Water noodles are a handy tool for swimmers. The inexpensive pieces of lightweight polyethylene foam can be used in a variety of ways. Sold in different colors, they provide buoyancy in the water, can be bent in every direction and enable you to perform everything from balancing to resistance exercises for the upper and lower body. The also are used by swimmers and swim coaches as a device for drills to help you learn different strokes as well as how to perfect your starts at the beginning of a race.
Frog Kick Drill
When you are learning the frog kick for the breaststroke, use a noodle to support your upper body, explains the Enjoy Swimming website. This allows you to focus all of your attention on the kick. In the shallow end of the pool, place a noodle under your armpits and across your chest. If one water noodle is insufficient to keep your upper body out of the water, try using two. Keeping your head out of the water, stretch out with your arms extended and practice the frog kick, focusing on the fundamentals. Stay in the shallow end of the pool until you are confident swimming the breaststroke.
Breaststroke Drills
Other noodle drills for the breaststroke enable you to support your body with the noodle in the same fashion as the kick drill while you coordinate the arm and leg action. At the end of the arm in-sweep motion, quickly execute the frog kick motion with your feet. Draw your feet toward your buttocks while keeping your knees bent and legs extended back and out before they are brought together. At the end of the kick, there is a brief glide before the outsweep of the arms begins a new stroke cycle. Incorporate breathing into the noodle drill, letting your hips drop and head rise out of the water as you begin the arms' in-sweep.
Sidestroke Drills
In a manner that is similar to breaststroke drills, place a noodle under the armpit on the side on which you intend to swim. Assume the proper sidestroke position, lying on your side with your head aligned with your spine and rotated slightly upward so you can breathe. With legs extended, lower arm extended and upper arm lying on the side of your body, practice the scissor kick. When you have mastered it, use the noodle in the same way under the other armpit and swim on that side. Coordinate the arm and leg motion of the sidestroke while relying on the noodle for buoyancy.
Starting Block Drill
If you are a competitive swimmer, explosive starts from the blocks can give you an edge. A noodle drill can help you attain such starts. Assume your starting position on the block, bent at the knees and with your arms down. A coach holds a noodle waist high and 2 feet in front of you. Begin your start by bringing your arms together and swinging them upward and knocking the noodle away as you rise up into your jump, leaping as high as you can. The bigger and faster the arm swing, the more momentum you build, so knock the noodle away with a forceful arm swing.
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