Swim Exercise Routine: Benefits of Diversifying Your Strokes
Breaststroke
In swimming, timing is everything. Nothing forces a swimmer to hone their timing skills like good breaststroke instruction. So, focusing time and energy in breaststroke technique will improve a swimmer's timing in every stroke. Here's why: there is nothing better at stopping a swimmer in his/her tracks than an ill-timed breath. For example, if the swimmer's head rises for a breath before the hands begin the pull, the hips drop, and the chest rises. At this point, the swimmer begins the pull but is trying to drag their squared chest through the water. A correctly-timed breath brings the chest up as the pull finishes and drops the chest down as the kick begins. The kick, pull and breath is timed for maximum efficiency.Backstroke
While breathing is not an issue in this stroke, a great benefit of backstroke is the balance that this stroke forces the swimmer to learn. Balance strengthens a swimmer's core, and this increases endurance and stroke efficiency. Balance is integral in other strokes, and learning good balance in backstroke will improve the all-around swimmer. Being largely dependent on the swimmer's kick, backstroke helps teach proper and powerful kicking along with good streamline feel through the water. Often prescribed as a remedy for back problems, backstroke can also improve posture while exercising the entire back through low-resistance movements. In this way, backstroke can be swum for long periods of time and in varying speeds, creating variety in differing workouts.Technique
The most important move a swimmer's body makes, whether swimming breaststroke or backstroke, is reaching long. Reaching long helps elongate the swimmer's body creating the streamline. Streamline minimizes resistance, and the closer the swimmer's body stays to good streamline, the less resistance he/she will encounter. This reduces the energy spent and increases speed.Intervals and Interest
Backstroke is a great way to add variety to a group of tired, hard-working swimmers. Including a mixture of breaststroke and backstroke sets throughout a workout can break up the monotony of the pool and give the swimmers their "second wind". Here's a great example of a well-written workout that includes every stroke, varied set lengths and good use of intervals:Avoid The Swim Exercise Routine Monotony |
- Warm up - stretch out the swimmers' muscles to prevent injury
- Kick set - Build up the swimmers' leg strength
- Drills - This is where variety counts. Focus on improving technique. Use a small set to help the swimmers focus on the drill.
- Aerobic set - This set focuses on the swimmers' endurance, and variety becomes crucial for the swimmers' mindsets. Intervals and IM's are your friends at this stage. A good idea is to alternate between long sets of breaststroke and backstroke.
- Cool down - Stretch the swimmers out and allow their heart rates to drop back to normal.
Enjoy
Richard
Richard
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Popular Posts
-
When you are teaching young children and infants you have to make it fun and the best way to make it fun that I know of is to sing song...
-
To learn Back Float Swimming is critical to people who are learning but you will only have confidence in doing so when you able to st...
-
Here is a best-age guide to children's swimming lessons. Many parents question the appropriate age to begin their child...
-
What is A Rescue Stroke? Basically, any stroke where you keep your head above water and you can do a Rescue with it. Man Not Surv...
-
The Survival Backstroke Technique I recently had a question: "The survival Backstroke Technique. It looks like the elementary ba...
-
Hydrophobia - A Fear of Water Hydrophobia is a condition that people have where they have a fear of water. Approximately, 20% of ...
-
A Request On How To Teach The Eggbeater Kick Treading Water For Beginners I have had a request for an article on how to teach the egg...
-
Is your child at risks? Hypothermia, children and swimming pools Are you a bit too blissful in your ignorance about your child them g...
-
There are three Survival Strokes: Side Stroke Survival Backstroke Breaststroke Survival Stroke Modification All these str...
-
Swimming Lesson Plans For Toddler & Babies Vary Teaching children from 12 months to 3 years varies dramatically from pool to pool...

No comments:
Post a Comment