November 20th, 2011 — Swim Bike Run, Swimming
Swimming is a sport which takes a lot of preparation. You need to have the right training to have good form and a good time. This is true whether you are swimming on your own or in a relay. Your performance in a swim meet can only be affected by the time and effort you put into practice. This means doing more than just swimming laps in the pool. You need to train the muscles you will be using to perform to the best of their ability.
Know Your Pool
The first thing you should know is whether your swimming meet will be in a meter or a yard pool. The standard pool is in a yard pool. The normal length is a 25 yard length for the swim lane. The 25 meter length will be much longer. This means if you are training in a yard pool, the meter pool will seem torturous by comparison. By training in the right kind of pool, you will have an accurate training environment for what you are facing on the day of the meet.
Train Your Arms
A good training exercise to strengthen your arms for a swimming meet is to use paddle boards. These are plastic square boards which strap on to your hands. You use them to isolate the muscles in your arms and strengthen them by creating more pull. When using these, allow your legs to drag behind you without kicking. You will also notice when you are turning your hand. This is important as you will not catch the water correctly if your hand is slashing through the water at an angle. You will learn to keep your hand at the optimal angle to create more push.
Train Your Legs
The kick board is another great piece of training equipment for a swimming meet. This is a Styrofoam board which you rest your torso on. You will then kick your way from one side of the pool to the other. The board will stop you from using your hands as well as creating drag. This will help develop the muscles in your legs. You will find when you strengthen your legs that you will swim faster and stronger while you are in the meet.
Alternate Training Methods
To get the most out of your training for the swimming meet, you need to vary the exercises you are doing every day. This is because you do not want to wear yourself out. It is a good idea to split up between lower and upper body exercise for isolation purposes. You should also make sure you are taking the right amount of breaks. A good rule of thumb would be to swim for five days and take one to two mornings off in between. If you want to swim on the two days between the five, make it a light workout. This will allow your muscles the chance to recuperate and strengthen.
Photo Credits: Greg Livaudais
Originally posted 2010-03-22 10:08:31. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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November 16th, 2011 — Swim Bike Run, Swimming, Triathlon Training
Training for a triathlon is never an easy task. You not only push your body to the edge, you need to engage in specialized forms of training to get the performance you need. This is as true for swim workouts for triathletes as for any other section of the race. The reason why the exercises are so important is because you need to train your upper body to be strong enough to do the majority of the work. This way you will be able to save your leg muscles for the other two sections which are ahead.
Using Paddleboards
One of the many swim workouts for triathletes is to use paddleboards. These will help you to find the strengths and the weaknesses in your stroke. They will also help to develop the muscles you use to pull your body through the water. Because the paddleboard is a thin piece of hard plastic, you will recognize it immediately if you have your hand at the wrong angle. Your hand will slice through the water rather than meeting with great resistance. As long as you are using a good stroke, you will feel resistance the whole stroke. The more resistance, the more power you develop.
Using Floaters
Another effective method of swim workouts for triathletes is to use floaters. These are little more than cylindrical pieces of Styrofoam connected by tethers. What you do is clench the tethers between your legs. You then swim through the water without kicking your legs. You will have only your upper body to pull you through. The floater creates drag, but more importantly, it prevents your lower body from sinking towards the bottom of the pool. This prevents you from using your legs at all.
Closed Fist Training
One of the swim workouts for triathletes seldom heard about is the closed fist training drill. This is a method by which you will dig your fingers into your palms as you swim. This will force you to use your forearms as a paddle to move you through the water. This is a good exercise to use with floaters as you will not be going very fast. Do not use your legs and concentrate on how your arm is moving through the water. This will help to make sure your arm will combine with your hand to create a great force to propel you through the water.
High Intensity Interval Training
A training method used as swim workouts for triathletes among others is High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). This is a method which includes short intervals in which you are swimming as hard as you can for about a minute and then taking a thirty second break. This is used because a 15 minute workout will be more effective than a thirty minute workout. The level of workout will train your muscles to be more powerful for the big day. The secret is the fact your body will continue to be effected long after you get out of the pool.
Photo Credits: Grahambones
Originally posted 2010-03-20 03:55:36. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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November 14th, 2011 — Swim Bike Run, Swimming, Triathlon Tips
The most effective stroke for people in a triathlon is the overhand crawl. This is a style which is also known as freestyle. The swimming kick used for this stroke is very important to your performance. It is also the most undertrained part of most people’s stroke. It is taken for granted as something which cannot be improved. In fact, you can train your leg muscles to be stronger and more effective. You can also train your kick to be more effective by creating less drag and more push. By following some simple advice, you will turn your kick into a propeller.
Developing Strength
One of the best ways to develop strength in your swimming kick is by using a kickboard. This is little more than a piece of Styrofoam. What you do is rest your torso on the board and then kick your way from one side of the pool to the other. The board will stop you from using your arms to pull you through the water. The board will also create extra drag to make it even more difficult for you to kick your way from one side to the other. You will have to train your feet to be like flippers.
Flipper Training
While using the kickboard to develop a stronger swimming kick, you might want to also use flippers. This is because the flippers will help to show you the angle which your feet should be when you are kicking. You will be able to feel the difference when your feet are angled correctly and when they are off. By using the flippers you will also create greater strength in your legs because of the excess force you will need to push the water.
Keeping Your Legs Together
Floaters are a great way to train your legs to stay together. This is an important part of the swimming kick because if your legs are far apart, they create more drag. By clenching a floater between your thighs, you force your legs to stay together. If you allow your legs to separate, you will know it right away. This is because the floater will come loose and float away from you. The other added benefit you get from the floater is that it will create extra drag. This is important to develop better strength in your upper body as well as in your legs.
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Originally posted 2010-03-19 10:53:43. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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