As coaches and swimmers we have names for each area of the stroke and conventions we use for elements like your swimming speed and the length of your stroke as you swim. Don’t be put off by this, this ‘jargon’ is pretty simple and makes a lot of sense when you get the hang of it. The good news is that, for the large part, the terminology used in this book is common all over the world which means you should be able to understand most things written on the internet about swimming and coaching after reading this section.
First, let’s take a look at each part of the freestyle stroke cycle. Broadly speaking the arm stroke cycle can be split into two halves: below the water the ‘catch’, ‘pull’ and ‘push’ phases create propulsion to push the swimmer forwards; above the water the arm carries over the surface during the ‘recovery’ before returning to the front of the stroke with ‘hand entry’ and ‘extension’.
This is the rotation movement of the swimmer along the long axis of their spine as they swim, a little like being skewered on a kebab stick (as crude as that sounds!). This roll helps the swimmer generate more power, reduces drag and assists the arms in recovering over the surface. Find out how to develop good rotation in Chapter 11.
refers to how high a swimmer sits in the water, particularly the level of the hips and legs. A low-lying body position creates lots of drag as the frontal profile is much larger. You can find out more about this area of stroke technique in Chapter 8.
is the wave formed by your body as you pass through the water; it’s a term taken from boating where the wave shape is seen against a boat’s bow. The bow wave forms as your head passes through the water with a slight rise in the water’s surface in front of the head followed by a dip past the head and neck area, known as the ‘trough’. A good freestyle breathing technique takes advantage of the bow wave as the swimmer can keep their head lower and breathe into the trough by their head. This is known as ‘Bow-Wave Breathing’.
Traditionally it was very difficult for swimmers to control their stroke rates but with the invention of stroke beepers such as the Wetronome and the Finis Tempo Trainer Pro (see Chapter 3) this has become much easier. These beepers can be set to a given number of strokes per minute and you simply coordinate your strokes to the beep as you swim – controlling your stroke rate in this manner can be extremely beneficial to your stroke technique as we shall see in Chapter 14.
Unlike stroke length, stroke rate can be easily measured in open water and this makes it the key reference for open water swimmers to monitor their strokes. Generally speaking open water swimmers use higher stroke rates with a slightly shorter stroke length than pool swimmers. This helps them punch through waves, chop and the wake from other swimmers. As we will discuss in Chapters 14 and 39 this may be a worthwhile modification to make in your stroke in this environment.
Some references to stroke rate on the internet and in academic papers might refer to stroke cycles per minute – one cycle being the combination of a left and right arm stroke. In this situation 30 cycles per minute is equivalent to 60 strokes per minute. Some sources also refer to cycle time in seconds (a stroke cycle taking 2.0 seconds to complete would also be the equivalent of 60 SPM). What we really like about strokes per minute is a) we are always dealing with whole numbers and not decimals and b) when using a stroke rate beeper the swimmer can coordinate each hand entry into the water with the beep which helps identify issues in symmetry between left and right.
An elite swimmer might sprint at 0:50/100 m and slow down to 1:00–1:05/100 m over longer distances (if you can call that slow!). What we call ‘advanced’ swimmers will fall in the range of 1:10–1:30 /100 m for continuous swims. ‘Intermediate’ age-group swimmers will be in the range of 1:30–2:10 /100 m with beginners taking up to 3:00/100 m.
is a special swimming clock that is well worth learning to use. It does not have a minute hand, just a double second hand coloured red in one direction and black in the other. Elite swimmers do not wear a watch when they swim, instead they use the pace clock to time all their sets – with practice you can learn to time any distance of swim using just the second hands of this clock.
The key to doing this is knowing approximately what time you will swim for any distance. For instance, you might know that you can swim 400 m in close to eight minutes. If you set off when the red hand reaches the 12 o’clock position (jargon ‘going on the red top’) then you should finish when the red hand is near the top again. So, if you finish with the red hand on 10 seconds you swam 8:10, or on the 45 seconds, you swam 7:45.
This is beneficial because many swimmers find that wearing a standard watch disrupts their ‘feel for the water’ by disturbing the water flow on your arm. Also, when swimming repetitions you can use the pace clock to set you off. For instance you could swim 100 m repetitions starting every 2:15 and so start the first on ‘black top’, the second on ‘black 15’, the third on ‘black 30’ etc. This is a simple way of swimming sets without having to look at your watch and do lots of mental arithmetic!
‘Short Course’ and ‘Long Course’
pools are technical terms to describe 25 m and 50 m (or yards) pools respectively. The Olympic Games always uses a long course pool and generally they are slightly slower to swim in than a short course pool as the swimmer turns less often and so loses the speed benefit from a strong push-off from the wall. FINA world championships are swum in both long course and short course pools. Two separate sets of world records are kept for long and short course pools. The Wikipedia page at www.swimsmooth.com/worldrecords has a full and up-to-date listing of these complete records and makes for fascinating reading when comparing it to your own times!
is the act of swimming behind or to the side of another swimmer to gain an advantage. This is perfectly legal in open water swimming and triathlon and viewed as fair-play with swimmers looking to maximise the benefit they gain when racing. As we shall see in Chapter 36, there are two positions to draft in, either directly behind or to the side and slightly behind another swimmer.
First, let’s take a look at each part of the freestyle stroke cycle. Broadly speaking the arm stroke cycle can be split into two halves: below the water the ‘catch’, ‘pull’ and ‘push’ phases create propulsion to push the swimmer forwards; above the water the arm carries over the surface during the ‘recovery’ before returning to the front of the stroke with ‘hand entry’ and ‘extension’.‘Body rotation’ (or ‘Body Roll’)
This is the rotation movement of the swimmer along the long axis of their spine as they swim, a little like being skewered on a kebab stick (as crude as that sounds!). This roll helps the swimmer generate more power, reduces drag and assists the arms in recovering over the surface. Find out how to develop good rotation in Chapter 11.‘Body Position’
refers to how high a swimmer sits in the water, particularly the level of the hips and legs. A low-lying body position creates lots of drag as the frontal profile is much larger. You can find out more about this area of stroke technique in Chapter 8.‘Bilateral Breathing’
refers to breathing to both sides when you swim, if not in turn then regularly swapping sides. ‘Unilateral Breathing’ means the swimmer only ever breathes to a preferred side, either the left or right. Swim Smooth strongly recommend the ability to be able to breathe equally well to both sides, for the benefits of doing so see Chapter 7 and Key 3: Open Water Adaptation.‘The Bow Wave’
is the wave formed by your body as you pass through the water; it’s a term taken from boating where the wave shape is seen against a boat’s bow. The bow wave forms as your head passes through the water with a slight rise in the water’s surface in front of the head followed by a dip past the head and neck area, known as the ‘trough’. A good freestyle breathing technique takes advantage of the bow wave as the swimmer can keep their head lower and breathe into the trough by their head. This is known as ‘Bow-Wave Breathing’.‘Feel For The Water’
is a term used to describe the sensation of the water on your hands and arms as you swim. When a swimmer is feeling the water well they are timing their stroke movements to create good propulsion resulting in a good feeling of connection with the water. We use drills and visualisations to help you develop this in your own stroke, see Chapter 13.‘Stroke Length’
is a commonly discussed area of swimming as we shall see in this book. The normal way to measure it is to count how many strokes you take to swim a length of the pool counting both arms. A lower number indicates a longer stroke. When quoting this figure you should always mention the length of the pool too – e.g. 25 yd, 25 m, 33 m, 50 yd, 50 m. Typical stroke counts in a 25 m pool are between 11 and 30 strokes per length – which you will often see abbreviated to SPL.‘Stroke Rate’
(not to be confused with stroke length) is how many strokes you take per minute, counting both arms. This is like cadence on a bicycle except with cadence you only count one leg, not both! The higher your stroke rate, the faster you are turning your arms over. Typical numbers are in the range of 35 to 110 strokes per minute (SPM) with most non-elite swimmers in the 50–65 SPM range.Traditionally it was very difficult for swimmers to control their stroke rates but with the invention of stroke beepers such as the Wetronome and the Finis Tempo Trainer Pro (see Chapter 3) this has become much easier. These beepers can be set to a given number of strokes per minute and you simply coordinate your strokes to the beep as you swim – controlling your stroke rate in this manner can be extremely beneficial to your stroke technique as we shall see in Chapter 14.
Unlike stroke length, stroke rate can be easily measured in open water and this makes it the key reference for open water swimmers to monitor their strokes. Generally speaking open water swimmers use higher stroke rates with a slightly shorter stroke length than pool swimmers. This helps them punch through waves, chop and the wake from other swimmers. As we will discuss in Chapters 14 and 39 this may be a worthwhile modification to make in your stroke in this environment.
Some references to stroke rate on the internet and in academic papers might refer to stroke cycles per minute – one cycle being the combination of a left and right arm stroke. In this situation 30 cycles per minute is equivalent to 60 strokes per minute. Some sources also refer to cycle time in seconds (a stroke cycle taking 2.0 seconds to complete would also be the equivalent of 60 SPM). What we really like about strokes per minute is a) we are always dealing with whole numbers and not decimals and b) when using a stroke rate beeper the swimmer can coordinate each hand entry into the water with the beep which helps identify issues in symmetry between left and right.
Swimming Speed
is normally quoted as the time taken to cover a given distance. This could be time per 400 m or 1000 m but most commonly speed is quoted in time per 100 m swum in minutes and seconds. So 1:30 /100 m means every 100 m swum is taking you one and a half minutes to complete.An elite swimmer might sprint at 0:50/100 m and slow down to 1:00–1:05/100 m over longer distances (if you can call that slow!). What we call ‘advanced’ swimmers will fall in the range of 1:10–1:30 /100 m for continuous swims. ‘Intermediate’ age-group swimmers will be in the range of 1:30–2:10 /100 m with beginners taking up to 3:00/100 m.
The Pool Pace Clock
is a special swimming clock that is well worth learning to use. It does not have a minute hand, just a double second hand coloured red in one direction and black in the other. Elite swimmers do not wear a watch when they swim, instead they use the pace clock to time all their sets – with practice you can learn to time any distance of swim using just the second hands of this clock.The key to doing this is knowing approximately what time you will swim for any distance. For instance, you might know that you can swim 400 m in close to eight minutes. If you set off when the red hand reaches the 12 o’clock position (jargon ‘going on the red top’) then you should finish when the red hand is near the top again. So, if you finish with the red hand on 10 seconds you swam 8:10, or on the 45 seconds, you swam 7:45.
This is beneficial because many swimmers find that wearing a standard watch disrupts their ‘feel for the water’ by disturbing the water flow on your arm. Also, when swimming repetitions you can use the pace clock to set you off. For instance you could swim 100 m repetitions starting every 2:15 and so start the first on ‘black top’, the second on ‘black 15’, the third on ‘black 30’ etc. This is a simple way of swimming sets without having to look at your watch and do lots of mental arithmetic!
A ‘Torpedo Push-Off’ or ‘Streamline’
is a position adopted by swimmers as they push off from the wall. This position has a very low level of drag, lower than when swimming normally. The quickest way to swim is to push off from the wall and hold this streamlined position until the speed drops to normal swimming speed and then ‘breakout’ into full stroke. The length of this push-off is normally around 5 m (15 feet) but some elite swimmers can hold the position up to the maximum FINA-legal limit of 15 m (45 feet) and accompany it with a powerful kick. See Chapters 9 and 10 for a discussion of the other benefits of using a good torpedo push-off when you swim.‘Short Course’ and ‘Long Course’
pools are technical terms to describe 25 m and 50 m (or yards) pools respectively. The Olympic Games always uses a long course pool and generally they are slightly slower to swim in than a short course pool as the swimmer turns less often and so loses the speed benefit from a strong push-off from the wall. FINA world championships are swum in both long course and short course pools. Two separate sets of world records are kept for long and short course pools. The Wikipedia page at www.swimsmooth.com/worldrecords has a full and up-to-date listing of these complete records and makes for fascinating reading when comparing it to your own times!
‘Hypoxic Breathing’
is the process of swimming whilst limiting your supply of oxygen by breathing less frequently than normal, typically every five, seven or nine strokes. Many coaches state that this helps to build lung capacity and aerobic endurance but definitive studies demonstrating this are lacking. At Swim Smooth we use sets of restricted breathing frequency to allow the swimmer to focus on a deeper exhalation in the water rather than holding your breath. When breathing less frequently you should aim to stay calm and to allow yourself time to focus on the symmetry of your stroke.‘Drafting’
is the act of swimming behind or to the side of another swimmer to gain an advantage. This is perfectly legal in open water swimming and triathlon and viewed as fair-play with swimmers looking to maximise the benefit they gain when racing. As we shall see in Chapter 36, there are two positions to draft in, either directly behind or to the side and slightly behind another swimmer.
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