Many of us use swimming as a supplement to our dry-land workouts. We hop in the pool to stretch out and work a little of that lactic acid out of our systems. Swim a few laps, call it good and go about our day. But did you realize that you can get a lot more out of your workout?

Swimming is a complex sport and one that most people think of as a ‘high-dedication’ sport. In order to improve, you must be in the pool 2+ hours a day. And to improve your speed and endurance at the point of a competitive swimmer, yes, that kind of effort is necessary. But it’s totally possible to improve your stroke technique and physical fitness without putting in that massive amount of work. Swimming should be fun!

That’s where Drills come in. Drills are a way to hone a specific skill in a stroke – you can do drills to improve kicking, breathing, body positioning, any number of factors that contribute to your efficiency in the water. A drill is simply a way to modify your stroke to focus on these skills, then see how they affect your stroke!

Try out a few of these Drills, and add them to your repertoire!

Freestyle

• Zipper Drill: Pretend that there is a zipper running from your hip to your shoulder. As you are doing your pull and bringing your hand out of the water, use your thumb to ‘zip up’ the zipper. The intent of this drill is to correct arm positioning during a freestyle stroke! Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBWEwihZeg4

• Clenched Fist Drill: This is a simple one. Just do regular freestyle, with a closed fist instead of an open palm! You’ll notice that it is harder to pull effectively. This drill is to teach you how to correctly pull water when you cannot rely on your ‘paddling’ hands. Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwBk_8UDCgQ

Backstroke

• 6-Kick Switch: To perform this drill, do one stroke. When you bring your hand above your head, instead of pulling underneath your body, rotate to the side and hold your positioning for 6 kicks. Then complete your pull and repeat with the other arm. Alternate this pattern, making sure to ‘over-rotate’. Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTCrC9frLQs

• Kickboard Positioning: This drill uses a kickboard to improve your body positioning and balance in the water. Hold our kickboard at hip-height, then do a stroke with one arm, the other holding the kickboard in place. Switch hands, and repeat. Then bring your kickboard above your head, and repeat again. In a third, optional position, hold the kickboard out of the water, pointed at the ceiling, and repeat again. Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pn9SP2ucA8Y

The pool will be rented out from 1:00 – 2:00 pm on May 21 & 28. Sorry, no lanes will be available during that time.

There are a variety of exercise modalities that can have a pronounced impact on your level of physical activity. Using a Water environment is one such modality due to its’ scientific properties. The specific properties that lend themselves to increased performance are:

• Buoyancy (body’s ability to float in water)

• Hydrostatic Pressure (pressure of water on the body)

• Viscosity (density of the water)

• Thermodynamics (temperature of the water)

How do these properties enhance physical activity performance?

• Upward lift of the water on the body or “buoyancy” reduces the effect of gravity on your body. Being submerged in chest-deep water decreases the effect of gravity by 60% whereas being submerged in neck-deep water reduces the effects by 90%. So what’s the benefit? Buoyancy means less impact on your joints which is especially important if you have joint issues or just would like to recover from gravity-based training.

• The pressure of the water, “Hydrostatic Pressure”, is exerted on all the surfaces on the body. This multi-directional pressure compresses the chest making breathing more difficult but with training, the muscular mechanisms of breathing do improve. Water pressure “massages” the body assisting with circulation so the heart does not have to work as hard to pump blood throughout the working body. The Lymphatic system also benefits from the “massaging” pressure assisting the bodies “garbage carriers”!

• Waters density or “Viscosity is approximately 800 times denser than air! Why is that a benefit? Because of its’ density, any movement in the water provides resistance in a multitude of directions. Increasing the speed of movement and/or the surface area of the movement can exponentially increase the resistance to the movement!

• Water transfers heat, “Thermodynamics”, away from the body 25 times faster than air! This affects the heart rate and oxygen consumption rate during activity. Cooler temperatures, 64.4-77 F degrees Fahrenheit, result in lower heart rates than do warmer temperatures, 86-95.9 F degrees Fahrenheit. For that reason, it is advisable to use Ratings of Perceived Effort (either 1-10 scale or 6-25 scale) instead of Heart Rate.

The contribution of these scientific properties of water allow us an exercise medium we can safely use to improve our Aerobic Endurance, Muscle Strength, Muscle Mobility and Flexibility, allow for graded progressive exercise as well as lessen the daily impact of gravity, giving the body some needed recovery!

Make a splash in your physical activity by giving Water Fitness a try!!