Mike's Triathlon » Swimming

Triathlon Training – Swim Fast to Get Fast Part 2

Admin — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 13:02:24 +0000

By Gale Bernhardt
For Active.com

In an earlier column, I encouraged you to try some fast 25s to boost your swimming speed. People have been trying the workouts and, lo and behold, they are swimming faster. Excellent!

Now that you’ve mastered some of the shorter workouts, let’s bump the distance up some. Below are new workouts for you to try:

Workout No. 1

Complete a mixed warm-up totaling 500 to 1,000 yards/meters.

After the warm-up, go through the following set two or three times:

2 x 25 — Build speed throughout each 25
2 x 25 — Swim half the distance as fast as you can, it doesn’t matter if it is first half or last half. Swim the “other half” easy.
1 x 50 — All-out fast
1 x 50 — Easy

Make your swim interval something that gives you 5 to 10 seconds rest on the 25s, about 20 seconds of rest on the 50-all-out-fast and about 90 seconds on the 50 easy.

After the speedy set, head into your main set. The main set can include swims in the 100 to 300 range.

Workout No. 2

Complete a mixed warm-up totaling 500 to 1,000.

After the warm-up, go through the following set two to four times:

4 x 25 — Build speed throughout each 25 (Make the swim interval something that gives you about 10 seconds of rest.)
1 x 50 — All-out fast (Make the swim interval something that gives you about 20 seconds of rest.)
1 x 25 — Easy (Make the swim interval something that gives you 15 to 20 seconds of rest.)
1 x 25 — All-out fast (Make the swim interval something that gives you about 10 seconds of rest.)

After the speedy set, head into your main set. The main set can include swims in the 100 to 300 range.

Optional Main Set

An optional main set to include after Workout No. 1 or 2 follows:

3 x 100 on a swim interval that gives you 10 to 15 seconds of rest. Swim all of these at a steady pace.
3 x 100 on a swim interval that gives you 15 to 20 seconds rest. Negative-split each 100.
3 x 100 on a swim interval that gives you 20 to 30 seconds rest. Swim these so that each 100 is faster than the previous one. The last one is a fast one.

If you have the time and fitness, go through the set of 100s twice.

Workout No. 3

Complete a mixed warm-up totaling 500 to 1,000.

After the warm-up, do 4 x 25 building speed throughout each 25 (Make the swim interval something that gives you about 10 seconds of rest.)

Take one minute of rest, then do:

6 x 50 — All-out fast. No holding back. Expect the fastest one to be the second or third one. It’s okay if speed fades some, just swim fast. Make the swim interval something that gives you 80 to 100 seconds of rest between each 50 swim.

After the speedy set, head into your main set. Keep it primarily aerobic. If you swim really, really fast (like the instructions tell you to do) you won’t have much high-end speed for the rest of the workout.

The biggest mistake you can make in the workouts above is to try to be a Sammie Save-up. Of course there are times when you should be holding some speed in reserve so you can negative-split a swim; but not in these workouts. Cut loose and see how fast you can go.

How much did you improve? If you’ve tried these workouts, head to USAT’s Facebook page and tell us about it!

Gale Bernhardt was the 2003 USA Triathlon Pan American Games and 2004 USA Triathlon Olympic coach for both the men’s and women’s teams. Her first Olympic experience was as a personal cycling coach at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. Thousands of athletes have had successful training and racing experiences using Gale’s pre-built, easy-to-follow training plans. For more information, click here. Let Gale and Active Trainer help you succeed.

This article originally appeared on Active.com—your source for event information, training plans, expert advice, and everything you need to connect with the sport you love.

Tags: half ironman, olympic triathlon

Triathlon Training – Swim Fast to Get Fast

Admin — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 07:46:15 +0000

By Gale Bernhardt
For Active.com

I completely agree that doing form drills to practice good swimming technique is critical to the process of becoming a faster swimmer. That written, you cannot expect that slow and purposeful drills will increase your sustained swimming speed if you never swim fast.

Certainly, a beginning swimmer can make significant gains in speed because they are starting with a baseline limited to no fitness and skills; but after a few weeks, they will reach a speed plateau. They cannot improve their average speed for long swims. Even intermediate and advanced distance swimmers can hit a speed ceiling.

These more advanced swimmers can often be found churning out set after set of repeat 100s to 500s with very short rest intervals. These swimmers also like long and steady open water swims. Managing a certain level of discomfort for a long period makes them feel like they accomplished something in the workout.

But, what if you are stuck at your current speed and can’t seem to get faster?

One answer seems obvious: You need to swim faster in order to get faster. Swimming fast and experiencing a load of lactate is not a feeling long-distance swimmers or triathletes enjoy. They would rather swim 1,000 or 2,000 steady than swim six all-out, fast 50s—even if there is generous rest between each 50.

Speed It Up

Let’s save the fast 50 workouts for another column. For this column, I’ll have you sneak up on some speed with shorter efforts. These workouts come from Masters swim coach Scott Allen. He is a former USA Swimming staff member and helped Susan Von der Lippe qualify for the Olympic trials this year. As well as Olympians, he has coached many triathletes and age-group swimmers of all ages.

He believes, and I agree with him, that you need to swim fast early in the workout, before you have any accumulated fatigue. You need to begin with short distances and then build the distance of fast swimming over time, in a progression.

To get you started on the path to faster swimming, try to do one of the sets outlined in this column after your warm-up swim, but prior to the main set.

For all the sets, the 25s are on a swim interval that gives you around 15 seconds rest. The 50s and 100s are done on an interval that gives you 20 to 30 seconds rest. If you swim in a long course pool, get creative about modifying the workout to achieve the goals in the set.

Option 1
Repeat the following set two to three times:
2 x 25 Build speed throughout the 25
2 x 25 Swim half the distance as fast as you can, it doesn’t matter if it is first half or last half. Swim the other half easy.
1 x 25 All-out fast
1 x 50 Very relaxed and easy

Option 2
Repeat the following set two or three times:
1 x 25 Steady swimming
1 x 25 Build speed throughout the 25
1 x 25 Swim half the distance fast
1 x 25 Easy

Option 3
Repeat the following set two times. Wear fins for the entire set:
2 x 100 Do 25 kick, 25 swim, 25 kick, 25 swim
2 x 25 Kick fast
2 x 25 Swim fast—really fast
1 x 50 easy

Include one of these fast swimming segments between your warm-up and main set at least once, and preferably twice, per week for the next six to eight weeks. On your other swim days you can include form drills between the warm-up and the main set.

At the end of your experiment, answer this: did it gradually get easier to swim fast on the short sets? Were you able to swim faster in some of your longer sets too? Did you bump your overall speed? Think about your experience, and how it can impact your swim in future events.

This article originally appeared on Active.com—your source for event information, training plans, expert advice, and everything you need to connect with the sport you love.

Tags: triathlon gear, triathlon results

Triathlon Swimming – Handling big seas in an easterly blow

Admin — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 19:06:13 +0000

Didn’t even want to go try for a sea swim today because of the rough conditions in strong easterly winds, until Alec Riddle challenged us all through email to put on our “big boy pants” with a promise that the beer would taste better afterward!

Couldn’t believe what I saw when I got to the beach. Never ever even liked yachting in a big boat in these conditions (often got sea sick), and now I was about to swim in it! It was therefore with some trepidation that I donned my wetsuit and waded towards those breakers.

These photos really don’t do it justice, as the wind had already dropped considerable by the time they were taken.

Last words of advice from Graham Richards were “don’t try and swim back into it, rather head straight out all the way to Kings beach (about 1.5km). Not exactly encouraging for me as a relative novice amongst seasoned swimmers.

As I made my way out to the end of the pier, there were others around me being continuously beaten back and unable to make any headway. Somehow I was able to porpoise underneath the huge breakers and got to the buoy relatively quickly where I hung on in a wild sea-saw ride waiting for the others to also make it out, but none came.

Eventually decided that if I was going to do this thing at all, I’d had better get going on on my own pretty soon (the main group of about 10 swimmers were already out of sight) before this growing uneasiness sent me back on a screaming chicken run!

Like I said, you need to loose all your marbles to do this Ironman stuff!

So I struck out for Kings Beach careful to head a little deeper so as to avoid the larger waves that were breaking quite far out. Worked hard at settling into a relaxed stroke and rolling for air with the big swells and hissing whitecaps.

And then the magic happened!

Found myself feeling exhilarated whilst moving in tune with the swells and accelerating down the oncoming faces. Stoked!!!

The 6 Pack, Tripod and Kahunas (that name is now even more apt) all seemed to float by in a flash, and soon I spotted the rest of the crazy gang standing and waving on the beach waiting for me to come ashore.

Awesome stuff! I’m hooked!

Hey, and the beer at Barney’s really did taste better tonight!

Tags: triathlon training, open water swimming

Triathlon Swimming – Are there shark attractant or repellent colours?

Admin — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 08:09:44 +0000

I have often thought that the colour of my Orca wetsuit too closely resembles that of a seal which is after all prime shark food. So I got to wondering if there is any data on shark attractant or repellent colours, and if so, why are wetsuit manufacturers not making them accordingly?

It seems too little research has been done to draw any solid conclusions, and conflicting opinions or myths are rife.

Research does indicate that sharks do see in colour, as do most marine creatures. Makes sense, as I do not see why there should be such a vivid colour display down below if it were otherwise.

Of the seven colours tested in this short video below, it appears that the top three colours sharks are attracted to are yellow, silver and black (in that order), with blue and red being the least.

Triathlon Swimming – Are there shark attractant or repellent colours?

Now silver and black are the colours of my wetsuit, so my fears of “looking like a seal” seem well founded! Not good!

Again I think this test may have been too short to provide conclusive results. For swimmers I would like to see these tests done at or close to surface level as colours appear differently at depth. Multi-coloured patterns should also be tested as is indicated in this very interesting US patent:-

Techniques for repelling predatory animals by the use of aposematic patterns and coloration
United States Patent 4494245

A method for repelling predatory animals by the use of aposematic patterns and colorations is disclosed. A man (10) if isolated, alone, or injured in marine or ocean waters (24) is substantially at the mercy of numerous predatory organisms that live and thrive in the marine environment (24) such as for example a shark (26). There are however organisms or animals such as deadly Pelamis platurus sea snakes (28) which possess oposematic colorations such as bright yellow backgrounds (30) with black irregular spots (32). It has been found that sharks (26) typically have an innate avoidance response to these sea snakes. According to the method of this invention, therefore, the man or diver (10) protects himself from the predatory animal (26) by wearing a wetsuit (12) which mimics the sea snake (28) or some other aposematically colored organism. Thus, according to one embodiment the wetsuit (12) will be made of a bright yellow color background (34) having a multiplicity of black irregular spots (36), (38), and (40). In addition, bathing suits (50) and life preserver (52) may also be manufactured to mimic the coloration of other naturally distasteful or venomous animals. Also, hypothetical patterns which include the three basic aposematic colors red, black, and yellow may be applied to other diving and aqua marine equipment such as life raft (68) diving tank (76), foot flippers (70) and (72) and the like.

Certainly the situation is sufficiently serious to warrant thorough research into this area, and there could be a mint of money to be made by the wetsuit manufacturer who runs with the ball, as well as obvious benefits for us all.

So if you have insider contact with any, please send them a link to this post…

Tags: triathlon wetsuits, triathlon swimming

Triathlon Training – Gym exercises to improve swimming performance

Admin — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 20:14:01 +0000

Swimming is my second weakest discipline, and whilst undoubtedly technique and streamlined efficiency (low drag) in the water is paramount, there is also a lot to be gained by improving relevant muscular strength and endurance. Mike

Swimmers need to follow a programme of exercises that replicate their actions in the water as closely as possible.

To optimise strength and power, competitive swimmers need to supplement their pool training with land training in the gym. For best effect, swimmers need to follow a programme of exercises that replicate their actions in the water as closely as possible.

Strength and conditioning experts around the world all agree that, for time spent in the gym to have a positive impact on your sports performance, you must ensure the exercises you perform – and the way you perform them – are related to your sporting movements in competition. For example, Barbell Squats involve ankle, knee and hip extensions in a vertical plane which are directly related to the mechanics of a vertical jump; thus the squat is a useful exercise for developing jump performance.

If we perform a basic analysis of the mechanics of the front crawl stroke, the main actions that produce forward propulsion through the water are:

l. the ‘arm pull down’ through the water, which propels the swimmer forward and

2. the ‘leg kick’, which alternates hip flexion and extension of the legs.

In addition, competitive swimming involves:

The ‘dive start and push off turn’, which involves dynamic ankle, knee and hip extension.

When designing your strength programme, you should focus mainly on exercises related to these movements. Other exercises may use the same muscles as those involved in swimming, but only exercises which use the right muscles in a related mechanical movement will provide optimum training benefit.

A limitation of land training with weights for swimming is that the type of resistance you encounter when moving in the water is different from the resistance occurring when you move a weight through the air. In the water, the faster you pull or kick the greater the resistance applied back by the water; on land, a given weight requires a constant force to move it, regardless of the speed of movement.

Hydraulic-type resistance equipment that mimics aquatic resistance is expensive and not widely available. The best compromise when using regular equipment is to try to mimic the speed and nature of the swimming stroke. To this end, you should aim to perform the strength exercises with a smooth and constant force and select weights which allow the movement to be performed at a swimming-related speed. For example, the leg-kicking motion during front crawl is quite fast, so hip flexion and extension exercises which can be performed at a good speed would be best.

The following exercises are related to the mechanics of the front crawl stroke. For each component, the relevant exercises are described and their mechanical relationship to the stroke explained.

Arm pull down exercises

1. Cable rotational front and back pulls

Front pull. This is the mechanical equivalent to the pulling-through-the-water action in front crawl, as the hand comes diagonally across the body as it pulls down. For this exercise you need a high pulley machine with a simple handle grip.
Kneel down on one knee to the side of the machine. Take the hand nearest the pulley and grasp the handle with the hand high and slightly out to your side. Before you start the exercise make sure your back is straight, your shoulders are wide and your chin is tucked in. Pull the handle down and lower your arm across your body in a rotational movement until your hand is next to the opposite hip. Smoothly return the bar to the start position and continue, performing sets of 5-8 reps for maximum strength or 12-15 for strength endurance.

Try to keep your posture solid throughout the movement. Maintain a slight bend in the elbow as you pull, but focus your effort on the shoulder muscles only.

Rear pull. This exercise involves the opposite movement to the front pull and is useful for promoting a balanced strength about the shoulder joint. Specifically, the front pull trains the internal rotator cuff muscles and the rear pull trains the external muscles. To avoid shoulder injuries a balanced rotator cuff strength is important. For this exercise you need a low pulley machine with the simple handle grip.

Stand to the side of the machine and grasp the handle with the opposite hand. Make sure your back is straight, your shoulders wide and your chin tucked in. Start with your hand by the inside hip and fix a slight bend in the elbow. Pull the handle up and away from your body, rotating the arm up and out. Finish with the handle high and out to the side, with the palm of the hand facing forwards. Smoothly return the handle back and across to the opposite hip and continue. Again go for sets of 5-8 reps for maximum strength or 12-15 for strength endurance.

Keeping your posture solid during this exercise is quite difficult, as it is tempting to use your trunk muscles to help the rotation movement. However, you can train your core stability skills by keeping your navel pulled into your spine and relaxing your upper body so there are no additional movements apart from the arm raise and rotation.

In combination, the front and rear diagonal pull train almost every muscle in the shoulder joint and shoulder girdle. This makes them very useful exercises for any sport.

2. Medicine ball single arm overhead throw

This exercise develops the power of the latissimus and pectoral muscles in a functional manner for swimmers, involving a movement similar to the front crawl stroke. The aim of the throw is to improve the rate of force development in the shoulder by accelerating the arm hard to throw the ball. For this exercise you need a partner and 2-4kg ball. The small rubber ones are best as they can be held in one hand.

Because the ball is quite heavy for one hand you will not be able to throw it far or move the arm very fast. This makes it ideal for swimming as the pull stroke is not that fast.The training effect comes from your attempts to accelerate the arm movement as fast as you can, thereby improving the power of the pull.

Lie on your back on the floor, with knees bent slightly so your lower back is comfortable. Grasp the ball in one hand with your arm up and behind your head, slightly bent at the elbow. Vigorously pull the arm up and down across your body, throwing the ball over the opposite knee. Get your partner to return the ball, and perform sets of 8-12 repetitions with each arm in turn.

Do not lift your head or pull up from the stomach as you throw. Focus on producing the power from the shoulder and pulling across the body as you do in front crawl.

3. Swiss ball body pulls

This is a ‘closed kinetic chain’ movement, where the moving limbs remain in contact with a fixed object – in this case the hands with the floor. Such movements are thought to be particularly functional for sports performance, so offering greater training benefits.

This exercise is performed in a horizontal prone position, with the arms pulling down under the body, matching the position and action of a swimmer in the pool.

Position yourself face down, with your lower legs on the Swiss ball and your hands on the floor supporting your weight, body parallel to the floor. This is the equivalent of a press-up position with your feet up. Slowly roll the ball up your legs while your arms extend out in front of you until you achieve a stretched position, with a straight line through your arms, shoulders, back, hips and legs. At this point your body will make a shallow angle with the floor and the ball will be positioned on your thighs. Then, keeping this perfect alignment of your body, push down through your hands into the floor and pull yourself back to the press-up position. The ball should roll back down your legs as you do this. Perform sets of 8-12 repetitions.

The difficult part of the exercise is the pull back up. At this point you must use your stomach muscles to support your spine and focus on using a strong pull of the shoulder muscles to raise your body back to the parallel position. This exercise is not easy, but it is very beneficial for many sports, helping to develop core and shoulder strength.

Leg kick exercises: Hip extension and flexion kick

These exercises mimic the upwards and downwards phases of the swimmer’s kick action, where the glutes and hamstrings extend and the hip flexors flex the leg at the hip. For these exercises you need a low pulley machine with an ankle strap attachment. Each leg is worked independently to increase the specificity for swimming, and the weights used should be relatively light so you can kick with good speed, as in the pool.

Hip extension. Stand facing the low pulley machine, with the ankle strap attached to one leg. Lift this leg off the floor, taking up the slack of the cable, and place your balance solidly on the other leg. Hold onto the machine’s frame with your hands to stabilise your upper body and check that your back is straight, with shoulders relaxed.

Pull the cable back dynamically by extending the leg backwards until you feel you need to lean forwards, then bring it back in a controlled manner to the start position, retaining good posture. Continue pulling the leg back, focusing on the gluteals and hamstrings to kick back powerfully.

Hip flexion. Stand with your back to the low pulley machine, with the ankle strap attached to one leg. Lift this leg off the floor, taking up the slack of the cable, and place your balance solidly on the other leg. Use a stick to support yourself, and check that your back is straight with your shoulders relaxed.

Pull the cable dynamically by kicking the leg forwards. Pull the weight, using your hip flexor muscles at the top and front of the thigh, until your leg reaches an angle of about 30û or you start to lean back. Smoothly return your leg to the start position, retaining good posture, and continue.

Perform sets of 10 reps at a fast speed and build up to sets of 20 or 30 for power endurance of this movement.

‘Dive start and push-off turn’ exercise: Barbell squat jumps

This exercise involves dynamic extension of the ankle, knee and hip joints and trains the calf, quadriceps and gluteal muscles to improve vertical jump performance. The vertical jump is mechanically related to the dive start and push-off turns involved in swimming: with the dive or turn, the ankle, knee and hip extension propels you forwards in the horizontal plane, while with the jump the leg extension propels you upwards in the vertical plane. Essentially, it’s the same movement rotated by 90û!

The point of using a barbell to add weight to the squat is to help you to generate peak power. If you perform the jump squat with body weight only, the jump will be very fast and high. With the addition of a moderate weight (about 30-40% of the 1 repetition max weight for the squat exercise), the jump will not be as high or fast, but the muscular power required to leave the ground will be maximal. This is based on the knowledge that peak power is achieved when the force used is about one third of the maximum force for that movement. Again, your goal is to attempt to achieve the fastest extension of the legs to maximise power production and training benefit. If you use 30-40% of 1 RM weight, I recommend 3-5 sets of 5 repetitions.

Stand with the barbell across the back of your shoulders. Squat down, bending at the hips and knee, making sure the weight goes down through the back half of your foot. When you reach the half squat position, drive up dynamically, rapidly extending your legs so that you leave the floor briefly. Absorb the landing with soft knees, then go smoothly into the squat again. Continue for 5 repetitions.

The bottom line:

Strength and power training is essential for Elite swimming performance.

To optimise the benefit of land-based training, you must select exercises with mechanical relevance to the swimming action, particularly those movements which propel the swimmer through the water, such as the arm pull and leg kick.

As the resistance in the water is different from the resistance provided by weight equipment on land, unless you have special hydraulic equipment, you must also focus on mimicking the speed and smooth movement of the swimming stroke when performing land-based exercises.

Various exercises for the arm pull, leg kick, dive and turn movements are suggested, all with a good functional relationship to the swimming action. While this is not a definitive or exhaustive selection of exercises, especially as it focuses solely on front crawl, it involves highly specific swimming movements in terms of mechanics, positions and speed. When you design strength programmes for swimming performance or any other sport, be sure to think about each exercise in terms of its relevance to performance.

Raphael Brandon

This article was taken from the Peak Performance newsletter, the number one source of sports science, training and research. Click here to access these articles as soon as they are released to maximise your performance

Tags: tri bike, sprint triathlon

Triathlon Swimming – Warmup and preparation

Admin — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 05:02:11 +0000

This video reinforces the previous article I posted on swimming and arrhythmia which also highlighted the importance of a proper warm up in preparation for the triathlon swim as an essential aspect of ensuring your safety… Mike

With triathlon races involving a mass start, it is important to be aware of your safety when in the water. This video will tell you all you need to know about warming up for the start of a race and how you can prepare for the various different types of water conditions you can experience during a race.

Staying safe is imperative whether training or racing, so make sure you are familiar with your surroundings and know where to find help. Training with another person is strongly advised, especially when in open water such as the ocean or in a lake. Developing special skills such as skulling and gliding will not only help you should you get into trouble; they can be used during a race to make you faster and save energy.

Triathlon Swimming – Warmup and preparation

Tags: triathlon training, duathlon

Triathlon Swimming – Methods to improve swimming speed

Admin — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 18:42:13 +0000

I found this article particularly interesting for the information it contains on drafting, body roll and the need for developing a strong kick if you want to be amongst the top triathlon swimmers… Mike

By applying new research courtesy of fluid dynamics and supercomputers, every swimmer can swim faster

The science of swimming is extremely complicated, involving the interaction of propulsive forces from the swimmer’s arms and legs and the drag caused by water. However, by applying new research courtesy of fluid dynamics and supercomputers, every swimmer can swim faster. Joe Beer explains…

Few sports are as precise as swimming. Cyclists can blame the wind, runners the terrain and team sports players the referee! Swimming, on the other hand, has exact distances and water is, well, constant. However, although ‘pure’ swimmers race in the pool and triathletes in open water (or OW as it’s referred to), the advent of long-distance swimming entering the Olympics in Beijing and fast-moving swimsuit and wetsuit technology means that many ‘constants’ in the world of swimming aren’t so constant after all.

The ‘sports ground’ for swimming (H2O!) is often quoted as being 1000 times denser than air. Trying to move efficiently through this very dense medium is not nearly as easy as other sports that take place through air. For example, top cyclists hit over 60kmh in short events on the track or in an end-of-stage sprint. Elite runners average over 30kmh for a quarter mile and over 40kmh at the end of sprints. By contrast, even the world’s best swimmers top just 8kmh (5mph) over the 100m sprint. Yet that is still superhuman. Most fitness swimmers would fail to approach even half that speed. All that splashing around by even the most enthusiastic fitness swimmer is soon put to shame by the 12 year old who glides through the water with ease. In short, swimming is about brain not brawn, and it’s technique not triceps or trapezius size that matters.

To help ease the frustration that many people feel when trying to swim faster, this article looks at recent research papers and expert insight to glean some useful tips and tricks for swimming faster and more efficiently. In a sport where evolution of techniques, training knowledge and equipment are as meticulous as any other, there’s much to learn.

Drafting with a super computer

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) emerged in the mid 1990s to investigate such areas as flight and propulsion in animals. These computers are loaded with page-long equations, performing millions of calculations per second to compute findings and produce models never before possible by pen and paper mathematicians. Experts keen on the science of swimming started using CFD to measure and understand better the flow around a swimmer’s body. The result has been that it’s increasingly possible to make models that can predict what is happening in the watery world that surrounds a swimmer.

A recent CFD paper presented by a group of seven experts from Portugal, although mind blowing in its mathematical methods, has produced conclusions that are both practical and written in plain English. Using complex equations, the group modelled the flow around two swimmers at varying distances from 50cm to 8m apart from one another. The flow speed was 1.6 to 2.0 metres per second, a rate that few but the fastest swimmers in water will ever approach, except maybe in a downhill water park ride!

The resulting pressure profiles of the two swimmers showed what you might expect, and maybe felt at times; that is, the lead swimmer has to work harder to deal with pressure caused by water resistance while the drafting swimmer has lower pressure to deal with(1). However, the most interesting finding is that the drag increases on the trailing swimmer as they move from 50cm behind the lead swimmer to around 5 metres. Thereafter any further increases in distance between swimmers makes no difference as both now exhibit the same drag.

As slower speeds occur in competitive swimming where drafting is allowed (eg age group triathlon with swimming speeds generally less that 1.25m per second) it may be that the effective draft zone is somewhat smaller for mere mortals and thus swimmers must stay much closer than 3 metres to get a ‘pull’ from a leading swimmer. Anecdotal perceptions from swimmers used to group and open water drafting suggest that as you move to within 2 metres of the lead swimmer’s toes, you start to feel a significant drop in drag. Data suggest getting as close as 50cm is best but up to 1.5m still results in a significant drafting effect (ie reduction in drag)(2).

The downside of this particular research was that the model used could only look at totally submerged bodies, which obviously is not a real-world scenario. It gives us some good clues, but the authors acknowledge ‘In the future we aim to evaluate active drag while the swimmer is kicking’. Other research data from the pool confirm the drafting effect. Swimmers who train in a pace line often choose to be closer than the required 5m that ‘should’ really be maintained between swimmers because they know it saves them energy. All except the lead swimmer can be on a much easier ‘set’ by close drafting.

If you draft, you go faster for the same effort or find it easier to hold a pace as your lactate (a blood marker of fatigue) levels are lower(3). In some cases it has been shown that blood lactate levels can drop by 33% if the trailing swimmer drafts correctly(4). This could result in a useful easing of mental effort or alternatively it saves some energy resources for a change of pace or higher speed effort later in the race (see figure 1 on heart rates and drafting).

Some of the most recent data presented on the concept of drafting from the Netherlands reports significant reductions in drag (and thus oxygen consumption) when drafting directly behind a lead swimmer(5). Swim to the side of the lead swimmer and the benefits are smaller. Most interesting of these findings was that the front swimmer’s kick can affect the benefit that drafting swimmers gain. It’s likely that higher velocities in the turbulent ‘kicked’ water actually raise drag around the drafting athlete. Put another way, if you find yourself being drafted, upping your kicking effort can make it harder for those behind. Kicking can cause half of the drag reduction the drafter was getting to vanish!

And finally, for triathletes who swim then bike, some interesting data actually shows that by drafting in the swim, it’s possible to improve subsequent cycling efficiency. Almost 5% more efficient cycling resulted when athletes drafted a lead swimmer compared to swimming alone(6). Remember this well by reading it several times; water is very dense so let someone else push it aside for you! Of course in ‘pure’ swimming galas and meets with one swimmer per lane, deep pools and anti-wave ropes means physical drafting is not an option.

Thoughts of a swimming coach

In theory, the trunk acts as a stable base on which to pull the swimmer forward whilst also stabilising the leg kick occurring behind. However, actually knowing what goes on when the front crawl swimmer is immersed in water is far from clear. These are the thoughts of leading UK swim coach Dan Bullock:
“I have long felt that good rotation (but not excessive) and a mechanically sound leg kick will provide the stable base from which to make better use of your arm-pull. You may have read or been lectured on the importance of ‘driving from the hip’ while swimming front crawl, and how this generates more power through the stroke. I have always found this hard to implement.

After swimming recently while using a pull buoy, I could feel how my pull was weakened, which made it harder to set up my catch. In several sessions I oversee I have noticed that the stronger kickers are also the faster swimmers. Not conclusive by any means but something to think about for triathletes! If you are swimming around the 24min mark for 1500m and are looking for the breakthrough to 21mins then this is most likely where the breakthrough will come from since the arms are unlikely to get much stronger or longer!”

Should you rock and roll?

One particular technique touted by some coaches as the key to improved propulsion is that of conscious additional rolling of the hips. This rolling of the hip region occurs to varying degrees dependent on what footage you see of which swimmer in a particular event. However, it has been suggested that voluntary and intentionally exerted body roll – for the purpose of generating additional propulsive forces – seems to run the risk of reducing the ability of the trunk to provide a stable anchor for propulsive movements in the upper and lower extremities(7).

It seems then that the ‘lead with the hips’ approach is incorrect for the swimming chain of events to proceed efficiently. There are even those who suggest everyone should exaggerate the roll as their primary focus. The problem with excessive roll is its effect on the time each stroke takes to complete and the likely increase in drag. Neither is a good idea if you want to be efficient, faster, or both. Hip roll is a consequence of good propulsion and not something that needs to be excessively forced to happen in order to try aid propulsion.

Swimming involves propulsive forces generated by the hand, forearm and upper arm pulling against the water, while the legs provide additional lift and propulsion. You can get quite a lot of propulsion from the feet but using feet is energy intensive; pure swimmers can kick like a motorboat but the triathlon community must watch this lower body energy use as they still have a bike ride and run to complete!

Suitable suits

The new generation of super tight, high-tech fabric swimsuits has caused a stir, with some saying that they give an unfair advantage. These range from full-length neck to ankle suits down to legs-only versions that look like a track sprinters’ bare torso training kit, but what they have in common is that independent testing has shown they do improve performance by reducing drag on the swimmer.

In a recent study, researchers took 14 competitive swimmers and measured performance, stroke rate and distance per stroke in normal, first generation full-body and legs-only suits in a 25-metre pool(8). In addition, a flume was used to measure drag. This is a moving water version of a wind tunnel, giving pinpoint accurate water speeds. In this particular study the swimmers were dragged with a rope hooked up to a load-measuring device without any arm or leg movement. This allowed drag from the suit to be isolated.

The suits tested were ‘first generation’ suits including the Speedo Fastskin, Arena Powerskin, Tyr Aquashift, ASCI and Nike Lift. These designs focus on reducing drag losses, and thus the buoyancy of the swimmers was not affected. This is significant because the very latest generation of suits, such as the arena X-Glide, are designed not only to reduce drag around the swimmer, but also to aid buoyancy.

A quick glance at the tumbling swimming records over the past five years and the suits lining up on poolside suggests something is happening that is not just a coincidence. After all, world-class swimmers have always trained hard and peaked bang on time, to suggest otherwise is missing the point – these ‘super-suits’ are super fast!

In the study above, the six freestyle distances timed in the pool (25, 50, 100, 200, 400 and 800m) were 2 to 4% faster in a full-body suit, and around 2% faster in a legs-only suit(8). Specific flume measurements suggest a 4-6% drop in drag is the main effect of these first-generation suits. For example, in the 100m, Pieter van den Hoogenband beat the legendary Alexander Popov’s time of 48.21secs by three-quarters of a percent, in what we now call a first-generation fast suit. Moreover, in the last 18 months the 100m-world record has dropped more than it did in the 8 years from Matt Biondi’s in the 1980s to Popov’s in the 1990s.

The 100m world record time has dropped by 6.8% over the last 80 years whereas the time taken to swim 100m has dropped 19% in the same period, 2.6% of that in the past decade (see figure 2)! Over the last 40 years, 100m running times have improved by 3% but swimming times by a massive 11%!

However, the swimsuit options open to elite swimmers will soon be restricted. On 1 January 2010, FINA is bringing in stringent rules likely to kill off many super-suits. However, in the sphere of triathlon, where innovation is applauded, the improvement of swim technologies looks to herald faster one-piece suits for the elites swimming in non-wetsuit races and also to wetsuits themselves, which are often seen as a buoyancy aid.

Recent data using triathletes suggests that the wetsuits’ ability to improve swimming is down to propulsion efficiency through a gain in buoyancy and to drag reduction across the body(9). The use of a good fitting wetsuit, smart drafting and reasonable open water sighting skills helps to produce a fast and efficient swim time.

Summary

So there we have it. Drafting, a natural hip roll and a good swimsuit/wetsuit can all increase swim speed. More research is still needed into how to optimise all of these factors to aid swim speed and efficiency but whatever your aquatic goals, a little knowledge goes a long way to helping smooth your path through aqua communis!

Joe Beer is a multisport coach (JBST.com) author of ‘Need to Know Triathlon’ (Harper Collins) and a successful multisport athlete in triathlons, sportives and time trials

References

1. J Sport Sci Med (2008) 7:60-66
2. Med Sci Sports Exerc (2003) 35: 1176-1181
3. Eur J Appl Physiol (2000) 82: 413-417
4. Med Sci Sports Exerc (1991) 23:744-747
5. Med & Sci Sports Exerc (2008) 41:837-843
6. Med Sci Sports Exerc (2003) 35: 1612-1619
7. Swimming Research (2007) 17: 39-44.
8. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc, (2008) 40: 1149–1154
9. J Sci Med Sport (2009)12:317-22

Tags: half ironman, ironman training

Triathlon Swimming – Kicking issues

Admin — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 05:43:50 +0000

I really struggle with anything more than a two beat kick when swimming, as I have the classic “runners kick” with poor ankle flexibility. The result is that I virtually kick myself to exhaustion with next to no additional forward propulsion. This then of course adversely impacts on the rest of my freestyle stroke and only results in greatly reduced speed for all that wasted effort... Mike

The Flutter Kick – One of Swimming’s Mysteries

Legs are very powerful on land, able to move us around with quickness and grace. In the water, legs do not always work very well. This article explores how the flutter kick works, why some swimmers have very effective kicks and others do not, and how to make your kick better through specific stretching and strengthening exercises.

The amount of leg power swimmers can transfer to the water depends primarily on the forward range of motion of the foot. The farther your foot bends forward the more leg power you will be able to transfer to the water and the farther you will travel with each stroke. This is why learning how to develop a good kick is so important.

The flutter kicking movement involves alternately separating the legs and then drawing them back together. The moment the legs separate, the surface of the legs encounter drag from the water which slows the swimmer. When the legs are drawn back together, they produce a force which tends to push the swimmer forward. If the kick produces considerably more forward force than it causes drag, the kick will be propulsive.

Individual differences in foot range of motion determine how propulsive a kick is. A (poor) kick that produces little or no propulsion is of little use. A moderately propulsive (fair) kick will work well when sprinting but not as well on longer swims. A very propulsive (great) kick is worth using a lot. This swimmer will appear to flow almost effortlessly through the water when swimming.

Poor Kick: If your foot flexes to less than 90 degrees, it is necessary to bend at the knees to get the foot to an angle that will push you forward. Bending at the knees causes enough additional drag to cancel out the forward force produced by the kick. For the amount of effort kicking takes, this kick is not worth using.

Fair Kick: If your foot flexes to 90 degrees or slightly more, you will have a moderately propulsive kick. The knee must bend a little to make the kick work but it provides enough propulsion to be worthwhile using. For this swimmer, it is often necessary to keep the calf muscle contracted so the foot flexes forward far enough to produce maximum propulsion. This may result in cramping in the calf, but it lets you go faster. It works best for sprints and is less effective for longer swims.

Great Kick: If your foot flexes to significantly more than 90 degrees, very little knee bend is needed to kick. As the foot kicks against the water, the pressure from the water against the top of the foot keeps the foot flexed forward. The calf muscles need not be used. The blood flow which would have gone to the calf muscles is then free to be used in the upper body. This kick causes very little drag and generates excellent propulsion.

Foot range of motion can be increased through stretching. For each degree you gain past 90 degrees, the amount of forward force you produce with each kicking movement increases and the effort required to kick decreases. In essence, you get more propulsion for less work. The swimmer with great plantar flexion may not only go faster, he/she may not even be working quite as hard. Life is not always fair.

Ankle Stretching

Swimmers have been stretching ankles for a long time. I used to stretch mine by bending them under a couch. World record holder Jeff Rouse uses his body weight (photo #1), rolling back on his feet to stretch. Classical ballet dancers have been using simple boards with straps attached for decades to stretch feet.

There are two areas where stretching is possible: the ankle joint and the joints down farther in the foot, the tarsal-metatarsal joints. These joints are the most difficult to stretch, a limit being reached by many after a fairly small improvement. Stretching the tarsal-meta-tarsal joints allows the bottom portion of the foot to move to a better position, further improving the kick.

Stretching Exercises

Ankle joint: Soak ankles and feet in hot water (108 to 118 degrees Fahrenheit) for several minutes. Adjust the strap on a board so that it fits snugly over instep. Sit on foot and slowly slide the board away from you by straightening the leg. This will begin to stretch the joint. The more force you use to straighten the leg, the more stretching force you will put on the joint. Begin gradually, using low force. Stretch each foot for 45 seconds to one minute. Stretch every other day. Gradually, over a period of several weeks, increase the amount of time per foot, the force levels and the number of days per week.

For the first couple of weeks, you will have some tenderness on the underside of the ankle joint. After this passes, you can significantly increase stretching force and duration.

Tarsal-metatarsal stretch: Place foot in the strap attatched to a board so the strap runs over the lower portion of the foot, just above the toes. It is usually necessary to tighten the strap a little. Stretch this area the same way you stretched the ankle joint.

Once you increase ankle range of motion, your kick will change. You will kick with a straighter leg and your foot will move up and down a shorter distance but will move faster. This new kicking movement greatly increases the use of hip flexor muscles. Specific stretching and strengthening exercises are needed to help the hip flexor muscles stand up at this increased demand.

Hip flexor stretch: Place your left leg on a chair (photo #4) while supporting yourself with a hand on the chair back. To stretch, bend the right knee, allowing your body weight to press down on your right leg. As you press down, also lean your torso back. This places excellent stretching forces on the hip flexor muscles.

Move into this stretch gradually so you do not injure or pull any portions of the muscles being stretched. Hold this position 60 to 90 seconds per leg. Do both legs. Do three to four times per week.

Hip Flexor Strengthening

In the deep end of the pool, kick (with fins) in a vertical position. Warm up with a couple of minutes of easy kicking. Then, kick hard for 30 seconds followed by a 20 second rest. Keep you legs straight while kicking. This isolates the hip flexor muscles. You will feel the muscles working in the front of your pelvis. If you allow the knees to bend, the hip flexors work less and the quadriceps muscles work more. Try kicking both ways and you will notice the difference. Begin with 1 x 30- or 2 x 30-second kicking periods with rests in between. Over a period of several weeks, work up to eight to 10 periods of 30-second versicle kicking. Do this three times per week.

When will you improve? This often depends on the range of motion of your foot when you begin. Many swimmers notice some benefits within one to two weeks. If you stretch aggressively and regularly, you will improve for many weeks. The versicle kicking exercises will start to pay off in two to three weeks.

Marty Hull is a top Masters swimmer and a consultant to the Stanford University Swim Team.

Tags: triathlon gear, half ironman

Triathlon Training – Swimming and arrhythmia

Admin — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:34:23 +0000

This is so frustrating!

Been looking forward the whole week to doing the ORS 2km ocean race on Sunday, then woke in the morning with headache, tight chest, cough and marked arrhythmia, and so had to cancel the idea.

Having MVP and associated arrhythmia, my heart is very sensitive to my body being anything less than 100%. I had this thoroughly checked (again) before going to the Gold Coast WTC by a heart specialist, who considers my condition not life threatening, but rather what is known as a “normal abnormality” (about 8% of population have it, and most of those don’t even know).

This is good news if right, but very bad if something is being missed…

So I nevertheless remain concerned about doing open water swimming when it’s playing up, especially in the light of an article I read which states:

“Twenty of the total 25 deaths associated with triathlons as recorded by USA Triathlon occurred during the swim portion of the events. So, what’s the deal with swimming?…

…A lot of suspicion is placed on a peculiar heart rhythm disorder known as “Long Q-T syndrome.” This is a peculiar problem that occurs as heart pauses between beats, and the cells of the heart tissue are getting ready to squeeze again when signaled to do so by the heart’s own electrical circuit. In Long Q-T syndrome, something goes wrong, and during that pause the heart cannot continue beating. For unknown reasons, this phenomenon seems to occur more often during swimming.”

Read full article here: Swimming Deaths and the Triathlon

Mike

Start Of Ocean Racing Series Season 5

Admin — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 12:14:53 +0000

We had a superb start to the Ocean Racing Series at Hobie this Sunday 4th October.

I had an easy 2km swim in perfect conditions, and managed 5th amongst the “laaities” in the 50+ age group with a time of 44min – a personal best.

I’m so used to being amongst the stragglers at the back, it was quite novel to have some boys to play with! Never thought I’d actually enjoy swimming, but hey this is really fun.

Can’t wait for the next one in two weeks!

Now to break 40 min…..