The hard truth of swimming
Swimming - the most technical and perhaps the most feared part of the sport of triathlon. You can't win a race with it but you can lose a lot of time with it. Swimming is difficult to learn and takes years to perfect. This blog is not about mastering swimming technique, but I will give tips that have helped me become a better swimmer. Will you read along with me?
To measure is to know, right?
Measuring is knowing remains a valuable principle in the world of sports. Triathlon is no exception. While data can be an invaluable source of insight, it should not be the primary focus for triathletes. Especially not during swimming. Because swimming is a technical and difficult sport, it can take a long time before you see any progress.
Instead of obsessively paying attention to every second and meter, it's wise to pay more attention to your feel while swimming. By leaving your watch at home and focusing on your own body feedback, you can save yourself from negative mental spirals. Swimming by feel, in categories such as "easy," "steady," and "hard," can be a more satisfying and effective approach. This will especially start to help you stick with it longer, making you better and faster in the long run.
- Pro Tip: During my interval training I want to have precise insight into my training data for this I use the Form Smart Swim Goggles 2!
"langzaam zwemmen is op de lange termijn vaak de snelste manier."
Marlene de Boer - Pro Triathlete
Quality over quantity
Of course, in preparation for a race, it is important to practice longer distances as well. Still, I believe it is better to swim shorter distances with 5-15 seconds of rest each time. Try to focus on your technique with each push-off and when resuming the swim. While swimming longer distances you can become fatigued, often to the detriment of your technique. By taking short rests in between sets your intentions each time.
When you are just starting to swim it also makes less sense to swim very long distances. Rather, go swimming once more often and keep your distances limited in the beginning. Quality over quantity.
Train with focus
It's important to know where your areas of improvement are so you know what to focus on. For example, swim 100 meters and have it recorded. By analyzing this, you will know where your areas of improvement lie.
While swimming or during swim training, try to focus on one or two things at a time. It is impossible to pay attention to everything at once. Most triathletes I know would rather make meters than invest in technique exercises. However, I believe this will really make you swim much better in the long run. Again: Quality over quantity!
- Did you know. Swimming is one of the few sports that addresses all muscle groups in the body?
Make Use of Resources
Use training equipment to help you learn proper technique or improve your muscle strength.
The following tools are actually standard in my swim bag:
- Snorkel - by not having to think about your breathing, you can better focus on your technique.
- Paddles - by training with paddles you can improve both your strength and technique.
- Pull buoy - this keeps your legs from sinking and allows you to fully focus on your arm stroke and technique.
- Zoomers - help teach technique for your legs, train your leg muscles and provide extra speed which improves your water position.
- Kickboard - while swimming in a triathlon, you actually want to swim with your legs as little as possible. Intensive use of your legs causes a high heart rate and a lot of energy loss. In particular, use your legs for a good water position. Using a plank, you can specifically train just your leg stroke.
''With the right training and a good dose of perseverance, anyone
#FINDYOURBEST
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