In open water swimming, there are several factors such as a current and a swell that may impact your speed.
When you swim for a long distance, your speed also will be affected by the change of the form caused by fatigue.
To change your swim style based on the environment or your condition makes your swim more effective and your speed more sustainable.
In this series, you will learn several kinds of skills to form your swimming styles. The goal is to have multiple gears (swimming styles) to swim faster and more efficiently.
Freestyle Drill Sequence
This simple sequence describes most of the drills used in the series. You can learn them quickly even if you are not used to doing Total Immersion drills.
6 Beat Kick Drills
6 Beat Kick is preferred to stabilize your lower body. It makes your swim resistant to a swell or a current.
Constantly moving your legs helps to avoid cramps and maintain body temperature.
We introduce Finis Ankle Strap to learn 6 Beat Kick more efficiently. But you can get the idea of moving your knees without it.
Edging Drills
To be resistant to a swell or a current, swim with an angled body while leaning forward. When you extend your arm in the water, lean forward and place your weight on your arm. This movement is called edging as if swimming through the water like a knife.
When you edge your body, it is important to tighten your core muscles and keep your legs together. We introduce Finis Ankle Strap to learn edging more efficiently.
Stroke Phase
You can coordinate the timing of the movements more precisely by learning the stroke phase of freestyle.
Understand the connection between the right arm and the left arm and between one arm above the surface and the other in the water.
Underwater Stroke
When you increase your tempo, you can avoid slipping by controlling underwater stroke. We will introduce a sculling sequence for precise movement of palms and elbows.
Recovery Control
You will learn to control the height of recovery to shorten the track for increasing the tempo. You will also learn how to recover and insert your hand over a swell.
Switch Timing Control
You can control your speed by changing the tempo. You will learn to change the tempo by changing the switch timing to avoid slipping. We introduce three kinds of timing control for open water swimming.
Using Leverage
You can get more propulsion from less energy by creating "leverage" with both arms coordinated. In open water swimming, you tend to be pushed by the current or the swell. By utilizing leverage, you can move forward efficiently as well as keep your body stable. You can learn three kinds of leverage in the video.
Gear Control
In open water swimming, it is important to change your swimming style according to the environment and your condition. We call such swimming styles "gears" like riding bicycles. We recommend you to have at least three kinds of gears as follows:
- Cruising Gear
- Low Gear
- High Gear
Course Curriculum
