DRILL 9: ZIPPERSKATE

Why We Do It: We used UnderSkate (Drill 5) as kinesthetic rehearsal for UnderSwitch (Drill 6) and to practice a slightly more dynamic form of balance. ZipperSkate will prepare you for ZipperSwitch in the same way. But it can be even more valuable in preparing you for whole-stroke swimming because it’s the ideal way to gain the most powerful sense of how to “lie on your lungs.” Once you feel that in your bones, you’ll know how to have a truly relaxed, unhurried stroke.

Follow This Sequence

1. Begin as in Drill 5. When you arrive at the Skating Position, rather than recover under water, drag your hand slowly along your side (as if pulling up a zipper). Keep your hand under the surface, as shown in the illustration.

2. Lead with your elbow for as long as possible, with your hand trailing until elbow and hand are alongside your ear. (Tip: It can be extremely helpful to practice this movement while lying on your side on the pool deck or on your floor at home.)

THE ZIPPERSKATE POSITION ALSO ILLUSTRATES SWITCH-TIMING FOR ALL ZIPPERSWITCH DRILLS.

3. Once your arm is in the “shark-fin” position, briefly check that your shoulders are still stacked, then slide your hand back down. Finish by rolling your needle shape all the way back to Sweet Spot.Take three yoga breaths, then repeat.

How to Practice: Over time this will probably be your most valuable balance drill and the one you should practice most often. It will give you a clear picture of: (1) how well you’ve mastered balance; (2) where your supporting “buoy” is; and (3) how to use that awareness to steadily improve your balance. After you’ve learned the basic movements (particularly the elbow leading the hand and the hand remaining underwater), I recommend you use the practice-’til-you’re-bored philosophy to fully develop your kinesthetic balance awareness and burn it into your nervous system. You could easily practice this drill nonstop for fifteen to thirty minutes once a week for the next month or two and learn valuable lessons on every lap. Here are a few focal points:

1. Are you stable or do you immediately begin to sink as your arm comes forward? If you begin to sink right away, make sure you keep your weight forward and the extended arm below your head. Your goal—if you sink—is to sink in a horizontal position with your armpit at the same level as your hips and feet. This is enormously valuable to learning equilibrium. If you’re a sinker, bring your hand to your shoulder and immediately slide it back to your side.

2. If your body position remains fairly stable as you draw your arm forward, “skate” for a few seconds with your elbow motionless above your shoulder. The weight of your arm in the air should give you a clear sense of how to balance by “lying on your lungs.” If you feel balanced while doing this, practice doing the recovery super slowly. This is the nearest sensation thus far of how you’d like to feel once you begin whole-stroke swimming.

3. Focus on sensing the water resistance against your hand on recovery. Don’t fight it. Instead, yield to the resistance by softening your hand and arm. How compact and gentle can you make that recovery action?

4. If you’re in the “sinkers” group on this drill, fins will allow you to sense the stable support a balanced swimmer feels when doing this drill.