The most specific drill you can do
To improve your swimming technique is to practice the actual swimming stroke you want to improve.
The more you practice this stroke the more muscle memory you develop and the better your stroke becomes. So it makes sense that when we practice our strokes, we do so in a way which most closely resembles real swimming. One such drill is the super slow stroke.
But what is the super slow stroke?
From the very beginning, the super slow stroke is different from the regular freestyle stroke. We know that the freestyle stroke has an important acceleration phase at the start; this is when you lift the arm horizontal and pull with the other arm. Then you have the stroke itself, which is the body’s roll and the forward pull; then you have the slowdown, which is when your arm is vertical.
In the super slow stroke, you are going to focus on all the phases of the freestyle stroke, but you will take much more time to do it. You will go through all the three phases of the stroke but will do it in a relatively slow way. The idea is that you will focus on how what you do feels and making sure you do it correctly.
The super slow stroke is therefore a fantastic way to practice swimming. It is a good idea to practice this often and for a long time because a lot of muscles are involved.
If you are a swimmer, you can practice this drill at any time.
Efficient swimmers are fast swimmers
If you consistently practice swimming fast, your body will eventually respond by becoming stronger, more flexible, and capable of going faster. Fast swimming equals efficient swimming. And efficient swimming equals speed.
Efficient movement relies on “feel” for the water. This means you should be able to predict the direction and action of the water with your body. This is the basis of streamlining and body movement.
This kind of practice requires you to focus on your technique, feel and body movements. The practice in the video involves a series of swimming workouts designed to maneuver through a pool using your whole body.
This practice has the ability to improve your stroke and those reactions crucial for fast swimming. However, it’s important that you balance and break the practice sessions to let your body rest. This is because in order to perform these drills with the utmost efficiency, you need to be able to focus completely on your body movements. You don’t know how to do it if you don’t practice it often.
The drills are a great way to improve your feel for water and make your actions around water more natural.
How to Use Super Slow Swimming in Your Workouts
In the world of swimming, the slower, the better … maybe.
Swimming experts like Dr. Tim Crowley of the University of Memphis say that when done right, muscles can work better with a slower, more relaxed approach.
Dr. Crowley’s research has shown that when you swim with a super low and slow approach, your heart rate increases like usual. But when your heart rate increases and you’re sprinting, your muscles require more oxygen and lactic acid builds up faster.
So it’s normally a bad idea to swim at a slow speed because it would wear your muscles out, which can actually slow you down. But when you’re doing super slow training and your muscles aren’t working too hard, the lactic acid doesn’t replace itself anywhere near as quickly as when you are sprinting. It can also force you to maintain better body posture.
So while it may be counterintuitive, swimming slowly with the correct approach can help you out a lot.
Get immediate feedback .
Because your movements are so slow, you can get immediate feedback.
Because your movements are so slow, you can get immediate feedback. Develop a feel for the water. Slow motion swimming is a great way to develop a feel for the water. As you do it more, you’ll learn how to better time your movement to save unnecessary movements. You’ll also increase your sense of confidence in the water.
Slow motion swimming is a great way to develop a feel for the water. As you do it more, you’ll learn how to better time your movement to save unnecessary movements. You’ll also increase your sense of confidence in the water. Quickly correct problems. Because you’re going so slowly, you may find subtle corrections that you’d normally miss. For instance, lag in your hand entry, issues with your kick, some weakness at your catch, a tendency to roll your shoulders, etc.
Ditch the intervals.
Do you remember the last time you used the short-range intervals for your swimming training? If you don’t, you have probably already ditched them. Why is that?
One of the reasons is probably due to the quick fatigue you get after doing these intervals. And this feeling is caused by the metabolic acidosis that comes from pumping huge amounts of lactic acid into your blood.
And it gets worse if you’re doing long-duration training such as when you’re doing a half an hour swim, or even more.
In contrast with short-duration training, slow-speed training at low intensity or aerobic (without oxygen) is an excellent way to increase your endurance. It will help you swim faster for long durations.
Even though interval training has been promoted as the way to train, slow-speed training is still the most effective way to increase your endurance and ability to swim faster for longer periods of time.
Avoid the temptation to race your teammates .
Like most competitive swimmers, I’ve always loved to race.
From practicing against my teammates and measuring my progress to racing against other swimmers, racing always gave me a chance to measure my skills and get a little recognition from my friends and sometimes coaches.
And while I would never turn down the chance to race, I’ve discovered that sometimes I actually find more enjoyment in swimming slowly; so much so, that I’ve even had to force myself to keep my speed up in my workouts.
In fact, I started to realize that super slow swimming was just as effective as fast swimming in improving my swimming.
Unfortunately, while many swimmers might be aware of the benefits of swimming fast, they are usually not as familiar with super slow swimming.
Here are three of the biggest benefits that I’ve found from swimming slowly.
Speed Development
How you think about developing speed in the water will play an integral role in your success.
It’s fairly common for people to think of swimming as a “strength” or “endurance” sport. As with other sports, this way of thinking leads to black-or-white decisions.
Use it as a tool in your swimming toolbox .
Whether you’re just learning to swim or you have been swimming for decades, you can always improve your technique and learn new skills.
For swimmers looking to build a strong foundation, look inward for the best tool to improve your technique.
Before you run out and buy every gadget for your training bag, you may want to consider using slow swimming as a way to work on your form. According to Olympian Amanda Beard, slow swimming is the best way to improve your swimming technique.
Take any stroke for example. Whether you’re a breaststroker, backstroker, or freestyler, slowing down your stroke will help you:
Use a snorkel .
Snorkels give you the power to swim slow with ease, which let you get a far greater understanding of what slow feels like and what it takes to be sustainable over long distances.
Snorkels give you the power to swim slow with ease, which let you get a far greater understanding of what slow feels like and what it takes to be sustainable over long distances.
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