Coach Monsy's Common Corrections
Monica swam collegiately for The University of Wisconsin (Madison). During her triathlon career, she set swim course records around the world, many of which still stand.
Back when males and females raced together, Monica was one of the few females who could swim with the fastest men.
Monica has spent the last 30 years helping adults learn to swim better.
I asked her to run us through the tips that come up most frequently.
The best way to use these tips is to take video of yourself:
Head On
Side View
Swimming Away
We’ve sorted the tips by category.
Body Position
If you have body position challenges then you’ll be dealing with anxiety and a rushed feeling throughout your swim cycles
The stroke will feel rushed.
Arms will be spinning with a high cadence.
Often the pull is shallow and in front of the face.
The correction is to relax and lengthen both the stroke & the body line.
Align the head, hips and heels.
Watch that no water is hitting the back of the head or neck.
Keep the head laying flat when breathing.
Slow the rate of kicking.
If you find you are a “sinker” then blow your air out, forcefully into the water, immediately before you breathe.
Entry & Pull Mechanics
Once the body position is relaxed, move on to entry and pull mechanics.
The rushed stroke (above) can be caused by:
An entry beside the head, or ear.
A short pull length, with the hand leaving the water around the top of the hip.
We want to lengthen both ends of the stroke:
Extend the entry so the hand enters down, in front of the shoulder. The sensation will be as if someone is pulling your arm from the armpit.
Extend the finish with the hand brushing the thigh as it exits the water.
These two changes complement the improved body position by doubling (or more) the power phase of the stroke.
Many experienced swimmers will have been taught to “swim the S” by using an S-shaped pull pattern. You will find it’s better to use one long line, as if your forearm is painting a line on the bottom of the pool. Keep the pull away from underneath the body.
Hand & Forearm
Think of the hand and forearm as a single paddle. We want to point that paddle down and push water straight back.
See the photo below, have your thumb pointing out perpendicular to your fingers. Fingers are together. This will maximize the surface area of your hand.
Kick
Use the “swimming away” view to check the kick, especially when watching breathing cycles on both sides.
Watch that the kick is vertical, rather that side-to-side, legs splaying, or swiveling above/below each other.
Generate the kick from the hips, rather than the knees, and keep a loose feeling in the ankles.
Engage The Mind
Warm-up sets, technique sets, drills and endurance sets… the primary purpose of this part of your swim week is to improve ONE thing in your stroke. Work on a single thing at a time and be willing to slow down to get it done.
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