** The second round of voting for the About Swimming Blog Of The Year is open here. Votes have been reset from round one so if you enjoy our blog please vote again - thanks! **
Perhaps the most fascinating thing about our Swim Type system is that it highlights the link between personality and stroke style. Here's some classic personality traits you might recognise in yourself which may affect how you swim:
- You're self confident, goal driven and impatient! This is a classic trait of the Arnie / Arnette - your desire to take control and get on with things results in a short scrappy stroke with a tendency to fight the water. By taking the time to relax a little and control what you're doing you'll develop your body roll and lengthen out your stroke. Here at Swim Smooth we jokingly call this 'taming the inner Arnie'!
- "Don't talk too much, just let me get on with it and swim fast!" If you feel this way when you swim then you're likely to be a Swinger. Classic Swingers are often the first on the pool deck for squad training and can't wait to get in the water and get on with it. They're well suited to distance swimming and love long sets with as little recovery as possible please! If you recognise this in yourself then try and be disciplined and take a little time out from hard swimming to do some stroke development work. You won't lose any fitness from doing so and you'll greatly benefit from some small tweaks to your stroke.
- You're analytical and enjoy working things out for yourself. Perhaps the strongest correlation of all here: nearly all engineers and mathematicians gravitate towards the Overglider stroke type! That desire to be technically correct and swim with a long stroke has been taken a little too far and introduced a deadspot to your stroke rhythm. There are many good things about your stroke in place but developing your catch is likely to be a priority, doing so will help remove that deadspot and get you get back in touch with the natural rhythm of your stroke.
- You look to swimming for achievement and to feel good about yourself. These are fantastic reasons to swim and sum up the motivations of many Bambinos who perhaps lack natural confidence in the water. If you identify strongly with this outlook then our favourite word for you is 'positivity'. Try and develop a positive mental approach banishing negative thoughts and work on adding some positivity and rhythm to your stroke movements to improve your feel for the water.
- You need a big event to motivate you. This is a common trait of the Smooth - as a talented swimmer it can be hard to get motivated after so many years of swimming. You know you can perform at a very high level but do you have the motivation? The key for yourself might be to introduce some changes to your swimming, perhaps taking on a fresh challenge by racing in open water or keeping a lot of variety in your training sessions.
Can you see any of these character traits in yourself? Or perhaps see some correlation between personality and stroke style in your fellow swimmers? Let us know on the comments section: here #add link#
Swim Smooth!
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Friday, February 18, 2011
Tips To Improve Your Freestyle Breathing
** Stop Press: SS Head Coach Paul Newsome interviewed about our Swim Type System on Ben Greenfield's excellent podcast. Listen: here - starts at 53mins. **
Do you struggle with your breathing when swimming freestyle? Perhaps you take on water or feel like you have to crane your head up high to reach air? This year we've received more questions and forum posts about this problem than perhaps any other. It can even be a problem for advanced level swimmers when they become tired. Here's our advice:
When your head travels through the water it creates a bow-wave around it, with a slight increase in the water height in front of your head but a large drop in height as it passes your head and neck:
When we breathe in freestyle we need to keep our head as low as possible because lifting your head causes your legs to sink. Great breathing technique involves breathing into the trough by the side of your head to keep it as low as possible:
Take a close look at the shape of the bow wave and how it's dropping quite steeply as it passes your head:
The correct place to aim your mouth is into position A but swimmers who struggle with their breathing are often trying to breathe slightly forwards into position B. The bow wave isn't very deep or well formed there and it will be a real struggle to reliably take on air:
To get the position of your breathing right it may feel like you're breathing very slightly behind you - you should just be able to see your arm-pit as you do this. This will only feel like a slight adjustment - you don't want to breathe too far backwards (position C) as this will twist your body and drag your lead arm across the centre line:
The next time you swim, experiment a little with your breathing position and try and find that sweet-spot where you can reliably find the bow wave trough but not breathe too far behind you and lose your alignment in the water.
Two other quick tips: Aim to keep your lower goggle underwater when you breathe and experiment with angling your mouth towards the surface like pop-eye chews his spinach:
Do you struggle with your breathing when swimming? Have you tried this tip? Let us know how it works for you on the comments section: here
Swim Smooth!
Do you struggle with your breathing when swimming freestyle? Perhaps you take on water or feel like you have to crane your head up high to reach air? This year we've received more questions and forum posts about this problem than perhaps any other. It can even be a problem for advanced level swimmers when they become tired. Here's our advice:
When your head travels through the water it creates a bow-wave around it, with a slight increase in the water height in front of your head but a large drop in height as it passes your head and neck:
When we breathe in freestyle we need to keep our head as low as possible because lifting your head causes your legs to sink. Great breathing technique involves breathing into the trough by the side of your head to keep it as low as possible:
Take a close look at the shape of the bow wave and how it's dropping quite steeply as it passes your head:
The correct place to aim your mouth is into position A but swimmers who struggle with their breathing are often trying to breathe slightly forwards into position B. The bow wave isn't very deep or well formed there and it will be a real struggle to reliably take on air:
To get the position of your breathing right it may feel like you're breathing very slightly behind you - you should just be able to see your arm-pit as you do this. This will only feel like a slight adjustment - you don't want to breathe too far backwards (position C) as this will twist your body and drag your lead arm across the centre line:
The next time you swim, experiment a little with your breathing position and try and find that sweet-spot where you can reliably find the bow wave trough but not breathe too far behind you and lose your alignment in the water.
Two other quick tips: Aim to keep your lower goggle underwater when you breathe and experiment with angling your mouth towards the surface like pop-eye chews his spinach:
(image taken from our DVD Boxset)
Do you struggle with your breathing when swimming? Have you tried this tip? Let us know how it works for you on the comments section: here
Swim Smooth!
Thursday, February 17, 2011
A Quick Tip On Breathing Technique
** Stop Press: SS Head Coach Paul Newsome interviewed about our Swim Type System on Ben Greenfield's excellent podcast. Listen: here **
Do you struggle with your breathing when swimming freestyle? Perhaps you take on water or feel like you have to crane your head up high to reach air? This year we've received more questions and forum posts about this problem than perhaps any other. It can even be a problem for advanced level swimmers when they become tired.
When your head travels through the water it creates a bow-wave around it, with a slight increase in the water height in front of your head but a large drop in height as it passes your head and neck:
When we breathe in freestyle we need to keep our head as low as possible because lifting your head causes your legs to sink. Great breathing technique involves breathing into the trough by the side of your head to keep it as low as possible:
Take a close look at the shape of the bow wave and how it's dropping quite steeply as it passes your head:
The correct place to move your mouth is into position A but swimmers who struggle with their breathing are often trying to breathe slightly forwards into position B. The bow wave isn't very deep or well formed there and it will be a real struggle to reliably take on air:
To get the position of your breathing right it may feel like you're breathing very slightly behind you - you should just able to see your arm-pit as you do this. This will only feel like a slight adjustment - you don't want to breathe too far backwards (C) as this will drag your lead arm across the centre line:
The next time you swim, experiment a little with your breathing position and try and find that sweet-spot where you can reliably find the bow wave trough but not breathe too far behind you and lose your alignment in the water. How do you know if your head is low enough? Aim to keep your lower goggle underwater when you breathe.
Do you struggle with your breathing when swimming? Have you tried this tip? Let us know how it works for you on the comments section: here #link tbd#
Swim Smooth!
Do you struggle with your breathing when swimming freestyle? Perhaps you take on water or feel like you have to crane your head up high to reach air? This year we've received more questions and forum posts about this problem than perhaps any other. It can even be a problem for advanced level swimmers when they become tired.
When your head travels through the water it creates a bow-wave around it, with a slight increase in the water height in front of your head but a large drop in height as it passes your head and neck:
When we breathe in freestyle we need to keep our head as low as possible because lifting your head causes your legs to sink. Great breathing technique involves breathing into the trough by the side of your head to keep it as low as possible:
Take a close look at the shape of the bow wave and how it's dropping quite steeply as it passes your head:
The correct place to move your mouth is into position A but swimmers who struggle with their breathing are often trying to breathe slightly forwards into position B. The bow wave isn't very deep or well formed there and it will be a real struggle to reliably take on air:
To get the position of your breathing right it may feel like you're breathing very slightly behind you - you should just able to see your arm-pit as you do this. This will only feel like a slight adjustment - you don't want to breathe too far backwards (C) as this will drag your lead arm across the centre line:
The next time you swim, experiment a little with your breathing position and try and find that sweet-spot where you can reliably find the bow wave trough but not breathe too far behind you and lose your alignment in the water. How do you know if your head is low enough? Aim to keep your lower goggle underwater when you breathe.
Do you struggle with your breathing when swimming? Have you tried this tip? Let us know how it works for you on the comments section: here #link tbd#
Swim Smooth!
Friday, February 11, 2011
Do You Ever Get Shoulder Pain When Swimming?
Research says that as many as eight out of ten swimmers suffer from some level of shoulder pain or injury during their swimming careers. If you ever get shoulder pain before or after swimming, the very first thing to check is how your hand enters into the water.
A thumb first entry, with the palm facing outwards causes internal rotation of the shoulder and impingement of the joint. This action, repeated thousands of times in training, is the leading cause of shoulder injury in swimmers:
When we're swimming we are often unaware of how our hands enter into the water so ask a friend or coach to take a look at your hand entry on both sides, particularly as you get tired when bad habits creep in. You should be entering with a near horizontal hand, with the fingertips angled slightly down to spear smoothly into the water:
This is much safer way to enter the water for your shoulders and is also better swimming technique as it immediately puts you in the right position for a great catch phase.
If you have a thumb first entry it can be a hard habit to break and will take some persistence on your part. Here's two visualisations you can use to help you get this right in your stroke:
Visualisation 1: As your arm recovers over the top of the water, imagine you are holding a briefcase in your hand. It would be very awkward to turn that hand outwards whilst holding the briefcase so lightly carry it past your head with the palm facing inwards. (Thanks to Montreal based coach Charles Couturier for this tip!)
Visualisation 2: Imagine a small fish is swimming just in front of you and you are chasing it. As your hand enters into the water try and spear the fish with a nice horizontal hand, angling your hand and fingers down into the water.
In the 1970s a thumb first entry was taught together with an S-shaped pull to give a longer pull pathway, which was believed to be more powerful. Any advantage in propulsion has since been disproved and we now understand the outward sweep at the beginning of the S shape puts a large force on the shoulder in an awkward position. Since the 1990s all elite swimmers have been taught to enter with a flat hand and pull straight backwards - it carries a much lower injury risk and it's a faster and more efficient technique:
What are your experiences of shoulder pain or injury? Is it still causing you a problem or if you are cured, how did you go about about fixing it? Let us know in the comments section here.
Swim Smooth!
Relevant link: Our website page on shoulder injury.
A thumb first entry, with the palm facing outwards causes internal rotation of the shoulder and impingement of the joint. This action, repeated thousands of times in training, is the leading cause of shoulder injury in swimmers:
When we're swimming we are often unaware of how our hands enter into the water so ask a friend or coach to take a look at your hand entry on both sides, particularly as you get tired when bad habits creep in. You should be entering with a near horizontal hand, with the fingertips angled slightly down to spear smoothly into the water:
This is much safer way to enter the water for your shoulders and is also better swimming technique as it immediately puts you in the right position for a great catch phase.
If you have a thumb first entry it can be a hard habit to break and will take some persistence on your part. Here's two visualisations you can use to help you get this right in your stroke:
Visualisation 1: As your arm recovers over the top of the water, imagine you are holding a briefcase in your hand. It would be very awkward to turn that hand outwards whilst holding the briefcase so lightly carry it past your head with the palm facing inwards. (Thanks to Montreal based coach Charles Couturier for this tip!)
Visualisation 2: Imagine a small fish is swimming just in front of you and you are chasing it. As your hand enters into the water try and spear the fish with a nice horizontal hand, angling your hand and fingers down into the water.
In the 1970s a thumb first entry was taught together with an S-shaped pull to give a longer pull pathway, which was believed to be more powerful. Any advantage in propulsion has since been disproved and we now understand the outward sweep at the beginning of the S shape puts a large force on the shoulder in an awkward position. Since the 1990s all elite swimmers have been taught to enter with a flat hand and pull straight backwards - it carries a much lower injury risk and it's a faster and more efficient technique:
What are your experiences of shoulder pain or injury? Is it still causing you a problem or if you are cured, how did you go about about fixing it? Let us know in the comments section here.
Swim Smooth!
Relevant link: Our website page on shoulder injury.
Do You Ever Get Shoulder Pain When Swimming?
Research says that as many as eight out of ten swimmers suffer from some level of shoulder pain or injury during their swimming careers. If you ever get shoulder pain before or after swimming, the very first thing to check is how your hand enters into the water.
A thumb first entry, with the palm facing outwards causes internal rotation of the shoulder and impingement of the joint. This action, repeated thousands of times in training, is the leading cause of shoulder injury in swimmers:
When we're swimming we are often unaware of how our hands enter into the water so ask a friend of coach to take a look at your hand entry on both sides, particularly as you get tired when bad habits creep in. You should be entering with a near horizontal hand, with the fingertips angled slightly down to spear smoothly into the water:
This is much safer way to enter the water for your shoulders and is also better swimming technique as it immediately sets you up in the right position for a great catch phase.
If you have a thumb first entry it can be a hard habit to break and will take some persistence on your part. Here's two visualisations you can use to help you get this right in your stroke:
Visualisation 1: Imagine a small fish is swimming just in front of you and you are chasing it. As your hand enters into the water try and spear the fish with a nice horizontal hand, angling you hand and fingers down into the water.
Visualisation 2: As your arm recovers over the top of the water, imagine you are holding a briefcase in your hand. It would be very awkward to turn that hand outwards whilst holding the briefcase so lightly carry it past your head with the palm facing inwards. (Thanks to Montreal based coach Charles Couturier for this tip!)
In the 1970s a thumb first entry was taught in tandem with an S-pull shape as it gives a longer pull pathway which was believed to be more powerful. This has since been disproved and all elite swimmers are now taught to enter with a flat hand and pull straight backwards - it's a faster and more efficient technique:
What are your experiences of shoulder injury? Is it still causing you a problem or if you are cured, how did you go about about fixing it? Let us know in the comments section here.
Swim Smooth!
Relevant link: Our website page on shoulder injury.
A thumb first entry, with the palm facing outwards causes internal rotation of the shoulder and impingement of the joint. This action, repeated thousands of times in training, is the leading cause of shoulder injury in swimmers:
When we're swimming we are often unaware of how our hands enter into the water so ask a friend of coach to take a look at your hand entry on both sides, particularly as you get tired when bad habits creep in. You should be entering with a near horizontal hand, with the fingertips angled slightly down to spear smoothly into the water:
This is much safer way to enter the water for your shoulders and is also better swimming technique as it immediately sets you up in the right position for a great catch phase.
If you have a thumb first entry it can be a hard habit to break and will take some persistence on your part. Here's two visualisations you can use to help you get this right in your stroke:
Visualisation 1: Imagine a small fish is swimming just in front of you and you are chasing it. As your hand enters into the water try and spear the fish with a nice horizontal hand, angling you hand and fingers down into the water.
Visualisation 2: As your arm recovers over the top of the water, imagine you are holding a briefcase in your hand. It would be very awkward to turn that hand outwards whilst holding the briefcase so lightly carry it past your head with the palm facing inwards. (Thanks to Montreal based coach Charles Couturier for this tip!)
In the 1970s a thumb first entry was taught in tandem with an S-pull shape as it gives a longer pull pathway which was believed to be more powerful. This has since been disproved and all elite swimmers are now taught to enter with a flat hand and pull straight backwards - it's a faster and more efficient technique:
What are your experiences of shoulder injury? Is it still causing you a problem or if you are cured, how did you go about about fixing it? Let us know in the comments section here.
Swim Smooth!
Relevant link: Our website page on shoulder injury.
Friday, February 04, 2011
How To Improve Your Swimming Core Stability Without Lots Of Sit Ups!
** Hold the back page! About Swimming have just contacted us to say that we're in the running to be their 'Swimming Blog Of The Year'! If you've found the Swim Smooth blog useful then please vote for us here. Voting closes today (Friday) so please be quick - cheers! **
A quick tip this week to help you develop your core stability when you swim:
Imagine a string of elastic or licorice that is attached at the top to your rib cage and at the bottom to your pelvis. As you swim keep that elastic stretched by lifting your chest up and away from your pelvis as much as possible:
Swimming in a tall stretched position uses your core muscles in the right way as you swim, keeping you aligned and straight in the water. You don't have to be super-strong through the core to do this well, it's more about using your core muscles in the right way than outright strength. Ironically it's often the swimmers who spend a long time on dry land core-conditioning who flex the most through the middle when they swim!
Try and get in the habit of adopting this stretched position when you push-off from the wall at the beginning of every lap. Adopt a strong torpedo, stretch through your core and as you start your stroke maintain the stretch all the way down the pool.
A stable core will have you tracking straighter through the water and also develop your body rotation - both very important for an efficient freestyle stroke. It will also rotate your hips forward slightly, lifting your bum and legs higher in the water - great if you suffer from 'sinky legs syndrome'.
Stretch that elastic the next time you swim, we're confident you'll notice the difference straight away!
Swim Smooth!
A quick tip this week to help you develop your core stability when you swim:
Imagine a string of elastic or licorice that is attached at the top to your rib cage and at the bottom to your pelvis. As you swim keep that elastic stretched by lifting your chest up and away from your pelvis as much as possible:
Swimming in a tall stretched position uses your core muscles in the right way as you swim, keeping you aligned and straight in the water. You don't have to be super-strong through the core to do this well, it's more about using your core muscles in the right way than outright strength. Ironically it's often the swimmers who spend a long time on dry land core-conditioning who flex the most through the middle when they swim!
Try and get in the habit of adopting this stretched position when you push-off from the wall at the beginning of every lap. Adopt a strong torpedo, stretch through your core and as you start your stroke maintain the stretch all the way down the pool.
A stable core will have you tracking straighter through the water and also develop your body rotation - both very important for an efficient freestyle stroke. It will also rotate your hips forward slightly, lifting your bum and legs higher in the water - great if you suffer from 'sinky legs syndrome'.
Stretch that elastic the next time you swim, we're confident you'll notice the difference straight away!
Swim Smooth!
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