{"id":417247,"date":"2020-02-23T10:05:56","date_gmt":"2020-02-23T17:05:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=417247"},"modified":"2020-03-05T11:23:26","modified_gmt":"2020-03-05T18:23:26","slug":"how-swimmers-can-make-the-most-of-their-time-in-the-pool","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/how-swimmers-can-make-the-most-of-their-time-in-the-pool\/","title":{"rendered":"How Swimmers Can Make The Most Of Their Time In the Pool"},"content":{"rendered":"

Most busy, working athletes don\u2019t have much available time to use the pool, so they need to make the most of their pool or open-water sessions.<\/p>\n

Here are a few ways that swimmers and triathletes with limited time or pool access can make the most of what they do have.<\/p>\n

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Photo Courtesy: Ripple Communications<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cIf your stroke rate is too slow, you cannot keep your head up,\u201d\u00a0says coach Eric Neilsen<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

This style of swimming lets you accelerate through the stroke while simultaneously working on your kick, which enables you to train multiple muscle groups in a relatively short period of time.<\/p>\n

When supplemented with longer dryland training sessions \u2013 using tools like the\u00a0Vasa Swim Erg<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 these \u201cbig-bang drills\u201d (as Eric calls them) can help you save time and energy in the water without sacrificing technique.<\/p>\n

For those who don\u2019t have a Vasa, or do but are in the water training, coach Neilsen recommends doing \u201csystem check\u201d drills.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo a 500 swim and within each 100, pick a focus point: for the first 100, focus on the catch. The next 100,\u00a0accelerate your hand speed from catch to finish<\/a>. The next 100, focus on relaxed, efficient breathing. The fourth 100, on using a relaxed recovery. Then put it all together in the last 100,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

When you focus on drills within a continuous swim, you\u2019re \u201csolving two problems with one answer,\u201d even if you don\u2019t have much time.<\/p>\n

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  1. Practice Breathing and Positioning<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Breathing is one of the biggest concerns that coach Neilsen encounters in the swimmers he coaches.<\/p>\n

    \u201cI\u2019ve found people are worried about breathing. And if that\u2019s true, then they can\u2019t work on the rest of their stroke because they\u2019re worried about air!\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

    When in the pool, it\u2019s important to take the limited time you have to practice breathing and positioning techniques that you can\u2019t do on dry land.<\/p>\n

    Coach Beer also advises swimmers to relax while in the pool to help breathing become more natural. \u201cFocus on breathing out, your body will fill your lungs back up again naturally.\u201d<\/p>\n

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    Photo Courtesy: Ripple Communications<\/p><\/div>\n

    In the pool,\u00a0practice breathing by swimming 25-yard repeats<\/a>, letting the need for air dictate your speed and rhythm of your stroke until you become comfortable with breathing and swimming at a faster pace.<\/p>\n

    When you\u2019re not in the pool, you can reinforce these breathing behaviors using the\u00a0Vasa SwimErg<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    \u201cThe Vasa SwimErg really helps athletes who are challenged by breathing\u00a0and stroke-rate, because you can breathe and keep your body in a straight line,\u201d Eric notes.<\/p>\n

    \u201cBreathing inherently creates an imbalance. Swimming on the Vasa Swim Erg is\u00a0like being in the pool with a front-mount snorkel<\/a>. It helps you isolate and engage your bigger muscles. You can recreate the clean line on the Erg into the water.\u201d<\/p>\n

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    1. Make the Most of Your Pool Space<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Time isn\u2019t the only hindrance to maximizing pool time, of course. In cases where you get to the pool, you might find that you don\u2019t have it completely to yourself.<\/p>\n

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      Photo Courtesy: Ripple Communications<\/p><\/div>\n

      You also have to learn how to train with other swimmers without invading your space, and without limiting your ability to do the exercises you need to do.<\/p>\n

      After all, time is limited and you don\u2019t want others to invade that precious resource (or vice versa).<\/p>\n

      If you\u2019re in a lane that\u2019s very crowded to the point it\u2019s hard to run your intended workout routine, you may have to resort to other measures. This might mean adapting your training to meet the constraints of space.<\/p>\n

      For example, if you planned on doing 5 x 100s, it might be easier to do 10 x 50s given how the lane is moving.<\/p>\n

      When you first get to the pool, you should assess the speed and skills of any other swimmers in the water.<\/p>\n

      Once you\u2019ve chosen a lane, you want to ensure that other swimmers understand what you\u2019re doing and how long you plan to be there.<\/p>\n

      During an interval training set, give swimmers a specific amount of space (in this instance, marked by time \u2013 specifically, 10 seconds) to ensure that no incidents occur. By default, leave 10 seconds apart from other swimmers in your space.<\/p>\n

      If possible, communicate. When there\u2019s overcrowding, there\u2019s a greater risk of injury. Communication prevents potential incidents from occurring so you can focus on what matters.<\/p>\n

      If the pool is too crowded, you might consider warming up on deck, doing arm swings, shoulder shrugs, and rotations, yoga sun salutations, jogging in place, or using stretch bands with a\u00a0Swim Bench\u00a0<\/a>for specific activation until space in a lane is available.<\/p>\n

      While this isn\u2019t an ideal warm-up situation, it can save time and help you maximize your training once you do get in the pool.<\/p>\n

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      1. Focus on Multifaceted Drills<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        As sports scientist and coach\u00a0<\/strong>Joe Beer<\/strong> says<\/a>, \u201cNever try to cram a quart into a pint pot.\u201d<\/p>\n

        When you have a short amount of time in the pool, you have to focus on training exercises that give you the best results. According to Joe, this means breaking your swim into shorter 1-2-3 or 4-length intervals and focusing on technique.<\/p>\n

        Even if you\u2019re not able to swim longer distances in the pool, it still allows the body to get used to swimming for longer distances, without taking up too much of your overall swim time.<\/p>\n

        Multi-sport coach Eric Neilsen<\/a>\u00a0also recommends using multifaceted drills that engage more than one area of the body.\u00a0Head-up swimming<\/a>, for example, allows you to look at the spacing of your hands & arms when you swim and improve the speed of your turnover.<\/p>\n

        Final Thoughts<\/strong><\/h2>\n

        Getting to the pool or open water isn\u2019t always easy, so it\u2019s useful to plan how to get the best results when you do swim.<\/p>\n

        According to experienced coaches like Joe Beer<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Eric Neilsen<\/a>, the best thing you can do is focus on specific, multifaceted drills that target different muscles \u2013 also known as \u201cbig-bang drills.\u201d<\/p>\n

        Be sure to practice relaxed breathing and use a long, taut body position whenever you get in the water.\u00a0 This is especially important if you have been training on land using a swim bench like the Vasa SwimErg<\/a> so that you know how effective your training has been (and so you don\u2019t panic in the water, of course).<\/p>\n

        If the pool is crowded, you will inevitably need to adjust your workout to make the most of your time, like shortening a 100 to a 50.\u00a0 For those times when you just don\u2019t want to face the crowds or are simply time-starved, many athletes have discovered that having a\u00a0swim-at-home option like busy executive Keith Watson<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0will help you maintain consistent swim-specific training to gain the best of both worlds.<\/p>\n

        Related articles:<\/strong><\/h2>\n