Swimming in the triathlon is different from any other kind of swimming. There are tips which will allow you to perform well in this portion of the competition without sapping all of your energy. This is important seeing as you will still have two kinds of competition to engage in after you are done swimming. If you wear yourself out in the swimming portion, you will have nothing left for the rest of the competition. The tips include what you should do in training as well as what you should do in the competition.
Enter the Water Fluidly
One of the first tips for swimming in a triathlon you should know is how to enter the water. Unlike a swimming competition, you will not start with a starting block. This is because you will be starting with at least a hundred other contestants. It is not feasible to start in waves. The majority of competitions will start on the shore of a lake or other body of water. The object is to get as far into the water as possible without slowing yourself down. Once the water is between the knees and the groin, it is a good time to dive in. Practice this on the shore of a body of water to get the timing down right.
Saving Your Energy
It is important when you are done with the swimming portion of the triathlon that you still have enough energy to complete the rest of the triathlon. Among the tips for swimming here will be to find a nice steady pace. This is something you can train yourself to do. Many swimmers have taken to using the long stroke. This is because you will get a lot of power out of every stroke without having to take a lot of strokes to generate the power.
Concentrate on Your Stroke
The more power you get out of every stroke, the less energy you will have to put into swimming. Good tips for swimming will always teach you the best method to produce power in your swim stroke. This includes using an S-Stroke. This stroke finds new water which will propel you faster through the water. You will get more out of every stroke so that you will not use up all of your energy before you ever straddle the bike.
Save Your Legs
Knowing you will have to ride a bike next, good tips for swimming in a triathlon include saving strength in your legs. This means not putting a lot of emphasis on your legs to propel you through the water. When training, it is important to use floaters to develop your upper body strength. This will allow your legs to be as fresh as possible for the rest of the race. After all, the swimming portion is the only part which uses the muscles in the upper body. The rest is all about the lower body. Saving your leg muscles will allow you to at least get across the finish line.
Photo Credits: Eustaquio Santimano
Originally posted 2010-03-20 10:59:13. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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