This week we are back in the pool for our ‘Learn To Swim’ series, with some swim drills to improve your stroke technique. If you’re becoming a more confident swimmer and looking for methods to increase your stroke technique and power then this video will give you a set of 4 separate drills consisting of:
- The Front End Scull
- The Mid Stroke Scull
- The Back End Stroke Scull
- Single Arm Drills
There is also a full transcript of the video below if you prefer to work through the drills in a written format.
Having specific drills and sets to use during your swim training is thoroughly important for the intermediate to advanced swimmers. We are now going to cover a few sets and drills that will get you going and help to improve your swimming over the coming year.
There are three sculling drills that I use during my pool sessions to help my swimmers improve their catch phase, their feel for the water and their overall power output during their swim, it is broken down into 3 stages.
The first stage is a front end scull. Your arms are going to be in the catch position, which is critical point number one. You are going to scull and pull yourself up the pool as far as you can go. I tend to get the swimmers to repeat this 8-12 times, or 8-12 25m with around a 10 second rest between each 25m.
The second stage is the mid stroke scull, this is critical point number two. Your arms are going to be below your chest, hands underneath the body, elbows pointing out to the side. You are going to scull in this position, keeping your shoulders as still as you possibly can. Most of the movement is going to come from the elbows and the wrist, and you are going to hold that position, and feel the pressure of the water with your palms facing down towards your feet.
The third stage is the back end stroke scull, arms at critical point number three. Your palms will be facing down towards your feet, and you are going to scull from side to side, feeling the pressure of the water on your hands.
If you successfully complete all of these sculling drills, you will find that you will be creating a lot more force during your stroke, and your power output will increase significantly.
Now we move on to single arm drills, I would put these into three categories; single arm left, single arm right, and then a drill which is 6 full, 6 left, 6 right. During these drills you’ve got to try and ensure (especially during single arm) that you are isolating the arm and trying to focus on what you may be doing incorrectly with that arm.