Swimming Drills

Swimming Drills

Everybody loves drills, don’t they?

Everybody improves their technique with drills, don’t they?

Everybody gets faster after doing drills, don’t they?

Everybody knows why they are doing a drill, don’t they?

Everybody can take the lessons from the drills and put them into their full stroke, can’t they?

If we can’t answer yes to the questions above, why are we doing drills?

Recent Prompt

A few recent 1-1 sessions with swimmers have prompted this post.

Prior to starting our 1-1 session, I asked the first swimmer what swim sessions they do each week. One was an endurance session and the other one was a drills session.

“A drills session? What drills are you doing and what bits of your stroke are you trying to improve?”

The swimmer really wasn’t sure.

“Do you think the drills have helped you improve your swimming?” I asked. “Not really”, was the reply.

The second swimmer was in the middle of our 1-1 session, and we started working on the catch. I asked him to do the “fists” drill, making his hand into a fist and trying to use his forearm to push water backwards. I explained the purpose, the reason we were doing it, and also how to do it effectively.

“Oh that’s what this drill is for! We do this in our club sessions, but I’ve never known why. Nobody has told me this before.”

Missing Out

I don’t want to say the drills they have done in their previous sessions have been a waste, because they may have improved, and their stroke may be better as a result. However, I am convinced that they could have improved quicker if they knew why they were doing the drills and then how the drills would transfer into their full stroke swimming.

These two swimmers are not alone. Many swimmers I meet know the drills, but don’t quite know why they do them or what they hope to improve.

When you know the purpose, you tend to be more mindful when doing the drills, knowing what you are trying to achieve. When you don’t quite understand, you tend to go through the motions, rush through the drill and try and get it over with! A bit of a waste.

Drills: 101

To help, here are a few of the drills I use in some of our sessions and some of our 1-1’s, and a quick idea why.

Water Polo

A versatile drill, that helps swim technique in a few different areas.

• Assertive hand entry
• Hand entry at shoulder width, not crossing into the middle
• Helps increase stroke rate
• Develops early catch and feel for the water

Catch Up

Another drill I like – as we can use it to focus on different things.

• Makes us thinks about stroke timing
• We are able to isolate – and focus – on each arm pull
• Focus on hand entry, extension and reach
• Helps us learn not to rush our strokes

Doggie Paddle

If ever our feel for the water is off, a quick burst of doggie paddle can help reset.

• Develop our high elbow catch
• Think about our feel for the water
• Focus on our reach and rotation

Fists

One of my ‘go to’ drills when thinking about the catch

• Improving the catch
• Feeling the water with our arms (rather than hands)
• Thinking of the forearm as part of the “paddle”, not just the hands

Sculling

Short sets with sculling can really help us think about our feel for the water.

• Develop different pressure on the water
• Awareness of hand and wrist tension and it’s impact on how much water we move
• Thinking about strong wrists, connecting the hand and forearm to make our big paddle

How Do You Feel About Drills?

I hope this post has helped your thinking around drills.

If you don’t know why you are doing the drill or what the drill is for, ask your coach.