Floating Forward

 

Here's an interesting fact: the average swimmer's efficiency in the water is less than 3%.  One study found that in a given amount of time, champion runners can go about three and a half times farther than champion swimmers, but that the swimmers burn 25 percent more calories than the runners.  Why this considerable difference? 

Water is approximately 1,000 times denser than air, creating considerably more resistance.  But water is not dense enough to support us against the force pulling us to the bottom of the pool and so we sink.  These two constraints - drag (resistance) and gravity - are not going anywhere, so the best we can do is work within them.  Maintaining a balanced position is the key to efficient swimming.  This is why I will continue to emphasize balance in all of my discussions. 

I hope that my last article has helped you to begin to achieve balance in the water.  Nevertheless, you most likely still find that your legs sink to the bottom rather quickly while your upper body tends to stay on the surface.  Do not be discouraged!  Balance is something that even the most accomplished swimmers have to work on regularly.

In what follows, I recommend a series of drills to help you combine your efforts to achieve balance with forward motion.  Practice them regularly and do not hesitate to email me if you have questions.   

Head-Lead Balance Kick Drills

After having worked through the balance drills from my last article, try this.  Float prone (face down) in the water with your head in a neutral position, your arms relaxed at your side, and your eyes trained on the bottom of the pool.  Hold your core strong and make your body into a plank, keeping your head in line with your spine.  Now press downward into your upper chest (your "buoy").  You will feel this leverage the lower part of your body over your fulcrum, creating lift in your lower half.  Remember how you felt your hips rise with the kickboard drill?  This is the feeling that you want to recreate here.  Play around with this until you can comfortably get your butt cheeks to skim the water's surface.  Then, while in this position - that is, still prone with your head in line with your spine, your eyes tracking the bottom of the pool, your arms relaxed at your side, still pressing into your buoy - begin to kick.  You are now going forward! 

This is not the time to worry about speed.  If you have a strong running background or lack flexibility in your ankles, this may not work out so well at first.  You may even find yourself going backwards.  (Fins can be helpful here if you have extremely inflexible ankles.  In this case, use the stubby kind; the shorter the better.  I strongly recommend Zoomers.)  Don't give up!!

Do not mark your progress by how quickly you reach the other end of the pool.  Instead, mark your progress by how relaxed you are and how buoyant you feel.  Continually press your buoy into the water as if you were swimming downhill.  (Note that you do not want to press down so far that your head drops completely under water, but just enough so that your body lines up with your head.)

About your kick: it should emanate from your hips and should not be a big splashy kick.  If the lifeguard goes running for a towel to dry off, you know that the splash of your kick is a bit too high!  Keep your kick to a range of 6 inches under the water surface.  Work on feeling relaxed, fluid and whip-like. 

When you need to breathe while kicking on your stomach, do one of the following: completely stop to catch your breath and then get back into your correct body position (novice level), lift your head (intermediate level), or rotate to the side (expert level). Do this head-first kick drill (with your arms at your sides) both on your back and on each side.  When on your back you should be pushing the back of your head down and shoulders toward the bottom of the pool.  The water line should come to the edge of your goggles (and if the water laps over your face, this is okay).  When kicking on your side (with your arms at your side), keep your eyes on the sky or ceiling and focus on keeping your head still and spine in line, once again bringing the water line to your goggles. 

FAQ: How do I know when I am in a balanced position when kicking on my side?  A: You know that you are in a balanced position when the upper arm (the one on top of the water) is resting on your hip and is clear of the water up to your upper forearm or wrist.  In such a case, your body is basically level on the surface of the water.

Once you have mastered kicking on your side, work on rotating from side to side on your back.  Kick on one side for a count of 6 with your face out of the water and then rotate to your other side.  When rotating from side to side, keep your head still and rotate from your hips rather than from the rest of your body - don't worry, your body will follow the movement of your hips.  Repeat this pattern on a six count for a length of the pool, all the while keeping your head in a fixed position.  Always make sure to come back to a balanced position, having your hips at the surface of the water.

Hand-Lead Kick Drills

Kicking head first with your arms at your side is essential to training your core to balance on its own without the assistance of your arms and legs.  Begin to add your hands back into the mix by kicking on your side with your arms at your side and sneaking your bottom arm (the arm closest to the bottom of the pool) forward so that you are reaching toward the wall in front of you.  As you start working on extending the lead arm, you want to keep it relaxed and not put any downward pressure off the hand and forearm.  The extended hand provides length, thereby decreasing resistance.  It is not for support!

The extended hand should be in line with your body and not on top of the water.  A hand that is too high in the water (and held too tightly) will push the body downward in the rear, thereby creating drag and so more work for you.  Remember, you are striving to be like the kayak.

FAQ:  How can I make sure that I am not using the lead hand for support?  Answer: Try the following drill.  Begin with the previous head-lead drill (kicking with your hands at your side on your side).  Make sure that you are in a balanced position before taking another step.  Once balanced, take the bottom hand that is at your side and slide it underneath your body to reach in front of you, hold for a 6 count and bring it back for a 6 count.  Repeat this for the length of the pool.  Continue to bring the hand back and forth.  Your upper body should not move up and down as you change the position of your hand.  To ensure that you are not putting downward pressure on your extended arm, turn the palm up just slightly and make sure to press into your "buoy" (which is now your armpit since you are on your side). 

The final balance drill: kick on your side with the lead arm extended and put your face in the water.  Continue to check to see that you are balanced by observing the position of the hand on top of your upper hip (i.e., the hip facing the ceiling).  That hip should be as close to the surface as possible, which is made apparent by the water line: the water should be just covering your wrist, leaving the rest of your arm exposed.  When kicking on your side with your face in the water, let the extended arm and hand drop a bit lower in the water so it is close to the beginning of the catch phase of the stroke (I'll explain this more in the next article).

Once you feel balanced in the water and comfortable keeping your hand out front without relying on it for support, you can begin to work on rotation and timing of the stroke.  Look for this in my next article!