Swimming is a technique-driven sport. Competitive athletes and weekend lap swimmers alike work on improving their stroke throughout their life. Drills are swimming-based exercises that focus on specific areas of freestyle, breaststroke, backstroke and butterfly. You mix in drills with distance and sprint training to keep your body and mind focused on quality swimming.
Freestyle Drills
Swimming on your side during freestyle, instead of "flat" in the water, minimizes your body's resistance against water. Practice the edge drill to perfect the technique. Use a snorkel so you concentrate on your stroke. Swim freestyle, focusing on rotating your body so that you are on your side as you bring your recovery arm straight above you, and align your arm so that your pinkie enters the water first. Keep an open body position and early high forearm on the recovery arm during this drill. The "catch-up" drill increases your glide in the water. You stroke and hold the streamline position until your recovery arm "catches up" with your stroke arm, touching fingers, before you take the next underwater pull.
Breaststroke Drills
Breaststroke swimmers face the water broadside, so timing and leg strength are particularly important. "Sculling" develops your catch and pull in the water. Use a pull-buoy, which is a small float you place between your thighs to keep your legs high in the water. Pushing off from the pool wall, face down, you advance making small circling motions with your hands and forearms. You develop a better body streamline and glide practicing the "three kicks-per-stroke drill." Take a normal breaststroke kick and pull sequence, then tighten your arms against your head straight out in front of your body. Keep a streamlined and still upper body position while you take two additional kicks. Repeat four times and then continue with normal breaststroke.
Backstroke Drills
In backstroke, you should keep your head still, in alignment with your body. The "L" shape drill requires you to take two full strokes and then freeze your recovery arm, perpendicular to your body. Hold the arm while you continue flutter kicking on your back, keeping your head steady and your hips rotated. The "No Knees" kick drill is a useful basic drill to improve your leg position. Hold a kickboard over your knees to assure that you do not break the surface of the water with your knees while you flutter kick on your back.
Butterfly Drills
Butterfly is a fluid stroke when you get the rhythm right. A progressive sequence of "no pull," "underwater pull" and "flutter kick with fly pull," prepares you for the full stroke. First, you do a butterfly motion with your body, keeping your arms at your side. A strong second kick propels your head above the water. Add in an underwater pull to "snap" forward. Finally, do a strong flutter kick with a butterfly pull, keeping your head above the water. The drills help you to swim the full stroke with good timing and power.
References
- USA Swimming: In-Water Training Videos: Club Wolverine Training Camp: Body Roll Drill
- USA Swimming: In-Water Training Videos: Allegheny Mountain: Breaststroke Drills Part Two
- USA Swimming: In-Water Training Videos: Blue Tide Aquatics: Backstroke Drills
- USA Swimming: In-Water Training Videos: Premier Aquatics: Butterfly Drill
- "The Best 100 Swimming Drills"; Blythe Lucerno; 2007
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