Long-Axis Rotations (LAR)

This drill takes the long-axis rotation skills you just learned in the VKR drill and puts them to use in a horizontal position, where you will add your balance skills to the mix. Once you are comfortable with VKR, you can transition to LAR by slowly leaning forward and allowing your hips and legs to rise to the surface. Keep a tight line as you transition to a horizontal position, and keep the same six-beat rotation pattern going. Press your buoy to the balance point and be sure your nose is pointed straight down. Once you are horizontal, extend your arms forward toward the end of the pool. Your flutter kicks will propel you gently along while your rotation kicks will result in quarter turns that swing your navel from pointing roughly 45 degrees to the right to pointing roughly 45 degrees to the left. Do not try to rotate all the way to the side-glide position. Once you are comfortable with the six-beat rotation pattern in a horizontal position, you may begin by pushing off from the wall instead of by starting from VKR.

When it is time to grab a breath, turn your head as you rotate and allow the elbow on the breathing side to slide back to your chest while the fingers on that hand remain pointed toward the end of the pool (figure 4.8). This gets the

arm out of the way of your head without taking a stroke and without pushing down on the water. As you rotate back, extend that arm back out in front of you. You may want to go a bit beyond the 45-degree mark when rotating to the air to avoid lifting your head (remember the red dot and risky-breathing focus points). It is important to have at least three, and preferably five, rotations between breaths—at least until you are able to take a breath with no effect on your balance and no change in your rotation rhythm.

Use of a training snorkel can greatly shorten the learning cycle for the basic skills of LAR by eliminating the distraction of having to turn your head to breathe. Continued use of the snorkel is valuable for further refinement when long segments of LAR are called for in the workouts, but you’ll still need to know how to take a breath when the snorkel is not convenient. If you have no deep water in which to use VKR as a starting point, it is still possible to learn the LAR drill by starting from a wall push-off. Just plan on it taking a bit longer to accomplish.

Feedback Tools

• Use your butt for feedback about balance—at all times you should have one butt cheek or the other exposed to the air. Doing so indicates that you are keeping your hips glued to the surface.

• You should be aware that each rotation happens with and because of a single kick beat, rather than two or three beats.

• Matching your rotation tempo to a tempo beeper (or to a familiar tune with a distinctive beat in your head) can help you determine whether you are changing the tempo of your rotations. The goal is to set and keep an uninterrupted rotation tempo throughout the drill (even when breathing).

• Be aware of whether you are using a bigger or more forceful kick to drive the rotation. All the kicks should be the same size and force.

• Use the red dot and risky-breathing focus points to help you stay aware of whether you are lifting your head for air.

Experiment a Bit

After you become comfortable with easy LAR, try a variety of different kicking tempos, from very slow to very fast, always with the goal of making the hips and thorax rotate as a single unit. Try doing LAR on your back and on your sides. Also, supplement the usual tight-schlumpy-tight posture-switching experiment with a similar balance experiment: occasionally release buoy pressure to become unbalanced and see how this affects rotation, stability, and forward progress.