A Quick Overview

Let’s run you through the structure of the book:

• We kick off in Chapter 2 with an introduction to freestyle swimming and cover some of the terminology and conventions we use in this book. If you are new to swimming you will find this extremely useful and it will help you make sense of how swimmers and coaches talk about swimming. We then go on in Chapter 3 and take a look at some of the training equipment you might use and how to select the right tools to assist you in the best way possible.
• Next we will take a look at the Swim Smooth philosophy of ‘The Three Keys’, which are: 1) Stroke Technique; 2) Swim Specific Fitness Training; 3) Open Water Skills. These Three Keys form the outline structure of this book and as we will explain, working on all three elements of your preparation at the same time will give you the best improvements in your swimming. In fact if you have been swimming for a while and hit a speed and efficiency plateau it is likely you have the balance wrong between these three elements of your preparation.
• Stroke Technique (Key 1) takes a close look at each area of the freestyle stroke and how it should be performed. We will clear up a lot of misconceptions or things you might have read on the internet that date back 15 or 20 years or even earlier! Within this chapter we will show you how to improve each area of your stroke so that you become more comfortable in the water and become faster and more efficient at the same time. If you have primarily focused on reducing drag up until now you will find the section on developing your catch and propulsion particularly fascinating.
• Next we have a dedicated section on developing your stroke rate. This is an area that many intermediate swimmers struggle with and can be key to improving your stroke technique and performing well in open water. Even if you are a relative beginner, developing some rhythm in your stroke can be the key to improving your comfort levels and confidence swimming in the great outdoors.
• Then we move on to our fascinating Swim Types system – showing you the six classic ways in which people swim freestyle, including the distinct personality that each Swim Type tends to have. This is a great way to bring all the sections of the book together into a simple step-by-step process for you to follow (Appendix B) that is highly tailored to your individual needs.
• Before leaving Stroke Technique we will take you through a special feature showing you how to perform a video analysis on your own swimming and how to identify common flaws in your stroke. Referring you to the right section of this book we will highlight how to work on and fix those flaws, making your swimming more comfortable, more efficient and faster too. Very highly recommended!
• Swim Specific Fitness Training (Key 2) shows you how you should best train for distance swimming events such as open water swims and triathlon. Fitness from other sports rarely carries over very well to swimming, and developing your aerobic fitness in the water will make a huge difference to your comfort and speed in the water. It will also help you to sustain a better stroke technique as you swim and so improve your efficiency too. This section works in tandem with Appendix C, which contains hundreds of combinations of training sessions for you to follow.
• To complete the section on training, we examine specifi c flexibility and conditioning work to improve your swimming posture and also avoid injury. The exercises in this section perfectly complement everything we cover in Keys 1–3 and will be essential if you suffer from any pain or injury during or after swimming.
• Open Water Skills (Key 3) explains how to prepare for open water swimming so as to have a confident, comfortable and fast race! Removing anxiety, drafting techniques, sighting and navigation are all included in detail. You can develop and practise these skills in the pool as well as the open water, in fact there are some advantages to doing so in the pool. Don’t leave this until near-race day, you should practise these skills year round, they are that important!

     Appendix A contains explanations and pictures of the Swim Smooth drills – showing you exactly how to perform them and which areas of the stroke they develop. You will find this very useful as an ongoing resource as you develop your swimming.

     Appendix B covers the stroke correction process for each of the Swim Types in turn. These consolidate all of the information from this book for you into a simple step by step process to follow for your individual Swim Type.

     Appendix C contains a library of training sessions for you to follow in the pool as recommended in Key 3. Need a technique session or want to train your aerobic system? No problem – there’s 5,100 possible combinations of sessions to follow so you will never get bored!