Triathlon swimming made easy

by Terry Laughlin

  2. Make a "hull shape" with your back. Round your shoulders slightly, keep your ribs "closed" so your back is shaped something like the hull of a boat. Keep your shoulders neutral.

  3. Lay back. Lean on your upper back until your hips feel light. Feel a "dry patch of thigh" on each kick. Keep your kick quiet and gentle; your knees and toes should just ruffle the surface.

  4. Arms to your sides. The true test of balance is being able to do nothing with your arms. If you need to brace yourself or scull with them, you aren't balanced. When you are really supported by the water, you can use your arms just to help shape yourself into a torpedo.

  5. Don't overdo it. Once you've mastered the head position and general sense of balance here, this isn't a drill you need to keep practicing long-term. It's only intended to set you up with the right head position for Drills 2 and 3 - which do have long-term practice value.

  Drill #2: Sweet Spot

  Why we do it: You'll start and finish every drill cycle in this position. When you master Sweet Spot, you'll drill with ease and fluency; if you don't take time to master it, you'll struggle instead.

  Follow this sequence:

  1. Start as in Drill #1, then roll just enough for the knuckles of one hand to barely clear the water. (If you're lean or densely muscled, your Sweet Spot may be almost on your back.) Your goal is to find a position where one arm is dry from shoulder to knuckles and you're just as comfortable as you were on your back. If you feel any discomfort, return to your back and try again with less rotation.

  2. Check that your head is still as above, with the water at the corners of your goggles.

  3. If you feel any tension, return to your back and start over with less rotation.

  4. Once you feel at home in Sweet Spot, focus on feeling as if you're being towed by a line at your bead and slipping through a small hole in the water, then on making stillness, quiet, and effortlessness feel natural. 5. Repeat on your other side. You may feel more comfortable on one side than the other. I call this having a "chocolate" (better balance) and "vanilla" side. Improving your vanilla side will usually bring greater dividends. Alternate one length or minute on one side with a similar distance or time on the other side.

  Drill #3: Hand-Lead Sweet Spot - Lengthen Your "Vessel"

  Why we do it: To experience how balance feels with an arm extended and to imprint your most slippery body position. Hand-Lead Sweet Spot is also the position in which you'll start and finish every drill. Finally, it's one of the best positions for practicing flutter kick. (Skating - Drill #5 - is the other.)

  Follow this sequence:

  1. Start as in Drill #2, then "sneak" your lower arm to full extension. Your band should be an inch or two below the surface. Your arm should feel as if it's just floating forward.

  2. As you extend your arm, focus on lengthening from the back of your body, not the front.

  3. Practice until you could glide blissfully in this position on either side indefinitely. Take the time to make your "vanilla" side feel as good as your "chocolate" side; patience here will pay big dividends later. Choose one of these focal points for each length:

  • Create a long clean line from extended fingertips to toes.

  • Slip through the smallest possible hole in the water. Make sure your head slips through the same "hole" that your body is traveling through.

  • Glide silently and effortlessly. Kick gently, keeping your legs long, supple, and within the "shadow" of your body. (Use fins if this is impossible.)

  • If you lose balance or comfort, put your arm back to your side and start over.

  Drill #4: Fish

  Why we do it: Fish will help you learn to balance directly on your side in the nose-down position (the only time you'll be balanced on your side is when you are nose down). It's also the easiest way to learn to the proper head position - directly in line with your spine - for Skating, all Switch drills and - most important - for swimming.

  Follow this sequence:

  1. Start in Sweet Spot. Swivel to nose down position, rolling to your side as you do, as shown below.

  2. Check that your nose is directly down and shoulders are stacked, as in photo below.

  3. Lean on your lower shoulder to keep your hips and legs feeling light. 4. Try to follow a "laser line" as you rotate back and forth between noseup and nose-down (to breathe) with your head remaining right on the spine-line as it rotates.

  5. Slip through the smallest possible "hole" in the water, with the least water disturbance.

  Drill #5: Skating

  Why we do it: This teaches you how balance should feel when you begin swimming. Skating also helps you learn to breathe by rolling your body to where the air is - rather than lifting or turning your head. The act of rolling your body to air imprints the critical habit (when drilling) of finishing every drill cycle in Sweet Spot.

  Follow this sequence:

  1. Start in Fish, then extend your lower arm forward, as shown below, so your hand is below your head with fingertips angling downward.

  2. Continue to angle your hand deeper until your hips and legs feel light. Lock in the hand position that gives you the best sense of balance.

  3. Stay for a comfortable interval, then roll all the way back to Sweet Spot... leaving your arm extended as you do, but allow it to float up. Pause in Sweet Spot for at least three yoga breaths before rolling nosedown again; avoid feeling breathless or rushed.

  4. Try to follow a laser-like line as you rotate from nose up to nose down and back again.

  Common Questions about Kicking

  Why do I go backward when kicking and drilling?

  Inflexible ankles are the most common cause and triathloning "adultonset" swimmers are the classic case. We all lose flexibility as we age (unless you follow a dedicated stretching or yoga program) and if you didn't start swimming young you may spend 20 to 40 years gradually losing ankle flexibility. Years of running usually accelerate the stiffening. If you started swimming young, and continued, that's usually sufficient to maintain ankle flexibility.

  The second cause is simple lack of coordination. The correct flutter-kicking action is counter-intuitive. Your other kicking experiences (soccer balls, tires, your kid brother) teach you to kick with about 90 degrees of knee flexion. But an efficient flutter kick uses only about 30 degrees; the kick happens mostly from the hip flexor and quadriceps. Kids learn it fairly spontaneously; the adult-onset swimmer often has to consciously unlearn incorrect habits in order to learn the right way.

  How do I fix it?

  Three ways have proven to work best:

  Vertical kicking. This won't do much for flexibility but it is effective for learning coordination. Float vertically with arms folded across your chest, mouth just above the water. If you feel yourself sinking, tuck a pull buoy under each armpit, or hug a kickboard to your chest. Focus on keeping a long line from hip to toes as you kick. Your leg should be long and supple, never rigid. Use the muscles at the top of your thigh, moving your whole leg like a pendulum. (A good exercise for beginners: Sit on the edge of the pool and try to move the water solidly back and forth with an almost-straight leg, mainly using ankle flexion and extension to move the water forward and back. Try "stirring" the water with one foot to develop a bit more awareness of how to feel the water with your feet.) Practice vertical kicking for several periods of 15 or more seconds, resting for a similar amount of time. Then kick with the same feeling in the side position below.

  Side kicking (and towing) Any time you're kicking in Sweet Spot, you're a lot less likely to use a "bicycle kick," because your knees don't flex in the direction gravity is working. The TI "buddy system" of tow-and-release can also be helpful in correcting inefficient kicking habits. The least-effective (but most instinctive) response to a nonpropulsive kick is to kick harder. While being towed by a partner, it's much easier to focus on kicking gently; maintaining a long, supple line from hip to toes; and on keeping your feet inside your torso's "shadow." After release, keep
your kick as it was while being towed. Towing and Vertical Kicking are illustrated in the Freestyle Made Easy DVD.

  Stretching This won't do anything for coordination, but can moderately improve the range of motion in your ankles. It won't suddenly turn you into a fast, easy kicker.

  Will fins help?

  The primary benefit of fins is that the blade will flex easily, compensating for the ankle that won't. In order for the kick to be propulsive, something has to flex, in order to move the water, similar to the pitched blades of a propeller. When your ankle refuses, it's only natural for your knee to substitute. That only makes the problem worse. First because a right-angle knee causes your lower leg to protrude from your slipstream - turning the leg into another source of drag. Second it triggers the pawing action of a runner's kick - which causes you to go backward. With fins on your feet - and your body on its side - pretty soon you're helping both flexibility and coordination.

  Should I use fins in drills?

  The Sweet Spot pause in every TI drill helps your ease and coordination. Good. But if you have a poor kick, each time you return to Sweet Spot, your body may stop moving. If your body comes to halt after each cycle, you end up lurching down the pool, spending energy trying to overcome inertia, rather than efficiently conserving momentum. So a reasonable kick is essential to efficient drill practice. And because the main point of drills are to teach you ease and economy, it really is an enormous benefit if using fins allows you to practice ease as you drill.

  But I recommend that you try to complete Lesson One without fins - and with a TI Buddy helping if needed. That helps to ensure that if you later use fins, they'll mainly help conserve momentum, not mask your balance problem. And if you do use fins while doing drills, kick as gently as possible, so the fins don't overwhelm the subtle movements you're trying to learn.

  Should I use fins while swimming?

  The best kick for 99 percent of triathletes is a non-overt kick - i.e. one you're hardly aware of. If your drills teach you balance, it should be much easier to just let your legs follow your core-body. Wearing fins while swimming tends to encourage you to overkick and you can easily lose your feel for balance, fluency, and for swimming with seamless whole-body harmony. So: Do use fins if they contribute dramatically to your ease while drilling. Don't be too reluctant to try some drilling without them. And take the fins off when you start swimming.

  Lesson Two: UnderSwitch Drills - Tapping Effortless Power from Your Kinetic Chain

  Lesson One taught you balance and slippery body positions. In Lesson Two, you'll learn to use rotation of your balanced and slippery core body to generate effortless power for propulsion, via the first of our three Switch drill sequences. These will be the most dynamic and powerful movements you have yet practiced.

  Drill #6: UnderSkate

  Why we do it: You learned the most valuable form of balance in the Skating position. That position becomes the basis for other ways of practicing balance that bring a different dynamic to your balance practice. This drill is also a rehearsal for Drill #7: UnderSwitch. Finally, it reinforces the key skills of staying on your side as you swim, and of breathing by rolling a balanced, slippery body to the air.

  Follow this sequence:

  1. Begin as in Drill #5. After you look down, pause and check: Is your head hidden and aligned; is your extended hand below your head; do you feel great balance - even a downhill gliding sensation?

  2. If so, then sneak the trailing hand forward under water (wipe it across your belly and past your jaw) until you see the hand right under your nose. Check that you're still on your side with your shoulders stacked - as shown in the underwater photo - then slide the hand back to your side. Finish by rolling back to Sweet Spot. Keep following that laser line, as you rotate nose-down, nose-up, nose-down.

  3. Take at least three yoga breaths, then repeat the sequence. You'll probably fit in three cycles in each 25 yards. Switch sides on the next length.

  How to practice: Your key focal points are the same as for Drill #5, but with added emphasis on remaining on your side as you bring your hand to your face, and on slipping through the smallest hole in the water as you do it. Practice UnderSkate by itself, alternating sides. Or practice it in a series with Lesson One drills: 50 yards each (25 right, 25 left) of Drills 3, 4, 5 and 6. Some athletes can master this drill after no more than 10 minutes of practice. If you feel you've got it, move on. If not, spend as much time as you need because the skills learned in UnderSkate are key to every drill that follows.

  Drill #7: UnderSwitch

  Why we do it: This is the first drill to tap the power of the kinetic chain by teaching you how to link an armstroke to core-body rotation for effortless propulsion. It also simplifies the process for learning the "front-quadrant" timing that keeps your bodyline long, by giving you a visual cue for when to make the switch.

  Follow this sequence:

  1. After the movements of UnderSkate feel like a "no-brainer," move to the full drill. Start as in Drill #6, but when you see your hand under your nose, keep moving it forward to full extension as you roll (switch) past Sweet Spot on the other side.

  2. Take at least three yoga breaths (relax, normalize your breathing, and get your bearings) as you check your balance and make sure that you are in Sweet Spot again. Then, swivel to Nose Down/90.. .pause.. .and repeat in the other direction.

  3. The basic movements are simple, but the opportunities for refinement are many. Practice these focal points, one at a time:

  • Be patient. Don't switch until you see your hand under your nose.

  • Finish the switch by rolling past your Sweet Spot. Reinforce this by switching as if you were planning to breathe with your belly button; your head just goes along for the ride.

  • Stay connected as you switch: When you see your hand, move arm, head, and torso as a unit.

  • Stay slippery: Switch through the smallest possible hole in the water.

  • Focus on doing the drill as quietly as possible. This will help you do any drill more fluently and economically.

  • Final step: Pause your kick at the moment you see your hand and switch. Resume gentle kicking once you're back in Sweet Spot.

  Drill #8: Double UnderSwitch

  Why we do it: Switch drills teach powerful, coordinated, effortless movement of the core body. Multi-Switch (2 or more switches) drills introduce swimming rhythms (steady, rhythmic core-body rotation) to these movements, but retain pauses in the Sweet Spot, to allow time to regroup, evaluate your practice, and make fine adjustments.

  Follow this sequence:

  1. Start as in Drill #7 but do two Switches before pausing in Sweet Spot again.

  2. After you roll to the Skating position, pause to check your head and extended-hand position, then sneak your hand forward.

  3. Wait to see your hand before both switches. Keep your head "hidden" and look directly at the bottom through both switches.

  4. Finish in Sweet Spot and breathe three times before rolling to nose-down again.

  5. Start the next length on your other side: Look down...see your hand... Switch... glide a moment... see your hand... Switch... Breathe in your Sweet Spot.

  6. Practice on both sides until you feel yourself gliding effortlessly in balance.. .and until your Switch timing is consistent.

  Drill #9: Triple UnderSwitch

  Why we do it: This drill will give you even more space to make yourself more Fishlike and learn the feel of a swimming rhythm.

  Follow this sequence:

  Add one switch to the previous drill. Use the extra rhythm time to feel all of the following:

  • Keep your head hidden. Water should flow over the back of your head during all three switches.

  • Keep your timing consistent. Switch at the exact moment you see your hand under your nose.

  • Extend both hands fully, front and back, then glide just a moment before recovering for the next switch.

  • During your glide, feel yourself fully su
pported by the water. That's the feeling of great balance.

  • Maintain a focus on piercing the water, particularly while sneaking your arm and switching.

  • When all of that begins to feel somewhat natural, see if you can pause your kick during the three switches...Pick it up again in Sweet Spot.

  • Finally reduce the glide between switches. Roll your body a bit less and keep the rear hand moving (no pause at your hip), to increase rhythm.

  Lesson Two Practice Plan

  The movements and coordination were relatively simple in the first two lessons. Lesson Two involves more complex movements, though we've presented them in a way designed to ease your learning curve. More complexity brings more opportunity for confusion. Simplify by doing two things: 1) Allow more practice time for Lesson Two before advancing to Lesson Three and 2) spend a bit more time on focused practice of each of the Lesson Two drills by themselves before combining them in the sequences suggested below.

  Here are some suggested sequences (warm up with at least 10 minutes refresher practice of Drills 3, 4 and 5).

  • 200-yard repeats: 50 yards each (25 right, 25 left) of Drills 3, 4,5, and 6.