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The worst thing you can do in technique sessions is to become a "technique hermit" and only ever swim short distances of 50 or 100m for fear of your stroke falling apart. An effective stroke technique is much more quickly developed in combination with an all round program, developing both your swim fitness, pacing and open water skills at the same time. This session is a great way to do just that.
Technique Pyramid Session
Swim the following session straight through, taking a short recovery between swims to think through what you are doing next:
100m steady freestyle, relax and gradually loosen off your shoulders.
200m freestyle with a pull buoy, focusing on efficient roll from the hips. Visualise rotating the hips out of the way ahead of the arm stroke (see here).
300m with fins, 6-1-6 drill on the way up the pool, freestyle on the way back down. Think "shoulders back and chest forwards" during the drill to keep your lead arm straight.
400m steady freestyle, breathe ever 3 strokes on the way up the pool, every 5 strokes on the way back down. Focus on a nice smooth exhalation whenever your face is in the water.
500m with a pull buoy (and paddles if you have them). Don't kick at all but focus on pressing the water smoothly backwards to the wall behind you.
200m freestyle with a pull buoy, focusing on efficient roll from the hips. Visualise rotating the hips out of the way ahead of the arm stroke (see here).
300m with fins, 6-1-6 drill on the way up the pool, freestyle on the way back down. Think "shoulders back and chest forwards" during the drill to keep your lead arm straight.
400m steady freestyle, breathe ever 3 strokes on the way up the pool, every 5 strokes on the way back down. Focus on a nice smooth exhalation whenever your face is in the water.
500m with a pull buoy (and paddles if you have them). Don't kick at all but focus on pressing the water smoothly backwards to the wall behind you.
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| 6-1-6 is a great drill to work on your posture and alignment. Develop it to 6-3-6 by performing three strokes in the middle. (click on the image to expand) |
400m freestyle swim as a negative split, meaning you swim the second half faster than the first. If possible check this with a stopwatch or the pool's pace clock to see if you did in fact negative split (it's not as easy as it sounds!).
300m with fins, 6-3-6 drill on the way up the pool, freestyle on the way back down.
200m freestyle on the way up the pool, backstroke on the way back down.
100m easy pace freestyle.
This session totals 2500m. You can lengthen or shorten it by lengthening or shortening the swims slightly, albeit keeping the pyramid structure in place.
300m with fins, 6-3-6 drill on the way up the pool, freestyle on the way back down.
200m freestyle on the way up the pool, backstroke on the way back down.
100m easy pace freestyle.
This session totals 2500m. You can lengthen or shorten it by lengthening or shortening the swims slightly, albeit keeping the pyramid structure in place.
If you are someone who enjoys a lot variety in their swimming then you'll love this type of set, there's always something new to think about and keep you stimulated. Many Kicktastics can easily become bored when swimming so this session is perfect for you to enjoy, the time will fly by.
(By the way, there's plenty more training sessions to follow in our Waterproof Training Plans and the Swim Smooth Book of course!)
Swim Smooth!
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