Steps to improve your swimming technique

If you are a triathlete who is still fighting with water, this article interests you. We will explain the importance of each part of the swim so you can focus on a progressive improvement of your crawl technique.

When we evaluate in general the swimming technique, we can establish 4 categories to observe the movements: corpora positionl, action of the arms, action of the legs y coordination. Each of these categories has its items, which in the crawl style would be the following:

The evaluation of each one of the items of the different categories will establish the total efficiency of the crawl swim, so that the closer we get to the optical technical execution, the more energy we invest will be useful for the displacement in the water. .

But what do I need to improve first?

Well, if we look at the figure that appears below, the most important of the technical executions of crawl corresponds to the underwater stroke, followed by body position, coordination and finally the shake and recovery.

1 image: Relevance of the technical executions of the crawl style (Ortega J., 2015, Adapted from Arellano 2010).

In spite of the fact that the underwater stroke has the most relevance, this action will not be able to be carried out without an adequate body position, therefore first we must focus on eliminating movements that increase resistance to advance and raised head position o very sunken, el snaking of the caderto hip and legs very sunken, scissor kick, etc.

As general advice to maintain your body position, imagine that you are a doll crossed by a bar, like those of the table football, but in your case from head to toe.

The body remains aligned from head to toe, with the look down and slightly forward, the hips just below the surface of the water and the feet approximately one foot from the surface. All aligned so that they can never leave the width of the hips.

Our foosball doll will make longitudinal turns with each stroke to help the movement of traction and recovery of the arms, that is, the roll.

Once you have your body position and roll (movement of football) dominated, we will move to focus on the movement of the underwater stroke, which we will explain later details.

References

• Arellano, R. (2010). Swimming Technical Training. Madrid, Ed. Cultivalibros.
• Ortega Diez, J. (2016). Importance of body position during swimming. https://g-se.com/importancia-de-la-posicion-corporal-durante-el-nado-a-crol-bp-q57cfb26ddb735

Laura García Cervantes

Dra. Science of Physical Activity and Sport

Technical Director Club Trikatlón Tres Cantos

Triathlon and Swimming Senior Trainer

Paratriathlon Specialist Trainer

Photo: ITU