hope this helps! Glad you're enjoying Swim Smooth!

Paul

[Steve Holmes]

Hi Paul thanks for the reply I really appreciate it. the book is great and I am really enjoying, it is just a shame it feels like my swiming is going backwards as I try to learn bilateral breathing.
I am familiar with the swim types and will be getting the overgliders guide but I am looking to work on some stroke development before then. The stroke hierarchy was exactly what I was looking for and is really useful to work out what areas are use full to work on so thanks for the link.

I think I will spend a couple of weeks speeding up my stroke rate and then look at how to move up the hierarchy.

Anyway off to train tonight so looking forward to it.
Cheers
Steve

[Paul Newsome]

I am familiar with the swim types and will be getting the overgliders guide but I am looking to work on some stroke development before then.

?? That's precisely what the Guide is Steve - stroke development, taking out the potential to overly analyse things and get you on the right track. Please don't delay with this as you'll go round in circles never quite feeling ready to move on otherwise.

The Guide will also show you how to naturally lift your stroke rate a touch through improved catch development rather than simply trying to turn your arms over faster (a classic mistake) - without removing the cause for the slow stroke rate, trying to elevate this will just feel like driving down the freeway with your handbrake on, I.e. not very nice!

Re. The bilateral. Remember firstly that this is not the be-all and end-all, but moreover you should view it like a drill just as you would any other to improve your efficiency. Secondly, many, many Overgliders struggle with bilateral for the mere fact that the stroke rate is slow and hence the breathing frequency is low too. I took an Overglider for a session last year with a stroke rate of 33spm (!) and it was impossible to focus on any bilateral breathing development until we'd upped his incredibly slow stroke rate first.

Hope that all makes sense? My advice, make the change now and get on with it.

Cheers

Paul

[SolarEnergy]

On top of what Paul just mentioned, here's an exceptional paper that provides some food for thoughts

http://www.feelforthewater.com/2012/10/ ... going.html