WATCH THOSE HANDS

Something as small as hand positioning can makes a big difference in the water. Make sure that your hands are entering the water properly. You can tell if your hand is entering the water properly by doing the finger tip drag drill. If you don't know what the finger tip drill is, it is when you drag, as the title implies, your finger tips on top of the water all the way past your head and into the next stroke. If you have a hard time keeping your finger tips in the water throughout the stroke than you may have poor hand positioning. Another way to tell is if your elbow is entering the water before your hand. Make sure that your fingers (in a cupped shape) enter the water before your elbow. If your elbow is entering the water before your hand then you will have a real lack of power throughout your stroke and a plateau in your speed is almost guaranteed at some point. Make sure that while stroking through the water that you are pulling the water with that cupped hand and not letting your hand just slide through the water. The hand is vital to improving your swim--if you are having trouble braking through to the next level of speed WATCH THOSE HANDS.  

TODAY'S WORKOUT

Warm up 200 swim 

                  100 kick

  100 pull

4oo yrds

5 x 100 pull (working on hand positioning in the water) 1 min. rest in between 100s

5 x 100 swim (pulling makes you focus on your power stroke through the water apply this concept to these 5 x 100s) 1 min rest 

 

1000 yrds

25 x 25 drill 5x25, swim 5x25, ect...rest 15 sec in between 25s ( Do the finger tip drag on your drills then during the swims focus on your hands)

625 yrds

If you are just starting out or don't have the time warm down with a 200 easy here. If you are a more advanced swimmer and need a longer harder workout continue with the work out. 

5 x 200 moderate swim, swim for time, ect... These should be hard! Work on your hands in these timed swims. 

1000 yrds

16 x 50 kick 4, pull 4, swim 4, Sprint swim for time 4

400 yrds

Cool down with a long easy 200 yards. 

TOTAL YARDS: 3,625 yards 

Good luck and have fun!