Change the way you develop skills. Positively impact your swimmers’ skills, especially when working with large groups. Build the skills that win races while training hard. Easily incorporate these ideas into the workouts you’re already doing. bit.ly/3tdWmdw

Parachutes are one of the most practical strategies for helping swimmers use resistance training to improve skill. Like other types of resistance, they encourage swimmers to create more propulsion by encouraging backward-oriented limb actions and helping swimmers better feel how they’re interacting with the water. Unlike other types of resistance, they have some unique benefits: Many swimmers can safely use them in the same lane. They can be used during any type of set over any distance. They are cheap and easy to store. While these are definitely logistical benefits, it’s often logistics that determine effectiveness in practice. The easier it is to actually use a given type of equipment, the more likely it is that it gets used and used effectively. For more on how to use strategies like parachutes to improve skill and speed, click below to check out my free mini course on how to build skills while training hard. buildbettersets.com

The power of constraints is that they can require swimmers to swim more effectively, especially when they’re training hard. For most swimmers, skills go right out the window as soon as they’re under pressure. That’s a problem because that’s precisely when they have to be swimming at their best. To improve a backstroker’s pull, we could have them focus on their catch. Or we could have them go: 10x100s Backstroke with a buoy ODD Upside down paddles EVEN Regular Same stroke count each lap Strong effort The buoy puts the pressure on the upper body, the upside down paddles encourage them to use the whole arm, and the stroke counts require them to be efficient. The same concept can be used during any type of set. Put swimmers in situations where they have to execute the skills they need to go fast, and they have to make it happen while working hard. Click below if you’re a coach and you want to learn how to use these concepts to build sets for free. buildbettersets.com

Effective undulation is key for fast underwater kicking. It allows for the feet to be moved very quickly over a large range of motion. Undulation must start somewhere, and it starts in at the top of the body and travels down the body. If swimmers don’t have control of their head and arms, they’re going to be in trouble. To help swimmers build stability in their underwater kicking, and create the platform for great undulation, I like using strategies that encourage swimmers to keep their hands still. Any activity that encourages (or forces!) swimmers to keep their hands still is going to help swimmers learn where undulation comes from and how to make it happen. Very simple, very effective.

The less resistance swimmers create as they move through the water, the faster they will go. Simple. What’s less simple is helping swimmers learn how to make it happen. The biggest challenge is helping swimmers feel how they are creating resistance in their stroke. The more we can help them feel it, the more we can help them fix it. Drills are a powerful way to help swimmers improve their alignment. Effective alignment drills put swimmers in positions where they can feel how to change their position to minimize resistance. Some drills exaggerate the resistance so swimmers can become more aware of what’s happening. Other drills minimize the resistance so swimmers can feel what’s possible. What’s key is using drills to help swimmers become more aware of different ways of moving through the water and help them learn to make it happen.

One of the worst positions breaststrokers can get stuck in is with the hands under the chest after they pull. Yet it happens all the time. Not only are swimmers no longer creating propulsion with the legs, but they’re also creating a ton of drag of due to poor body position. AND they can’t kick until they get back in line. The solution is simple. Swimmers have to aggressively reverse directions and lunge forward. This allows them to get back into line faster, it allows them to kick sooner, and it allows them to get ready to pull sooner. While certain parts of the stroke require patience, the recovery of the arms is definitely not one of them. Swimmers need to get back in line FAST, and they need to be as aggressive as possible when doing so. Follow @andrewksheaff for more on the key skills in swimming, and how to improve them.

Poor breathing can wreak havoc on any stroke. And it’s not just the skill of the breath. It’s when it happens that matters as well. If a ‘good’ breath is happening at the wrong time, swimmers are going to struggle to make the whole stroke work. A simple strategy for helping swimmers improve their breath timing is to remove the breath. Have swimmers perform repetitions without breathing in freestyle, butterfly, or breaststroke. Then add the breath back in, alternating between swimming without and with the breath. The goal is to minimize the difference between the two, working to ‘sneak’ the breath in without disrupting the rhythm of the stroke. It’s a simple strategy that can make a difference for swimmers that can’t figure out where to breathe.

Swimming research from the week… 1. Speed is the best predictor of 200-m performance followed by endurance. Swimming is ultimately a speed and skill game that is supported by fitness. shorturl.at/cXTAR @LachMitchell

One of the bigger mistakes that swimmers make when trying to swim fast backstroke is rotating while they pull. While they definitely want to rotate before and after the pull, they need to minimize rotation during the pull. This allows them to stay in effective puling positions for longer. Let’s help them make it happen. 4 Rounds 4x25 Delay backstroke Descend 1-4 2x50 Backstroke #1 Solid #2 strong The purpose of delay backstroke is to exaggerate the lack of rotation, to help swimmers feel how waiting to rotate allows them to stay in stronger positions for longer. They have to increase speed without losing the timing. Then, it’s a matter of making it happen when they swim. Help them feel the skill, help them do the skill. Click below if you’re a coach and you want to learn how to use these concepts to build sets for free. buildbettersets.com

To move forward, swimmers have to move water backward. To move water backward, they need to use a big surface area. The more of their arm or their leg they can get facing backward, the more effective they’ll be at moving water. It is one of THE most important skills swimmers can master to create as much speed as possible. How can we help swimmers learn how to create more propulsion with a bigger surface area? One of my favorite strategies is using different hand postures. By closing the fist or holding a paddle upside down, swimmers have to learn to use the forearm to create more propulsion. More forearm usage means more surface area. Add some speed or stroke count expectations and swimmers are going to learn fast.

When it comes to deciding which skills swimmers need to improve to go fast, the clearer those skills are, the more likely it is that those skills are actually going to get better. Clear skills make it much more obvious which activities are going to be most effective for improving those skills. Effective activities make it much easier to design great sets, which leads to great practices. But if the skills aren’t clear, coaches may choose to emphasize the wrong aspects of those skills, or because it’s not clear what to do, they may do nothing at all. Clarity leads to action, and action leads to results. The entire process of improving skills starts with being very clear about which skills actually need to get better.

It’s not hard to move the arms fast, it’s not hard to swim long, but it IS hard to do both at the same time. Here’s a set that forces swimmers to figure out how to do both. The idea is simple. We’re going to cap swimmers’ stroke rates and then ask them to swim faster within each segment. The only way they swim faster is by swimming bigger because they can’t move their arms faster. As the distances get shorter, the stroke rates get faster. Across each round, the repetition numbers drop and the stroke rates get faster. That means swimmers should be able to swim faster and the only way they’ll be able to do that is by swimming better. And the objective numbers let them know exactly how successful they are. That drives learning, and learning drives performance. Click below if you’re a coach and you want to learn how to use these concepts to build sets for free. buildbettersets.com

Different strokes have different ranges of ‘effective’ stroke rates. Breaststroke can be performed at a wide range of rates. Freestyle is a big range, but not quite as big. Backstroke is tighter still and butterfly is pretty tight. When assigning stroke rates, I try to be very careful to ensure that the rates I am using are rates swimmers can be successful with. Stroke rates have to be used appropriately so that swimmers can swim WELL for the task at hand. The rates have to be appropriate for the distance, the volume, the intensity, and the recovery intervals. And ‘appropriate’ is different for different strokes. If swimmers are struggling with stroke rate challenges, it’s often because the stroke rate isn’t appropriate for the stroke and the set.

Making sure all the important skills are developed every week is simple. 1. Plan the week. Not just the training components but which skills are going to be addressed as well. 2. Log the week. Write down what actually happened and compare it to what was supposed to happen. It’s a simple habit that most coaches are already doing, especially with their training. Add the skill development piece and now swimmers are learning the skills they need to succeed with the fitness they need to execute those skills under pressure. Simple. Follow @andrewksheaff for more on long-term skill development.

Swimming with a closed fist is useful for more than just improving the pull. Closing the fist can also help swimmers improve their alignment as well. How? A lot of swimmers scull whenever they lose their alignment in order to stabilize their body in the water. Take away the hands and they can no longer scull to hold everything together. Now they can FEEL when they lose their alignment and creates the opportunity to fix it. I particularly like to combine closed fist swimming or swimming with tennis balls and alignment drills. Swimmers have to work a lot harder to ensure that great alignment is coming from the torso and not just through the hands. If they try to cheat with the hands, it’s not going to work. When they go back to regular swimming and open hands, it’s going to be a lot easier to execute and keep everything in line to create a ton of speed.

If butterflyers can’t get their kick timing synced up, they will struggle to create speed. The kick serves two functions: to move the hips forward and to move the hips up. Swimmers kick when the hands enter the water to get the hips up and re-establish alignment after the recoveries, as well as create propulsion prior to the pull. Swimmers kick when the hands exit the water to maximize propulsion into the recovery and to get the hips up in the water to allow for as effortless a recovery as possible. As always, it’s about maximizing propulsion, minimizing drag, and doing the right thing at the right time to make it happen.

Resisted swimming isn’t just effective because it helps swimmers improve their power in the water. It’s effective because it directly improves their skill at manipulating the water and creating propulsion, which allows them to create more power. It’s all about feedback. With resistance, swimmers can better feel when their skills aren’t moving them forward, so they change. With resistance, swimmers can better feel when they’re losing pressure on the water, so they change. Clearer feedback allows swimmers to better understand how effective they are with their skills, which allows them to make changes that lead to faster swimming. For more on how to use strategies like resistance to improve skill and speed, click below to check out my free mini course on how to build skills while training hard. buildbettersets.com

How does resisted swimming help swimmers go faster? More than anything else, it helps swimmers learn to create more propulsion with each stroke. And when performed at faster and faster speeds, it helps swimmers learn how to create more propulsion FAST. When using resisted swimming, I like to do a lot of the work at controlled speeds. That forces swimmers to put some effort into it while really focusing on moving as much water as possible. Then, I’ll let them test to the limits to see if they can continue to execute their skills with the resistance and create even more speed and propulsion. It’s a balance between fast work that develops their skill and the really fast work that tests their skills. Both are important.

Kick timing changes when swimmers change speed and there is a simple way to understand what’s happening and if swimmers are using effective kicking timing. The kick helps control rotation, so it’s all about timing. Swimmers change their arm timing when they try change speeds, so the kick timing needs to follow as well. Check out these two swimmers. When sprinting, the arms move in opposition, and swimmers tend to kick on the same side when they enter the water. When they swim over longer distances, there is more overlap in the front of the stroke, and swimmers tend to kick on the opposite side when they enter the water. While different swimmers can time their arms differently across different speeds, the leg timing and arm timing should sync up. When they do, swimmers are more likely to create efficient speed. Watch the entries to understand what they’re doing, and help create change as necessary. Follow @andrewksheaff for more on the key skills in swimming, and how to improve them.