Competitive swimming, whether in the pool or in the open water, demands considerable strength, endurance and technique. It can be argued that efficient technique and stroke mechanics allow a swimmer to expend less energy and last longer than competitors who rely solely on power. The key to success, therefore, is perfecting your stroke while exercising muscles for strength and durability. Drills that accomplish this will increase a swimmer’s overall speed.
Sprints
Coaches will often alternate relaxed swims with short sprints of high intensity. Distances can vary from 25 to 50 meters or more. Yet the purpose of the drill is to get a feel for the cadence needed to achieve competitive velocity, cadence referring to the number of strokes per minute. Mixing the proportion of sprint against relaxed swimming is a method of training the muscles to engage in high speed at different stages of a race. For example, a coach might have swimmers move at a relaxed pace for 25 meters and sprint for 35, then the athletes will swim more leisurely for 40 meters and sprint for 20.
Fist Swimming
Swimmers propel themselves against the water’s resistance with their arms and legs. Keeping the arms in optimal position on the front end reduces drag, thereby increasing speed. Because arms are used to “catch” the water and move it behind the swimmer, angling your elbows correctly keep the forearms well-positioned for this task. However, swimmers can unconsciously shift focus to the open hand, relying on its strength for the catch. Fist swimming -- freestyle stroke with thumb inside the closed fist -- re-orients a swimmer's concentration back to the forearms and elbows.
Single Arm Swimming
Body position is essential to completing strokes efficiently and quickly. Each stroke requires a different orientation of the hips and the shoulders. The freestyle, for one, calls for a “body roll,” in which the shoulders, torso and hips rock in tandem from side to side. On the other hand, the breaststroke and butterfly require the hips to sink as the shoulders rise. Swimmers who have difficulty with these movements must re-establish a conscious connection among these muscle groups, often with single-arm swimming. Keeping one arm out in front or to the side, the swimmer will use the other exclusively to catch the water, breathing on the side of the passive arm. Awareness of body position is enhanced in this manner.
Corpse Drill
The swimmer propels her body through the water with both arms at her sides. With her head in the water, eyes pointed to the bottom of the pool, the swimmer executes six to eight kicks and then rolls to one side. After six to eight more kicks, you resume the face-down position, rolling to the opposite side after another series of kicks. This drill gives the swimmer a feel for the necessary kicking cadence to achieve high velocity, as well as a sense of proper upper-body rotation.
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