Published on February 07, 2018 Comment(s): 0
As the cold draws in, many people leave the open water swimming behind and return to the pool. This time of the year is the perfect time to reflect on your swimming and refresh your technique. It is the perfect opportunity to work out any kinks or flaws in your swimming style. This means that when the swimming season returns, you will be off to a flying start. We have put together a list of things you can consider to help improve your technique:
Head Position
One common thing you’ll notice when people return from the open water to the pool is their head position. You will often be able to tell that your head position is too high up. This is due to the frequent need to keep your surroundings in sight when swimming in open water. When swimming in the pool, check that your neck is relaxed, and your head is in a neutral position. It is recommended to take a “facing down but looking ahead” approach. This allows for a nice balance between seeing where you are going as well as having the best hydrodynamics.
Leg Kick
There is a chance that if you have been wearing a wet suit throughout the summer you may have developed what’s known as “Lazy Legs”. This is because in long distance swimming, rather than looking to the legs for propulsion, we look for balance and traction. The better your kick, the better your body contributes to an efficient swimming technique and motion.
Stroke Rate
For open water swimming and racing, there is a high chance you may have upped your stroke rate. For racing and open water swimming is usually a good thing. However, having a high stroke rate makes it hard to focus on an accurate technique. The best thing to do here is to look at slowing your stroke rate down so you can concentrate on technique. That way it allows you to highlight any flaws in your stroke and allows you to look at improving them. Then, once you are ready, you can begin to speed up your stroke.
Losing The Pull Buoy
A pull buoy is a useful part of your fitness training, it isn’t a prop to hide poor technique. It allows you to work on your body position, so your legs don’t sink. The next stage here is to swim without a pull buoy or the support of a wetsuit. This ensures that you are prepared to for any event that might have to ban a wetsuit due to high water temperatures.
Temperature
If you find that you struggle with the cooler water temperatures, then this is the perfect time to prepare your mind and body through the winter. Firstly, try taking colder showers or sometimes wearing fewer clothes than necessary. This helps your body to acclimatise to the colder temperatures. If possible, you can also try swimming in a heated lido. This gives you a brief exposure to the cold, but also allows you to swim a decent session as well.
Injuries
If you find that you have any untreated injuries or discomfort, now is the perfect time and opportunity to get them checked. By looking at including some land training into your regime, this will help to improve your range of motion and flexibility. This helps to reduce your risk of injury and helps you swim with a better technique.
By working on your techniques during the winter period, it will allow you to be better focused on pacing and tactics on race days, rather than worrying about your technique. It is also important to have the right equipment with you. We recommend our short or long sleeve sports cloaks. Our sports cloak is developed in-house and offers a one stop solution for sports. We have made changing water-side as easy as it can be, and it allows you to remain warm and dry whilst doing so. It also includes features that ensure your post exercise experience is as rewarding as the exercise itself. Furthermore, we also recommend our quick dry microfiber towels. Produced from our performance quick dry microfibre, our towels are highly absorbent fabric that will quickly get you warm and dry when your swimming session is over.