Winter Swim Tips for Triathletes.
In this article I will be discussing some techniques and ideas based on how to keep motivated and work on your swimming during winter. If you are new to Triathlon swimming or an experienced racer looking to improve, I hope you find something new to try out!
Keeping motivated to swim during winter is crucial, as this is a great time to be working on your swimming to get ready for an awesome summer of racing! If you are struggling with motivation, try get a buddy or a group together to swim with or join a swim squad over winter. You could set a challenge for your own session, a small goal to work towards, such as swimming 1km non stop or taking 20 strokes per lap instead of 22 . The most important thing is to get excited about it and enjoy it, make it interesting!
Here are some technique tips to think about while you are swimming up and down the black line:
Look straight down. Keeping your eyes to the bottom of the pool reduces the amount of drag you create by keeping your torso high and feet up at the surface. Keeping your head down also reduces strain on your neck and lower back
Make each breath count. Exhaling all the air out of your lungs into the water before turning your head will help you to take a quick full breath to the side. Beginner swimmers will need to breathe after every stroke but as endurance improves, begin to breathe every 3 strokes to alternate the side you breathe to. This will reduce the strain on the neck and shoulders caused by repeatedly breathing to one side.
Kick like your feet are fins. When kicking, your feet should remain long and flexible, while your legs are long and taut, scissoring through the water. Your feet should snap at the downstroke. If you are struggling with flexibility, buy a set of fins to help add flexibility.
Try these ideas to make your pool session more open water Triathlon specific:
Instead of pushing off the wall each lap, try to flip or turn at the black T. Pick a couple of lengths to practise sighting your drink bottle at the end of the pool or your swim coach on the side. You could even practise dolphin diving in the shallow end of the pool (if your pool is shallow enough). To simulate a race situation try to swim two or three wide down the lane with some friends and practise drafting off each other. This will also help you to get a feel of what it is like swimming close to another swimmer. Swim half lengths and pretend there is a buoy in the middle of the lane and practise turning around it - you could even get a friend to pretend to be a buoy. Practise hypoxic breathing to improve lung capacity, for example, 100m increasing the amount of strokes you do between breaths each 25m - breathing every 3,5,7 strokes.
