Tensed swimming
Sully
Member
I returned to the pool this weekend for the first time in about two years. Five to six years ago I did several open water swims up to 10K and even a 25K SCY work out.
Now, and even then, I notice that I swim very tense. Even when I was in good swim shape by my standards I was often clenching for breaths and swimming with very little "poetry."
I've had a series of injuries including two herniated lumbar discs that I am recovering from. I very much want to get back into marathon swimming, but want to learn to "stroll" in the water.
Any drills, mindsets, techniques to develope that careless, relaxed stroke? Before, I believed it would just come as I put in the yards and got more comfortable in the water. After a couple years of very consistent swimming it didn't happen. Time to be more proactive this time.
Thanks, Sully
Comments
Terry Laughlin does some pretty poetic justice to the idea of relaxed swimming. You might want to pick up one of his Total Immersion books and/or videos.
Also: this is a good lecture that explains a lot of his philosophy. I believe it comes in six segments:
another drill you may want to give a try is from swim smooth called 'bubble bubble breathe'. its meant for bilateral breathing but i find it really helps me to relax in the water, i can be a clencher too. BTW the guy who developed it won MIMS one year, so its worth a check out. good luck
A great question- everyone will have their answers and hopefully you can find something useful!
One huge thing to consider is that often breathing is the root of tension- your fight or flight response can be an annoying (yet useful in some situations, obviously) thing in the water. Humans are not evolved to be under water so sometimes you have to "override" nervous system signals. Make sure you are exhaling through both nose and mouth and not trying to breath too deeply (no belly breaths).
One thing that has helped my swimming immensely is vinyasa yoga, which times breathing to moving- very much like swimming does. I also find it quite useful to work to use breathing to help keep my nervous system calm during physical or mental discomfort.
Another thing which has helped me during long solo swims is to have an "inventory" sort of list when I start feeling not-so-good in the water- posture, eyes down, eyes still, base of skull relaxed, back of neck straight, and on down the list...
Be conscious of exhaling fully. If you're feeling tense, stop and do some bobs, focus entirely on relaxed breathing.
It's always a bad hair day when you work at a pool.
It all starts and ends with the breath.
I have a few clients who get super tense with their breathing. I've found that humming while they exhale can really help their entire body relax. For one woman, it changed the entire way her body interacted with the water. She couldn't believe it!
Humming is the secret to perfect nose bubbles!
It's always a bad hair day when you work at a pool.
When i feel like I'm swimming tense, I think like a fish and have fun with it! I can break free from the rigidity of stroke and form by pretending that I'm flipper ! This probably doesn't work for everyone, but I'm good at butterfly and I can undulate through the water, releasing tension. However, beware as this behavior can annoy Brits and other very formal swimmers!
If you think you may have accidently annoyed a Brit, just give them a big hug....they love that ;o)
I worked w someone on flip turns b/c I can get very tense as I approach the wall and freeze up. The coach who helped me urged me to hum while going into the turn. I felt a bit silly, but figured why not! It did help!
Another coach noticing some breathing issues I was having last year as I recovered from bronchitis recommended that I focus on the exhale. Had some very intense repeats today in swim practice and rememberedwhat he said. It definitely helped me breathe more easily.
I tell the little kids I teach that humming is the secret to perfect nose bubbles...which keeps water out of your nose!
It's always a bad hair day when you work at a pool.