FAST SWIMMING IS ALL IN YOUR HEAD

A fit body helps. A good brain helps more.

By Terry Laughlin

Twenty years ago, as an inexperienced and unpolished college swimmer, I used to dive under during pre-meet warm-ups to watch faster guys through my goggles. Maybe I could uncover the secret of how they swam so fast and with so little apparent effort, while I churned my arms wildly just trying to stay in their wake. In no other sport besides swimming can you "learn" speed to such an extent, improving by quantum leaps through fine adjustments of style, rather than by grueling, time-consuming workouts. No wonder Masters athletes are jumping into the pool in record numbers.

My collegiate undercover work taught me a few things. First, that a fortunate few are born with an instinctive ability to swim effortlessly with supreme efficiency while the rest of us have to work at it. Second (and two decades of coaching have proved this again and again), the best way for the rest of us to narrow the gap between ourselves and the human fish is by paring away glaring, but very correctable, stroke inefficiencies.

Start by understanding that swimming is unique. In running or biking, you can almost always boost your performance the old-fashioned way: more practice, more miles. When you swim with an inefficient stroke, you won't improve no matter how many yards you cover, until a coach corrects you or you correct yourself. Start improving your form and watch the times drop.

The simplest way of doing this is by regularly including "efficiency challenges" and stroke-improvement drills in your workouts. The result: Greater stroke awareness, which will benefit you whether you're a Masters swimmer, tri-athlete, or cross-trainer.

Try some of these ideas the next time you go to the pool:

Count your strokes. Stroke counting as a way of improving your technique may seem too simple to be effective, but that's deceiving. If you can decrease your stroke count for 25 yards from 26 to 24, you've increased your efficiency by 8 percent--no matter how you accomplished it. Doing it regularly will make you more aware of efficiency-robbing sloppiness in your style and allow you to correct it immediately.

Practice “stroke deprivation.” If you normally take 24 strokes per length, try to limit yourself to just 22 strokes when you swim easy. With practice 22 will gradually become your norm. Then cut yourself back to 20 on the easy stuff.

Play “swimming golf.” No, you don't need plaid pants and funny shoes to do this. It's a series of 50-yard repeats, in which you arrive at your score by counting your strokes and adding them to your time in seconds. On each succeeding 50, try to lower the total. For example, if you swim 40 seconds and take 40 strokes on the first 50, your score is 80. You can reduce it to 78 on the next repeat by bringing your time down to 39 and your stroke count to 39. Keep working toward the lowest score you can achieve.

Do stroke drills regularly. Stroke drills both diagnose and correct your stroke errors, and can be used for conditioning as well, which is why most Olympic swimmers devote at least 10 to 20 percent of their total yardage to them. The less polished your stroke, the more you should do. The best way for a novice swimmer to build "skill speed," in fact, is by spending at least as much time on drills as on swimming. A sample series: 8 x 75 on 15 seconds rest. On each 75, do right arm only on the first length, left arm on the second length, both arms on the third. Count strokes each length.

Get a coach. Practice helps a lot, but there's no substitute for a coach's trained eye in correcting poor technique. If you don't swim in a coached Masters program, the most cost-effective alternative is to attend a stroke camp or clinic. (Click on Workshops for more information about Total Immersion’s Freestyle, 4-Stroke, and Team Workshops.)

Have your strokes videotaped. Most of us learn faster with our eyes than any other way. Comparing a video of your stroke (shot underwater) with a video of proper technique is easily the most powerful way to correct poor mechanics.

We've all got a good deal of fish in us. Bringing it out is just a matter of using your head.