Swimming made easy

by Terry Laughlin

  Drill #6.1: Sweet-Spot LA Combo

  Why do this drill: This combines a freestyle foundation drill with a backstroke drill to heighten the fundamentals of balance, alignment, and rotation that make both strokes far more efficient. This drill provides an excellent way to practice and experience a heightened sense of sliding your body through a small hole in the water.

  Follow this sequence:

  1. Balance in Hand-Lead Sweet Spot.

  2. Do one full cycle of Slide-and-Glide Backstroke, then look down...pause...and do one full cycle of Over Switch.

  3. Take 3 deep, slow breaths and rebalance in your Sweet Spot before repeating the sequence.

  4. Stay tall, as you switch from backstroke to freestyle and from free to back.

  5. Slip your body through the smallest possible hole in the water at all times.

  Drill #6.2: LA-Combo Swimming

  Why do this drill: This is technically not a drill. It's really whole-stroke swimming done in a way that imprints effortless body rotation and intensifies your sense of being a long, slippery vessel on both strokes. Alternating cycles of freestyle with cycles of backstroke - which includes a full 360-degrees of rotation in each combo cycle - will heighten your sense of balance, alignment, and timing to a greater degree than when you swim freestyle or backstroke alone.

  Follow this sequence:

  1. You may find it helpful to practice a bit of Triple Switch (Drill #4.4) to groove your freestyle timing before doing this drill.

  2. Stan with 4 strokes of backstroke, then roll to 3 "switches" of freestyle, then roll again and take 4 more strokes of backstroke. (Feel free to modify the number of strokes in either style up or down to create different effects.)

  3. Stay tall and aligned as you switch from backstroke to freestyle and free to back.

  4. Maintain a strong sense of slipping your body through a small hole in the water, particularly as you switch from one stroke to the other.

  5. Focus on making your sense of balance and long-axis rotation feel the same in both strokes.

  Drill #6.3: LA-Combo Single Arm

  Why do this drill: Combining several cycles of our special form of freestyle single-arm drill with several cycles of our backstroke single-arm drill can further imprint effortless rotation and stroke length in both strokes. This drill can also develop your sense of using your hand to hold on to your place in the water, and to link each armstroke to core-body rotation.

  Follow this sequence:

  1. While you are learning this drill, review Single-Arm Freestyle (Drill #4.5) and Single-Arm Backstroke (Drill #5.5) before practicing this one.

  2. Balance in Hand-Lead Sweet Spot, then start with 2 cycles of Single-Arm Freestyle.

  3. Pause for 3 breaths in your Sweet Spot, then take two cycles of SingleArm Backstroke. After the 2nd cycle...pause...look down again, and resume Single-Arm Freestyle.

  4. Continue alternating cycles of free and back, returning each time to your Sweet Spot.

  5. Use your extended hand to stay tall as you transition from one stroke to the other.

  6. As in all drills, try to maintain a long, sleek, slippery, balanced bodyline, and rotate that line cleanly down the pool.

  Practice Tips for Lesson Six:

  • As with other drills, take time to familiarize yourself with the basics. LA Combo drills require more coordination, so give yourself time to master the basics. Remember, as with all drills, LA Combo drills provide a much more beneficial learning experience when done 100% right, than when done 99% right.

  Use our Four Strokes Made Easy DVD to get the most graphic sense of how these drills should be done; particularly with LA Combo drills, words on paper cannot convey their unusual beauty and grace.

  Especially in your first experiments with these drills, you'll be much more successful in achieving the right "feel" (kinesthetic awareness) if you practice the individual freestyle and backstroke elements first.

  Once they become no-brainers, try using these drills in the way I enjoy them most: longish (200 to 400 yards), relaxed (almost meditative) continuous swims in which I alternate 25 yards of an LA Combo drill, 25 yards of backstroke, 25 drill again, and 25 freestyle. It makes both strokes feel increasingly relaxed, smooth, and fluent.

  Chapter 13

  Short-Axis Drill Progressions

  Lesson Seven: Short-Axis Balance and Rotation Drills

  As I wrote earlier, balance in the long-axis strokes is constant, but dynamic. It's critically important to remain almost perfectly horizontal at all times, even as you roll rhythmically from side to side — almost a high-wire balance act for many novices. Balance in the short-axis strokes of butterfly and breaststroke is different. In fly and breast, you're supposed to give up your balance in every stroke cycle as you stroke, breathe, and recover. But you also need to rhythmically rebalance almost immediately to return your body to a slippery, horizontal — indeed a bit downhill — position as it is driven forward by the power and propulsion produced by the core-body rocking action. Rock upward to harness power and generate propulsion. Rock immediately back downward to maximize the distance you travel on that stroke. And, finally, you must do it all with minimum effort and maximum efficiency.

  The secret is to use your torso muscles to do as much of the work as possible. Most swimmers rely too much on the arms and legs for power and propulsion. Those muscles get tired much more quickly, wasting the fitness developed through training. Core muscle is more resistant to fatigue, and can do most of the work far more efficiently. So we start the short-axis skill-building sequence with drills that teach you to move the body down the pool, using core-body rotation almost exclusively. The patterns and rhythms of these drills will later give your arms and legs their "marching orders."

  The second key skill taught in this lesson is how to use your head to channel energy. In breast and fly, the body's fundamental movement is up and down. But the resulting travel must be forward The head is the primary mechanism that determines how effectively you translate vertical energy into horizontal travel. In all three drills in this lesson you'll probably find it easier to keep the head close to a neutral position if you master the body movements described without breathing. Integrate the breathing only after you have mastered the body movements. Minimize the distraction of fitting in breathing by a) practicing initially for short distances and b) breathing only when necessary. Later you can include a regular breathing pattern.

  Finally, I urge you, to make our Four Strokes Made Easy DVD part of your swimmer's tool bag. The movements described in this section are far too subtle to be described adequately by text or even illustrations. You will learn far more, far faster, by seeing them done on the DVD. The DVD also employs underwater, slow-motion, and freeze-frame to further enhance your learning.

  Drill # 7.1 Head-Lead Body Dolphin

  Why do this drill: Just as in freestyle and backstroke, we start our shortaxis learning sequence with a head-lead drill, arms at your sides. Because you won't be able to use your arms for help of any sort, this drill will teach you to initiate the essential common movement of fly and breast in your core, rather than with your arms and legs. You'll also learn to use your head to lead your body through an undulating wave pattern. The point of undulating is to move forward - not to move up and down. Your head movements will channel the energy of undulation. Use your head to lead your body forward, while using your torso to provide the energy and power.

  How to master short-axis skills faster: Fins can be a huge learning aid for those inexperienced in body dolphins. They amplify movement signals traveling from the core body to the toes. They put a "fish tail" on your human body, and this can be a great help in imitating a fishlike motion. Because fins help produce more forward flow, they give you clearer signals when you are doing things right. Finally, because they so greatly reduce the effort required, fins can help you stay relaxed and supple as you practice.

  Follow this sequence:

  1. Float in balance, face down, with
arms at your sides, and start a relaxed rocking motion by rhythmically pressing your sternum and chest into the water... then...

  2. Each chest-press should barely submerge your head. Keep a "lazy chin," letting your nose pulse forward with each pulse.

  3. Emphasize wavelength. With your head slipping just an inch or so below the surface, feel your forehead move toward the far end of the pool — rather than toward the bottom — with each pulse.

  4. At first, focus only on making this movement supple, relaxed, and rhythmic, as shown on the video. Initially, practice for short distances, perhaps 6 or 8 pulses, until you feel your legs responding to your chest pulsing. Your body should begin to react to the pulsing the way a garden hose ripples when you shake it.

  5. There is no overt kicking in the body dolphin; keep your thigh muscles relaxed. Keep your legs long and supple. Feel your bodyline — nose to toes—lengthen with each pulse. If you don't feel your body lengthen, try doing the drill with fins.

  6. Breathe every 6 to 8 pulses at first. This will give you enough pulses to establish the body motion and rhythm. Breathing more often may interrupt your rhythm and flow.

  7. When you breathe, do so without jutting your chin (feel almost as if you're wearing a neck brace).

  8. Keep looking down and maintain your core-body pulsing rhythm through each breath. As you feel able to do this more seamlessly, you can gradually increase the frequency of your breathing. Eventually you can breathe every second or third pulse.

  9. When you are practicing for full pool lengths, you can measure your wavelength by counting how many pulses it takes to go 25 yards. With fins on, aim to finish a length in 20 or fewer pulses, with a relaxed flowing rhythm.

  Advance to the next drill when: You can finish 25-yard lengths with little effort, no sense of breathlessness, with your legs remaining quite relaxed, and in a fairly consistent number of pulses (in the teens if wearing fins.) You should also be able to do all this while breathing every 2nd or 3rd pulse. Take all the time necessary to reach this level of mastery; don't be in a hurry to push through the rest of the drills.

  Drill # 7.2: Hand-Lead Body Dolphin

  Why do this drill: It teaches you to use your hands to lengthen your bodyline and links the effortless and rhythmic body dolphin to a longer vessel.

  Follow this sequence:

  1. Follow the same steps as in Drill #7.1 above with your arms extended forward, and with your hands shoulder width apart in order to relax your shoulders and to allow your torso to undulate freely. Keep your hands and wrists soft, so that they can gently undulate with your entire body.

  2. Again emphasize wave-fengrf». Each pulse should drive your fingertips toward the far end of the pool (not toward the bottom). Feel a slight stretch from fingers to toes each time you press in with your chest.

  3. Release the pressure on your chest so that your body naturally rebounds back to the surface. Do not use your hands to push yourself back up, trusting the bouyancy of your lungs to bring your torso back to the surface. At this stage in the learning process, do this without taking a breath.

  4. Though your hands are leading, continue to feel as if you're creating the wave with chest pulses. Your thigh muscles will be more involved, but avoid turning this into a kicking drill. Your feet should make no splash and should never leave the water. Fins can be very helpful in keeping your legs relaxed.

  5. After you develop a natural rhythm, add a brief stretch-and-hold after every second or third pulse. Count the number of pulses you take per length and reduce the number it takes you to go 25 yards. With arms extended, your pulse-per-length count should improve by one or two over what it was in Head-Lead Body Dolphin.

  6. Breathe every 6 to 8 pulses at first. Gradually increase frequency until you are breathing every 2 to 3 pulses. Keep looking down and maintain your core-body pulsing rhythm through each breath.

  Advance to the next drill when: You can finish 25-yard lengths with little effort, no sense of breathlessness, with your legs remaining quite relaxed, and in a fairly consistent number of pulses (in the teens if wearing fins.) You should also be able to do all this while breathing every 2nd or 3rd pulse.

  Drill #7. 3: Find Your Comers

  Why do this drill: This drill provides the most powerful link between essential core-body rotation and the breathing, rhythm, and power source of both short-axis strokes. It teaches you to use your hands to anchor (or hold on to your place in the water) far in front, then link your arms to the propulsive power available in your torso muscles.

  Follow this sequence:

  1. Start as in Drill #7.2 above. Every 2 to 4 pulses, slide your hands forward and apart to the "corners" (slightly wider than your shoulders).

  2. Then slide the hands back together again. Don't allow the movement of your arms to interrupt the pulsing rhythm you've set up in your core body.

  3. When the movement and timing feel natural, add a pause at the corners. Hold that pause until you feel your hips and legs skim the surface, then release the pressure on your chest and bring your hands together again. Take a breath as you bring the hands back together.

  Experiment by changing the number of hand-lead pulses you take before sliding to the corners. Some swimmers feel more comfortable taking 2 or 3 pulses; others feel best when they slide to the corners on every other pulse. Some like to slide to the corners on every pulse. You can also vary the drill by taking a mini pull (quick scull) to bring your hands back together as you come up to breath.

  Advance to the next drill when: You can easily anchor your hands at the corners every 2nd or 3rd pulse and feel a band of linked power from your fingers to your toes at the moment of greatest stretch. You can seamlessly fit this action into a full length of rhythmic body dolphins.

  Lesson Eight: Butterfly Drills

  Butterfly is the stroke most rarely swum well, yet when swum correctly it is the most beautiful of all strokes.

  Butterfly can be so tiring that most anyone's stroke (except for elite swimmers) quickly degenerates into some form of "butterstruggle." But this lesson, modeled on what the best "flyers" do, can help anyone learn to swim at least a little bit—several strokes to a length or two—offluent, relaxed butterfly through a series of drills that allow you to practice fluent movement with simple steps progressing gradually to whole-stroke butterfly. By following this progression, you can avoid swimming a single stroke of butterstruggle. Always begin with review of Lesson Seven.

  Drill #8.1: Stoneskipper

  Why do this drill: It teaches you to seamlessly add the butterfly armstroke and breathing to the core-body "wave" rhythm developed in Lesson Seven. Think of this drill as two Hand-Lead Body Dolphins followed by two Head-Lead Body Dolphins, with the "skip" as the link between the two. The "skip" acts in the same way as the "switch" in freestyle drills.

  Follow this sequence shown on the next four pages.

  1. First do at least one length of Hand-Lead Body Dolphin as in Drill #7.1 above. To turn it into Stoneskipper, pulse once with arms extended.

  2. Then pulse once to the corners.

  3. Anchor the hands, then take an underwater-only butterfly stroke, finishing the stroke at your hips (no recovery).

  4. As you take the underwater butterfly stroke, keep pulsing and "skip" your chest over the water like a stone.

  5. Pulse once with your arms at your sides, then release.

  6. Pulse again and, as you release your chest, "sneak" your hands and arms back to the front.

  7. Practice until you can fit the underwater butterfly "armstroke" and the breaststroke recovery into your body dolphins with no inturruption. Practice for short distances (two cycles) so that you don't have to breath. When your body dolphin feels fluid and rhythmic, fit the breath into it as follows:

  • Breathe as early as possible in the stroke.

  • Breathe with your head in a neutral position, looking down slightly. Your head should stay within the line of body movement.

  Land forward, not down, to f
inish the breath. Once you can fit the breath seamlessly into the stroke, breathe on every Stoneskipper cycle.

  Drill #8.2: Hip-Delay Butterfly

  Why do this drill: If you can avoid fighting gravity (lifting arms up and climbing out of the water), butterfly becomes much easier. This drill adds a flat, relaxed, sweeping recovery to the stroke and breathing skills learned above.

  Follow this sequence:

  1. Start as in Drill #8.1 above. After the stroke, leave your arms at your sides and pulse twice more (Head-Lead Body Dolphins).

  2. As you release from the second pulse, sweep the arms out to the sides and to the starting position. The sweep should be low, relaxed and nonsplashy. It will take some experimenting to find the right moment in your pulsing rhythm to begin the recovery without feeling awkward. When you get it right you should feel as if your arms just float over the water to thefront.