Triathlon Results – For the Swim

For most triathletes, the swim proves to be the most difficult event. To help you improve your overall triathlon results, you will need to make sure your swimming results are up to par.

To help you achieve your goals, I am providing 10 steps to improving your swim:

1. A lot of swimmers attempt to enter their hands after completely bringing the arm forward.

It is more efficient to slice your hand into the water at about eye level and drive it forward. This helps you to rotate from side to side easier.

2. When swimming freestyle, you need to make sure that your head is kept straight down with only a small part of the back of your head showing out of the water. As you are rotating through the water, try to keep your head in that position.

3. When you pull your arms back for the stroke, make sure you pull all the way past your hips. Most people think the acceleration comes when your arm is out of the water, but it should be that last tug when you are pulling past your hips.

4. When training for the swim, don’t kick harder, especially if you are trying to compensate for the unbalanced water. It is better to keep your kicking to a minimum. This actually improves your balance and preserves your energy, which will directly affect your triathlon results.

5. Be aware of your training intensity by measuring your heart rate after each swim.

6. If you are a part of a master’s team, don’t feel like you always need to swim fast. Sometimes it is important to slow down to focus on your stroke technique. Remember that you need to keep your personal goals in mind. Don’t let moving into the slow lane diminish your pride.

7. Don’t let your arm cross over to the opposite side on the pull. If you breathe on your left side, it is normally habit for the right arm to cross over and vice versa if you breathe on your right side. This is due to over-rotation. If you keep your head in the correct position, this will prevent this from occurring.

8. If swimming is your hardest event, make sure that you are in the water at least every other day. By doing this your body is aware of how you need to balance in the environment.

9. To mix things up a bit and to work out your lungs, do some hypoxic training. For example, do a set of 4 x 100s while breathing every 3-5-7-9 strokes by 25. You should rest only 15 seconds between each 100. This will train your lungs for the race.

10. If you work on your weakest event the most it is very likely that you will improve greatly. The same goes for techniques in each event. For example, if your hand entry is off the rocker, you will want to practice that a lot.

Hopefully, these swimming tips will help you improve your results, which in turn will help improve your overall triathlon results.