How Your Swimmers Can Improve Their Times Without Any Faster

By Coach Buddy Baarcke

Impossible! Makes no sense! But let me explain… Without swimming at a higher rate of speed, a swimmer can go faster by: Coaches, get your whips out and make

1. Going straight. Too many swimmers swim in meets just everyone on your team consistently do as they do in practice: in circles. A 1650 swimmer who veers 12 inches off on each length will go these simple things to “improve their 66 feet too far. A potential time of, say, 17:00, will slow to 17:13.6. In a crowded practice pool, circle times without swimming any faster.” swimming is necessary. In a meet, with no one else in his lane, a swimmer must go absolutely straight.

2. Pushing off immediately. Many swimmers make fast flip turns but do not push off the instant the faster than a poor one, but right 1988 – With a perfect finish in the 100 feet touch the wall. Why? Because at the end of most races, even Fly, Anthony Nesty of Surinam wins by their hands are not ready: up by some 1650s, hundredths count. 1/100th over the USA’s the head before the feet touch These are humans racing, not who slightly bobbled his finish. the wall. Our 1650 swimmer has machines. They are watching each wasted probably 1/10th of a other, keying off each other, and second per turn, and so with 65 so, many races are microscopically 2008 – Dara Torres of the USA loses turns the potential 17:00 has now close. A good finish is simple the 50 Free by 1/100th! slowed to 17:20.1(17:00 + 13.6 + – really. A freestyler must quit wins the 100 Fly by 1/100th! 6.5). breathing four or five strokes out

and keep his eyes on the wall. Viewing underwater film of Kieren Maybe the second-place finisher made Only by not looking away, by Perkins and Grant Hackett, both a “perfect” finish and still lost, but not breathing on those last few of Australia, racing in the 1500 probably not. Finishes need to be strokes, can a perfect touch be Free in the 2000 Sydney Games, practiced, not just left to chance. made. And proper finishes must it is immediately apparent why also be practiced for the other Perkins lost his attempt to win the three strokes. Too many coaches So, all of these things apply to all Olympic 1500 three times in a row: do a great job of training their distances – even the 50. he hesitates 29 times(!) before swimmers on all other aspects pushing off. Hackett’s hands were of racing but forget to work on up by his head and he pushed off finishes. Swimmers must go absolutely straight immediately each time. Perkins and must push off from turns the caught Hackett between turns instant their feet touch the wall. And, almost every time, but … Remember these examples to execute a great touch, freestylers from the : and flyers must quit breathing the last 3. The finish. How many swimmers, 1972 – Gunnar Larson of Sweden beats few strokes and focus on the wall. no matter what the length of Tim McKee of the USA by 2/1000ths the race, do a proper, big-time, of a second in the 400 meter IM. After Coaches, get your whips out and make “professional” finish? Maybe half of that the rules were changed to record everyone on your team consistently do them. A really great finish might times only in hundredths. these simple things to “improve their be only hundredths of a second times without swimming any faster.” 

4 Volume 2010 Issue 01 | www.swimmingcoach.org

6789200490_10ascamagazine Size: 11” x 17” Folds to: 8.5” x 11” American Swimming Magazine Inks: PMS 186, Black Element: Volume 2010 Issue 01 Round: 0 Date: ASCA Online Articles Page 1 of 3

News & Articles Features Swim Links Speakers Bureau Contact Us Marketplace Clinics & Events FIND Current Articles Previous Articles On Doing Less...a story GUIDES Resource Guide by John Leonard Web Links List World Clinic Job Service Tools Once upon a time, in a swimming pool in the far north, near the arctic circle in upstate New York, I learned a lesson. There was a lane we called “the national team”. Some of these 8 or 9 bodies had national cuts and others TOPICS Membership just aspired to have the national cuts, and were close. They all thought they Club Assistance were special. They came early, they stayed later, they were “the National Certification Team”. Learn to Swim They weren’t the only ones I had in the pool during this time, and I moved from group to group, so periodically, I’d pass them by and say something like “Nice Job. You guys are working hard, keep it up, Good Work”. They improved when they went to swim meets and swam faster and faster. ASCA Official Sponsors One day as I walked past, I heard Lynn Scully say to Amy Richards, “hey, cut me some slack here, slow down, I can’t go that hard right now.” (for purposes of full disclosure, Lynn is a male, Amy a female)

Amy looked at him in a quizzical way, and went hard again. I ignored it and walked away.

The next day, I walked past, said “good job, Good work, makin’progress”. Lynn and two other male swimmers didn’t look me in the eye. Later in that practice, I heard Pete say, “Amy, I’m dyin’ here, give me a break hey?” and heard Lynn chime in, “Yeah, no need to go this hard”. And a third male say “Crap Amy, you’re makin’ us all work too hard to keep up with you!”.

Amy slapped her hands on the water with frustration, gave up, stepped aside and moved to the middle of the lane to let Pete lead.

FINIS Website Our nationals Sucked. Watch FINIS Technical Training I learned from this that we can be two kinds of people....the kind that Videos encourages everyone around us to work hard and achieve more, or we can Preview FINIS be the kind that says “we don’t have to work that hard to achieve more”. We Spring Collection each of us have both people within us. And everyone who has ever 2009 coached or ever swum or ever competed knows this is the truth. Send me a FREE FINIS Technical If just one person backs off, it lets the next weakest person do likewise. Its a Training DVD disease, and it spreads fast. Request a FINIS Catalog After that lesson, I always paid attention to the “lane talk” in workouts. And I’d talk to my teams about how to encourage each other to be achievers and how no one person in the group can achieve more than the group aspires to achieve. The group has got to get it right, and none can have the attitude that says “we don’t have to work that hard”.

And if they didn’t want to be their personal best selves, they didn’t want to ASCA Corporate train with me. They could train somewhere else and float through with some Members other coach. Life, and this sport, does not reward those who “float through”...it rewards those that enjoy the work for its own sake.

https://www.swimmingcoach.org/articles/on_doing_less.asp 12/13/2010 ASCA Online Articles Page 2 of 3

I would say for awhile that I was “amazed” at how much satisfaction the swimmers took from encouraging each other to do more than they thought was possible.

Now, I look back and know it was not amazing at all. It was normal. Because, you see, we can all chose to be the person who says “lets do less” or the person who says “lets swim faster”. And once the team decides to only accept the positive input, there is nothing amazing about it. Its normal.

Since 1974, that experience left an indelible mark on me. It marked me with the knowledge that just one person who thinks they can “do less” can ruin a team, or a group, or an office, because we all have the capacity to sink, or to rise to leadership.

Think about that when your team is swimming up and down that lane.

ABOUT ASCA Who We Are Become a Sponsor

SITES TO SEE USA Swimming WSCA SwimAmerica ALTST FINA Athletes Alliance

https://www.swimmingcoach.org/articles/on_doing_less.asp 12/13/2010 wimmers often Incorrect stretching to in- stretch with the idea crease joint flexibility just pri- S that they will in- or to swimming may make the crease muscle flexibility, re- shoulder less stable, increas- duce the risk of musculoskele- ing the chance of injury. Be- tal injury and improve perfor- cause it is made up of four mance. Stretching – especially joints that allow multiple shoulder stretching – is well planes of motion, the shoulder accepted by swimmers, and is inherently unstable. Shoul- advocated by authorities in the der stability is provided in two swimming community. ways – by dynamic stabilizers, There is little evidence to sup- which are predominantly mus- port the relationship between cles, and by static stabilizers, muscle stretching and a reduc- which include cartilage, liga- tion in injury, however. Studies ments and capsules. Jeopar- have found that stretching just dizing the integrity of the stat- prior to exercise actually can ic stabilizers may result in decrease muscle strength, re- shoulder pain. duce power output and hinder Recent research suggests balance performance. that extraordinary shoulder Most contemporary re- flexibility is not necessary to search indicates that the bet- achieve a fast, efficient stroke ter approach for swimmers is anyway. Elite level competitive twofold: 1) an active warm-up swimmers are naturally flexi- of the shoulders just prior to a ble. Because of this inherent workout, and 2) periodic looseness, swimmers should stretches for shoulder muscles preserve the overall stability either several hours before or of the shoulder instead of try- several hours after a workout. ing to be more flexible. <<< STABILITY IS THE KEY Warm-Ups and Stretches for Competitive Swimmers

By George T. Edelman >>> photos by Amy Malinky

22 SWIMMER | | usms.org WHAT NOT TO DO Swimmers traditionally use stretches that target the static stabilizers. Some swimmers also incorporate a pre-race ritual similar to a ballistic windmill motion, in which one arm is going in the direction of the clock and the other arm is going counterclockwise. Other pre-race rituals include clapping hands in front of the trunk similar to hori- zontal adduction and then clapping the hands behind the back in a horizontal ab- duction motion. Many of these traditional stretches and pre-race rituals have the potential to contribute to instability. The first series of photographs illustrate five common stretches that are no longer recommended for the shoulders.

Pink MM, Edelman GT, Mark R, Rodeo SA: Applied Biomechanics of Swimming. In Magee DJ, Manske R, Zachazewski JE, Quillen WS (editors): Athletic and Sport Issues in Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation, St. Louis, STABILITY Elsevier, 2010 (in press). IS THE KEY

january - february 2010 | | SWIMMER 23 ACTIVE WARM-UPS Warm-ups are good for swimmers; they are essential to prepare the body for exercise, and produce short-term and long-term en- hancements in power, agility, strength, muscle endurance and anaerobic capacity. This series of photographs illustrates an active on-deck shoulder warm-up routine that I developed for USA Swimming. Use the warm-ups before workouts and competition. Move at a steady pace for each warm-up and avoid ballistic-type motions. Don’t expect to feel much tension (as you did with the old improper stretches) – the objective is to warm up the muscle and connective tissue prior to exercise, not to stretch it. The order of the five warm-ups is designed to sequentially warm up the tissues in increasingly elevated positions. For each warm-up, perform two sets of 15 repetitions each.

Active Warm-Up 1: Place your arms by your sides with your Active Warm-Up 2: Place the backs of your hands on your elbows bent to 90 degrees. Externally rotate your arms as far back at the belt line and bring your elbows forward to start. back as you can without straining. Then return to your starting Rotate your elbows back, squeezing your elbows and shoulder position. As you rotate, pinch your shoulder blades together. blades together. Return to the start position.

1

1

2 2

24 SWIMMER | | usms.org 1 2

Active Warm-Up 3: Raise your arms in front at a 90-degree angle to your body, with your elbows bent to 90 de- grees. Rotate your arms back to a “goal post” position, squeezing your shoulder blades together. Return to the starting position.

1 2

Active Warm-Up 4: Raise your arms by your side at 1 2 a 90-degree angle to your body, with your elbows bent forward to 90 degrees. Rotate your arms up to the “goal post” position. Return to the starting position.

Active Warm-Up 5: Raise your arms above your head in a tight streamline, as you would come off the wall from a turn. Drop your elbows into your “back pockets,” while squeezing your shoulder blades together and keeping your hands up. Return to the streamline position.

january - february 2010 | | SWIMMER 25 When Is Stretching 1 2 Recommended? Despite the evidence that pre-exercise stretching can be detrimental, shoulder stretching does have a place in the swimmer’s training routine. But it is important for stretches to target muscle tissue and not jeopardize the static stabilizing components of the shoulder joint. There are four muscle groups that swimmers should target: 1) upper trapezius, 2) levator scapulae, 3) pectoralis major and minor, and 4) the latissimus dorsi. In swimmers, these muscles tend to shorten during extensive training and need to be stretched. Timing is important. Swimmers should stretch these muscles at a time unrelated to workouts and competition. Instead, stretch several hours prior to getting in the water, several hours after practice or on lighter training days when the muscles are not fatigued. Recommended Stretch 1: Door Frame Stretch for the Pectoral Group These photos illustrate three stretches Stand next to a doorway (or another vertical surface such as a post) with your forearm on that together target all four muscle the doorframe. Bend your elbow 60 to 90 degrees. Step through the door. You should groups. Hold each stretch for 30 feel a good stretch along the front of your chest, not in the shoulder joint. If you are seconds. Repeat three times each stretching your right shoulder, step through with your right leg. You may vary the angle of on alternating sides. Do the stretches your arm depending on which fibers of the pectoral group you want to stretch. Use a five times a week. combination of angles in your stretching routine to incorporate the different fibers.

1 2

Recommended Stretch 2: 3 Two-Part Latissimus Dorsi Stretch Arch your back up like an angry cat to round out your spine. Keep your back rounded and drop your rear to your heels. Reach out with your hands and then reach to a side to specify the stretch and address each of the latissimus dorsi.

26 SWIMMER | | usms.org Recommended Stretch 3: Upper Trapezius/Levator Scapulae Stretch Sit on a chair and grasp the seat with your hand on the side of the tightness. Place your other hand on your head as shown in the photograph. Pull down gently, and diagonally to the other side. Two versions of this stretch are shown. The first is to turn your nose toward your armpit and gently pull down. The second is to look straight ahead and gently pull down. To read the full text of Edelman’s article, “An Active Shoulder Warm-Up for the Competitive Swimmer,” with all research references, go to usaswimming.org and search for the article by title.

Bios GEORGE EDELMAN MPT, OCS, MTC Age: 43 Fact: Edelman is a physical therapist and Masters swimmer from Dover, Del. He is a member of the USA Swimming Sports Medicine and Science and High Performance networks; and an adjunct professor in the University of Dela- ware physical therapy program. George has worked with athletes from USA Swimming, U.S. Figure Skating and the LPGA. He and Gorman own Edelman Spine and Orthopaedic Physical Therapy, LLC. esopt.com

JULIA C. GORMAN MPT, OCS, MTC Age: 42 Fact: Gorman is a physical therapist and Masters swimmer from Dover, Del. She is a three-time USA Swimming na- tional champion, a six-time NCAA champion; former USA Swimming athlete representative and board member; and a member of the USA Swimming Sports Medicine and Science and High Performance networks. She and Edelman own Edelman Spine and Orthopaedic Physical Therapy, LLC.

january - february 2010 | | SWIMMER 27