The Swimming Expert

QUESTION:

Hi Gary, My name is Canis. Firstly i would like to thank you for the Swimming Expert website you have. I found alot of interesting topics & tips to advance my swimming.

Gary, i have a question & i hope you can give me some tips on this matter.

What will be the best thing to do if you have some hours break between your prelims & final? For example, if your prelims is in the morning & you have around 4 – 5 hours untill warm up for your final.

So, what will be the best thing to do within the break? Will it be good if you sleep? Will it be good if you look up again your prelims video & find out what to change for final or visualitation while looking some other elite swimmer swimming on the utube?

Thank you Gary. Canis

ANSWER:

Hi Canis and thanks for your feedback on the Swimming Expert website and also for your ‘Likes’ on www.facebook.com/TheSwimmingExpert

The break between prelims (or heats) and finals is so important for swimmers.  It gives you time to recover from the prelim session and regenerate before swimming in the finals session, usually held in the evening. A good meal as soon as possible after heats (see www.NutritionForSwimmers.com for some great hints on what to eat) and either a sleep or good rest can really help you perform at your optimum in finals.  Having a good rest is especially important if you are swimming in a multi day meet and have to get up and perform in prelims and finals for more than 2 days.

In regards to having a sleep during the day, this is practised by most elite swimmers and usually an hour to 1 1/2 hours is sufficient to regenerate for finals .  If you sleep for too long (more than 1 1/2 to 2 hours) it can be hard to wake your body up properly for finals and it also makes it harder to get to sleep at night, so each individual will need to experiment with the ideal amount of sleep for them.

If you get the chance to have a look at the video of your heat swim then look for areas that you can improve.  It may be your start, turn or finish or something to do with your stroke.  It is ideal to look at your video with your coach, so that they can provide feedback to you.

Finally, taking the time to watch how the best swimmers in the world race can be both motivational and also can assist your learning and development.

Good luck with your swimming Canis.

Regards, Gary

QUESTION:

Hi, This is a question about my 10 year old sister.

She excels in swimming, the best in her club for her age in butterfly and freestyle by far, she even has the best 50m Butterfly time for her age and gender in the state.

She regularly comes homes from races with a handful of medals and always gets picked for the representative teams. Earlier the year she was picked to be in the State team travelling to Sydney for the school sport Nationals.

The problem is she doesn’t really care that much, she doesn’t like getting up at 4:30am and all she wants to do is skip sets and socialise, which happens often. I really don’t want her to give up on her humongous ability. Is their things I can do to get her to love and enjoy it more?

Thanks,

C

ANSWER:

Hi C,  Thanks for your question and I am very impressed that you have this concern for your younger sister.

Swimming is a hard sport and while most swimmers will go through periods where they will love participating in the necessary training sessions and competitions, they will also go through some tough times.

The requirement for swimmers to train before and after school can mean that the early morning training sessions can be a real challenge and at times may lead to decreased motivation if they are not really enjoying the training.

As a 10 year old, it is important that your sister has other interests apart from swimming.  It may be doing another sport once or twice a week or nothing to do with sport, like music, drama or another activity.

Probably the major thing you can do is to encourage her with her swimming and be there for her if ever she wants to talk to you about it. Encourage her to train hard and set goals that motivate her, and there is every chance you will help her through this period.

Unconditional love for your sister is the best thing you can do for her.

Regards

Gary

The Swimming Expert

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If you have children who swim competitively then this book is a fantastic gift for your husband, wife, partner, children, coach or yourself!

As an extra special offer to all ‘The Swimming Expert’ subscribers, all copies purchased by midnight on Thursday 6 December 2012 can include a message from me and my personal signature.   All you have to do when you purchase the book online is include in the comment section ‘who you would like the book addressed to and a one line comment you would like included’.

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You are welcome to forward the kink to this post to members of your swimming club as I am sure there are many parents who would like to take up this great offer.

The Christmas Special Offer will finish at midnight on Thursday 6 December 2012. Postage charges are available at checkout.

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QUESTION:

Hi Gary, First of all, your website and book have been great – definitely an important tool for parents with kids who swim.

I would like to ask how I can help my son… he’s 11 years old, he is in the swimming squad, he trains 4 times a week (1.5hours per session) and most of all he loves swimming.

The breathing problem started early this year, at an inter school competition, and since then he has been anxious about races/competition.  He still enjoys training very much.  I have informed his coach about it.

According to him, after the dive, as he swims, his chest felt tight and he felt like he couldn’t breathe.  This happens with the breaststroke and butterfly, but more so with freestyle.

Yesterday we had a club race, he joined the backstroke event but backed out on the other styles.  I am very happy that he went to the race and joined, even though it is just one event.

He has asthma, but it hasn’t been bad in the last 4 years and I think swimming has helped him a lot.

I would appreciate if you can give me suggestions on how I can address this problem.  I thought of maybe approaching a ‘doctor’ but Im not sure who and a specialist in what field..

Thank you very much. Jinky

ANSWER:

Hi Jinky, Many swimmers, both children and adults, have various different breathing problems when they swim.

I have coached a number of swimmers over the years who have had a similar problem to your son.  In most cases it was a small case of anxiety and then gradually it built up more and more until they didnt want to compete.

As a coach, this is what I did.

We often did time trials at training where all swimmers had to stand at the end of a lane and maybe 4 would go at a time for a 100m freestyle, then the next 4 and so on.  This way the boy got to practice a type of racing without realising it, because it was part of training.

Next we started doing some gamble swims.  For example if I put 20 x 50 on the whiteboard and then nominated someone to go within 2 seconds of their PB for a 100 freestyle time trial and if they achieved it, the set would drop to 10 x 50. Their team mates would cheer them on (more pressure) and they would often swim a PB.  After a few weeks the boy had a turn and thrived on it.  We then discussed that what he just did was harder than going in a competition and he excelled, and then entered him in a low level meet to try competition again and it worked well.

In regards to the tight chest feeling, it is important that he relaxes and enjoys racing before concerning himself with times and places.  This step must come first, with no outside pressure from anyone.  If he can enjoy racing again, he will have no problem with his breathing over time.

Having said all that, if he continues to have trouble breathing and does have a history of asthma then it would be a good idea to see a sports doctor who understands asthma.

Regards Gary

The Swimming Expert

QUESTION:

Hi Gary,

Re- swimming training: Are there any excercises that my son Liam would be doing for rugby league that would hinder  his swimming development. I understand that in athletics for instance, certain coaches suggest that swimming for example may counteract against a runners development – I believe that this is regards to certain muscle development?

Regards Brett

ANSWER:

Hi Brett,

This is an area I have experienced only with AFL players and below are my thoughts.

Swimming is a great sport to develop all areas of the body.  This includes the development of a strong upper body, especially around the shoulders.  Swimming requires flexibility and swimmers often do exercises to keep their joints flexible so that they maintain a full range of motion when they are swimming.  Swimming provides athletes with a very strong aerobic system and their fitness is normally a huge asset for running based sports.

Sports like AFL and rugby require athletes to develop muscle and ‘thicken up’ especially around the shoulder and knee joints to avoid injuries when tackled or changing direction quickly.  For example, when they are tackled they want to ensure that their shoulders don’t just pop out on impact.  It is therefore important that they are not too flexible around the joints.

The primary way swimming may counteract a runners development from my point of view is that swimming develops the upper body with strong muscles and definition.  From my observations, track athletes are normally quite fine through the upper body so there is less weight to carry around the track.

That’s probably the extent of my knowledge Brett and others may be able to add their comments below.

Regards Gary

The Swimming Expert

Recently I posted an article and some tips on http://theswimmingexpert.com/how-to-fix-my-sons-freestyle/

Following this article there has beena good response from a number of coaches, however one of them has stood out, and I will share it with you below.

Hi Gary,

Concentrating on kicking to keep the legs together while breathing may stop the leg spread as described in your article but I wonder whether there is a simpler solution.

As a swim teacher my aim is to develop safer swimmers by making swimming as relaxed and simple as possible, making swimming efficient. Expending less energy will enable the swimmer to swim further. And if swimming is more efficient, greater propulsive effort can be made when required.

For every action there is a reaction. Is the spreading of the legs during breathing a cause or an effect? What does the spreading cause or what causes the spread?

The spread only occurs during breathing. Possibly the breathing action causes the spread. Concentrating on kicking will only mask the effect of the poor breathing technique; Poor breathing will still have a negative effect on the body position in the water, will still unbalance the stroke and interfere with with the propulsive force produced by the stroking arm during the breath. The extra effort kicking will have an unnecessary energy cost.

There are a number of reasons why some swimmers turn their head too far while breathing.

• Often they simply take too large a breath, meaning that the mouth needs to be out of the water  for a longer time (Most swim teachers talk to their learners about taking a big breath)

• Some swimmers will breath in too slowly, again meaning that the mouth needs to be out of the water for a longer time

• Many swimmers will not completely exhale under water and will exhale somewhat to the side again meaning that the mouth needs to be out of the water for a longer time.

• Some swimmers will breathe well but still turn their heads too far because of habit again meaning that the mouth needs to be out of the water for a longer time.

• And there so many swimmers who lift their head as they turn to the side again meaning that the mouth needs to be out of the water for a longer time.

• Some swimmers will breathe at an inappropriate time forcing the head to turn further than necessary again taking longer.

The common denominator is the length of time  taken to turn the head to the side and back under.

These problems can be easily corrected. Once a correct breathing action motion has been learnt (ear in water developing to one eye in the water during the head turn) the emphasis must be increasing the speed of the breath intake so the mouth is out of the water for the minimal time possible. This will minimally disrupt the body balance  (streamline). There will be no need to counterbalance by spreading the legs. There will be less energy expended turning the head and no need to expend extra energy kicking.  There will be minimal disruption to the stroke while breathing. Even the speed through the water of a slow swimmer or someone swimming slowly will increase as the streamline is maintained.

The breathing can be improved by simple practice. Lie face down in the water supported by the instructor and practice breathing. Work on technique and then speed. As soon as the mouth comes out of the water it should be submerging again. Breath intake is momentary. As the learner relaxes with a quick breath less support can be given and the swimmer will be able to lie prone in the water and practice their breathing with little leg movement.

When my swimmers practice floating as a water safety exercise they prefer face down to floating on their back.

The next drill is kick and breathe (No kick boards as the boards will make the body position non specific to freestyle). One arm extended, one arm at side, breath away from the extended arm. No arm movements allowed.

This drill helps swimmers learn the feel of the correct breathing timing and cannot be performed with the arms still if the breath is slow or high or if great streamline is not maintained. They need to look at the bottom beneath them. Swim blind, like Bill Boomer told us years ago.

Then concentrate on short swims with great technique not allowing fatigue to build  which would encourage the swimmer to return to habitual swimming. Only extending the length of the swims if technique is maintained. Stopping the swim if technique deteriorates.

If you are standing on the pool-deck of a 50 metre pool with a great swimmer swimming towards you the breathing movement will be difficult to observe.

Breathing unbalances the stroke, poor breathing unbalances the stroke even more. If the stroke is unbalanced there must be a reaction. Spreading the legs is a simple method to maintain balance in the water.

During swimming the mouth needs to be out of the water for the least amount of time possible to maintain maximum streamline (keep the body balanced).

Often I believe that freestyle kicking can be over emphasised. I agree with Maglischo, “Swimming Even Faster” (pg 380) that too much energy can be expended kicking (Concentrating on kicking to mask poor breathing). Rushall in his Carlile Coaches’ Forum also discusses this. Freestyle kicking is for sprint swimming. Why do we emphasis kicking for beginning swimmers? Safety, being able to swim further is more important than being able to swim faster for the majority of swimmers. Long strokes with the legs moving to balance the stroke.

Regards, Phil Gavin, Sydenham St Swimming

QUESTION:

Hello Gary

I would like to ask your opinion on my 10 yr old daughter.  At the beginning of the year when she turned 10 she was developing well and hitting county and regional times, and over the months she has been slowly deteriorating.  Her technique does not appear to have changed, but her times are getting slower and slower and now her fellow swimmers of the same age are moving past her rapidly.  Can you give me any advice to try and rectify the problem as I don’t want her to lose her motivation.

Many thanks, Jaime

ANSWER:

Hi Jaime,

As children grow and develop their body shape, size and weight changes.  These changes can often affect their body position in the water, the drag experienced by the swimmer and their power to weight ratio when swimming.

I have seen over the years many children fluctuate wildly with their performances as their body grows.  For example if the child grows taller and puts on 5kg over time, the speed at which their muscles develop may not grow at the same pace. The result is slower swimming because their body weighs more however their strength and power has not increased YET!  It will though and when it does, swimmers often see a sudden drop in their times even though they had been swimming the same speed or slower for a long period of time.

The sections on Athlete Development and Female Development in www.SwimmingForParents.com will help you to further understand the changes that take place and would be well worth a read.

If you would like some advice on Nutrition, to ensure she is eating the right foods before and after training and before, during and after competitions, check out www.NutritionForSwimmers.com.

Finally, as a parent, keep encouraging her to enjoy her swimming and explain to her that by putting in a consistent effort over time the improvement she desires will come.

Regards

Gary

The Swimming Expert

QUESTION:

My daughter is 9 years old and has shown potential for swimming from a young age.  She is very tall for her age, very lean and long (her legs go up to her armpits!!).  She would be described as gangly.

She is having a weekly 1 hour “squad” lesson with a very competent teacher.  Over the last few weeks I feel her skills are deteriorating – she seems to be struggling to get her breathing right with freestyle (when previously it was very reasonable) and her backstroke (which used to be flawless) seems to have deteriorated.

My question is really whether it is common for kids to go backwards before they go forwards?

I realise that one hour a week is probably not enough but it is all we can manage right now.  My aim is for her to be a competent swimmer and to ultimately enjoy swimming, as well as to assist her lung function as she has asthma.  I’m keen to encourage her, however I’m feeling completely frustrated.  Her instructor has told me to persevere as she potentially has the right physique to be a good swimmer.

I look forward to your response and appreciate very much any further suggestions.   We live in Tassie.

Best wishes Kylie

ANSWER:

Hi Kylie,

Often as children grow they will go through periods where they will lose coordination or feel awkward in the water.  This will happen on and off as they grow up, especially between the ages of 9 and 18 years.  So yes, it is common for children to go backwards before they go forwards as they grow and develop, and yes this can be very frustrating for a parent to watch.

When she begins swimming twice a week, which I would recommend she do as soon as possible, you will notice an improvement in her swimming after 8 to 10 weeks and she will become more consistent with her strokes as she develops a better feel of the water.

By the description you give of her body, it sounds look she has some good attributes that will assist her to be a strong swimmer as she gets older.  Be patient as her coordination may take some time to develop but when it does, and she gets some strength into her body she has every chance of being a competent swimmer.

At the risk of self-promotion, may I suggest that you get a copy of the Swimming for Parents book.  You will particularly enjoy the sections on ‘Athlete Development’ and ‘Female Development’.  You can access the book at www.SwimmingForParents.com.

I hope this helps Kylie and let me know if you have any other questions.

Regards Gary

The Swimming Expert