For many triathletes, the swim is the most challenging discipline. Swimming takes considerably more time than biking or running to master, so the off season is the perfect time of year to spend some time learning on how to improve your swim technique. There are several different ways you can approach this:
- Hire a private swim coach – investing in some one-on-one time with a qualified swim coach is the most effective way to improve your swimming skills quickly. Nothing can replace having immediate feedback on your swim stroke.
- Take group lessons – this will be less costly than private instruction, but the coach’s time will also be split amongst the students. If you can find a local class offered, it can be helpful to listen to critique on other swimmers’ strokes.
- The 3 Minute Swim Coach – for just $20, you can have someone videotape you, email it and receive a full, detailed analysis of your swim stroke along with suggested swim drills for improvement and a customized workout designed by a qualified swim coach.
- Have a friend assess your stroke – maybe you have someone you know who swam competitively in the past. Ask him/her to come with you to the pool to give you a few pointers. Perhaps they could even take some video of you swimming and show it to you. Being able to see yourself on video so you can visualize the corrections you need to make can be very effective.
- Swim more – many people think that just adding in the yards or the workouts will result in improved swimming. Unfortunately, this is the least effective option. If you continue to swim with poor technique, you will only reinforce bad habits and it will make it that much harder for you to “unlearn” those bad habits and replace them with proper technique.
If you aren’t able (or willing) to do the above five approaches, we’ll cover the top five mistakes that triathletes make in the water so at least you have a starting point when perfecting that swim technique:
Top 5 Swimmer Mistakes
- Swimming off course
- Improper breathing
- Improper pacing
- Not drafting
- Keeping the head too high
If you need further assistance improving your swim, contact me.
Train Right, Tri Right
Coach MJ
