Swim drills can bite me...

GMAN 19030

Yes, I get that drills will make one a better swimmer, yada, yada, yada,

I recently got a copy of one of Swim Smooth's training plans to give that a whirl since I like the Swim Smooth website and their articles and all that.

There's a fair amount of drills in their program.  Kicking, sculling, fins, etc.

I've been trying to do the plan for the last couple of weeks.  I just can't continue on with all the drill stuff.  Not because I don't like it or don't feel it would be beneficial but because I don't have the f'n time it takes to do the damn workouts.  I do all my swimming at lunchtime during the workday so time is of the essence.  It literally doubles my time at the pool as opposed to if I had just done the prescribed distance in long sets or whatever.  Kick sets take 4:00/100m, sculling sets take about the same and so on.  I can f/s swim 100m in 1:40 or less.  I can't spend 4:00 doing 100m drill sets.  I just can't spend two hours at the pool trying to get in 3000m w/main sets+drills when I could just swim the damn distance in 50 minutes and be done with it.

Rant over! 

Jonathan Brown

Bob, I could not agree more. I honestly feel that the drills make me look like an idiot in the pool. i.e. 1 arm strokes, finger tip drags, catch-ups, and many more..

novaavant

Check these out to reinforce your desire not to do drill sets, or at least get permission ; )

http://www.purplepatchfitness.com/blog/tower-26-lectures-updated-about-us-page-guest-blog

Brenda Ross

There is lies the difference between me and you boys. I only do the drill sets and call it a swim. I do that 2x a week and then I do actual swimming on Sat with a local tri club. As soon as the weather changes (May) so will my swimming. No drills all swimming. For me, who swims a 2:15 - 100meter, I really need the drills. They are cutting my times down and I am feeling much more comfortable in the water, and I am only in the pool for 30 to 40minutes.

tim cronk

I'm with ya Bob. Stopped doing drills a long time ago. Dont even like masters drills anymore.

Highly recommend the Tower 26 videos , recommends NO DRILLS , big proponent of Snorkel , PB, and Ankle Bands. The videos and his theories are based towards triathletes not swimmers.

After my 60min run on the TM at the YMCA yesterday, jumped in the pool , 250yd swim easy, 20 x 50 w/ankle bands , 1 x500 TT , 50yds back/breast , 1800yds and out of pool 35 min. Short , sweet , hard! Done

Jeff Sullivan

It's funny a few of were talking about this last nite as we were hanging around the pool - the consenus was that come race day between wind, chop, siting, crowds and jostling for position, it's rare you really get long stretches of nice calm waters and your perfect stroke rarely emerges - at least for us MOP guys - i tend to skip the drills most of the time - i just try to focus on a few things - the catch, the pull, and long lean body position - the rest will sort of work itself out

Steve West

+1 on the no drills, feel like an idiot at the pool thing (I'm too self conscious when doing things I am not familiar with.... I know, I should grow up but....).

I'm an adult learner and at 1:50/100yd a long way from being fast in the pool. Not only do I avoid drills, I also have trouble doing normal workouts. I have trouble being able to remember the sets/pace/rest intervals and, without reading glasses, my terrible vision prevents me from having a list poolside. Heck for me, just counting 10 laps can be chore!

I have given up trying to be a faster swimmer and focus primarily on extending the time I can swim my 'all day' pace before I tire. All my sets are long sets with a PB, mostly 500's and some 1000's but they are not mindless laps. Every lap and nearly every stroke is the center of attention. Catch, pull, push, recover, rotation, long profile, head position, etc. usually 1 at a time, all get my attention. When I can't pay attention (fatigue) or my pace slows by 0:30 per 500, I hit the shower.

For me it all comes down to ROI. Does 3-5 hours a week to get maybe 5 minutes on race day really make sense? Maybe for those reaching for the podium or a Kona slot but not me. Swimming is fun, yes, but on race day it is just what I have to do before I bike or run

I am really looking forward to ice-out and OWS. OWS is WAY more enjoyable to me.... I love to jump in a lake and swim to the other end and back..... no one there but the fishies....

Chris Love

I'm with you Steve.The drills may pick a few seconds off my 100y but they just don't appeal to my senses. Love the lake, and the ocean, seeing the sun/clouds, hearing my breathing/bubbles, getting out and back. I'm happy with long sets. I frequently swim the same lake, I'm timing the swims and I'm pushing to beat my previous times, but I'm also enjoying myself, the environment, and the company of other swimmers along with the fishies!  And it's ok with me that I may be leaving 5' or 10' on the table in exchange for not pounding out swim drills at 5am in the winter.

mpaone

I'm similar ro Brenda as far as time per 100yd goes so for me I feel the drills are important to make me a better swimmer. The drills I dont so much focus on are the speed drills and that's because as I start to sprint I lose the ability to swim properly. So I do the drills but just focusing on proper technique. And one day a week I just swim, no drills, just focus on technique.

So I guess it depends on what typer of swimmer you are (beginner/advanced).

coop6

X2 on the Tower 26 videos. A huge thank you to Tim and Paul H for recommending them. I felt like an idiot the first time I swam with a snorkel, but overall it's been very helpful.

Bruce Thompson

I like the Tower 26 videos also.  Two things really made an impression on me.  First, swim at a faster stroke rate.  I've upped my stroke rate from 18 to only 20 per 25 meters and I'm swimming faster than ever without any increase in RPE.  Second, spend more time swimming fast, so I'm doing lots of 50, 100 and 200 meter sprints.  I'm able to get in my 1500 to 2000m meters done and get out of the pool.  FYI, there was a guy swimming in the next lane today, he is trainer for IMFL in Nov.  His coach already has him doing 3000m at a slow steady pace.  For crying out loud!!!  What waste of time..

Anu Rao

I have been doing drills as well and much like Brenda, I do a bunch of drills a few laps just swimming and call it a workout. And given the complete yahoos at the pool I swim I am the least idiotic even with my pull buoy, fins, kickboard and goofy drills

I am curious about one thing on the Tower 26, I find the most inefficient things I do are around the breathing, so I am not sure the snorkel will necessarily help with that? I am working with a local coach on form and it had helped a lot.

William Jenks

Has anyone else looked into the "swim speed secrets" stuff by Sheila Taormina? (she's a former Olympic swimmer, triathlete, and modern pentathlete.)

I hate anything marketed as "secrets" on principle. (or "modern") That said, my masters group was killed by the City, and I've needed something to kick me out of my mediocre plateau...so I'm giving this a go.

In short, her stance is that if you're basically an ok swimmer, your body position is probably good enough for government work and you should stop obsessing over it and spending your life elongating your stroke (i.e., she hates TI, over gliding, etc). Her whole thing is getting you to do the catch and pull the way she wants (high elbow etc), and doing a lot of things that build strength in this somewhat unusual/awkward position. Her book is a quick read and she posts a few workouts on line, and you can buy another fairly inexpensive book that gives a total of 50 of them. the tacit implication is that body position will also improve if needed once you have the arm thing down right.

I did the 2nd wko on Wednesday, and it was easily 50% "drill", but I'm telling you it kicked my butt. NOTHING like a normal drill set like I've usually thought of it. I was doing one-arm swimming holding a kickboard with the other (rotten body position, but forces your work arm to do what it's supposed to), "tarzan" drill (swimming with your head completely out of the water looking straight forward...ditto about body position and arms), etc. Last set was alternating 100s as 50 Tarzan/50 swim, 100 pull with buoy. i would never have thought of this, but it was a very interesting combination of making you work your arms off and then making it feel right when your body position was right again with the PB. She advocates a bit of stretch cords and/or pressing out of the pool for strength as well.

Anyway, I have no idea what the results will be, but I've decided to give it a try based on a week of playing with it and the fact that it makes me feel different than I have been for quite a while...and it's clear I needed to shake things up a bit to make any progress.

Paul Hough

I am migrating to Gerry Rodriguez's recommendations. If you haven't watched his youtube lecture do so. Also, check his blog at Tower26.com for the "Don'ts..." on swimming. I've reprinted the first part of the list below. Note, number 23 does not say not to do drills, just don't do most. But which ones? I also know that Gerry recommends Swim Smooth and Sara McClarty as two of the top sources for swimming knowledge. Well, I have the Swim Smooth Master Catch DVD and there are a lot of drills. And I've been to several of Sarah's swim camps (she doesn't like TI either) and she has a DVD with a lot of drills as well. And I've read Sheila's book too. Apart from drills, the agreement between all of these coaches is that the catch is where it's at. So I am compromising. After a 9 week lay off to rest my shoulder, I started back easy going through Swim Smooth's six session drill progression, and have been weaning myself off drills since. I also ordered an ankle band to replace my tied inner tube (and I've found there is a big difference). So you have to work the catch, strengthen it, do the volume to improve it, and develop a catch that creates violence with the water ... i.e., one that really grabs the water and uses strength to move it backwards (while propelling yourself forwards). At some point, it just takes a lot of work to improve, and Coach RnP have made that very clear for a long time that the ROI, once you are under say 65-70 mins for an IM swim, is pretty low. That's where you have to look at your life situation and goals to see whether it's worth the time to take a few minutes off the swim when there may be a lot more opportunity to take time off the bike or run legs.


DON’T ……
1. Breathe every 3rd stroke or higher.
2. Hold your breath before expulsion.
3. Breathe through your nose.
4. Take short, shallow breaths.
5. Linger while taking a breath.
6. Focus on front quadrant or catch-up style swimming.
7. Over rotate with hips.
8. Have low strokes rates.
9. Glide.
10. Be “loose” in the water.
11. Be a “scrunchy” swimmer. ie. look like a fetus.
12. Have a BIG focus on Distance Per Stroke (DPS).
13. Focus on least strokes across the pool.
14. Cup your hands.
15. “Salute” by placing your hand close to your forehead at entry.
16. Swim with straight arms under water.
17. Have your hands cross your mid-line underwater.
18. Have your hands enter of pull outside your shoulder line.
19. Have your elbow BELOW your wrist/hand underwater.
20. Pet the “kitty” underwater, ie. Don’t have a floppy, gentle or loose hand underwater.
21. Do the “S” stroke.
22. Cut your stroke short at the finish.
23. Do most pool swimming drills.
24. Do Sculling.
25. Focus on kicking harder.
26. Ignore using an ankle strap or swim snorkel.
27. Think working on technique solves it all.