DO YOU NEED MORE DRILLS TO SWIM FASTER?
Probably not!
Swimming is highly technical. There is no doubt about that. But for adult-onset age group triathletes, spending hours and hours doing drills probably isn’t where your biggest gains are going to come from.
Why?
1. You don’t need perfect technique.
2. Perfect technique is extremely difficult to achieve anyway.
Most age group triathletes are swimming 2-4 times per week.
With limited time in the pool, your time is usually better spent becoming fitter, more efficient and making the most of your time in the water, not spending the majority of your session doing drills.
For sure, you can work on your technique, integrate some drills into the warm up and cool down of your swimming, but what good is improved technique if you can’t hold it for more than 50-100m at a time?
Remember, triathlon swimming happens in the open water.
Technique matters, but your ability to maintain your technique when you’re tired, under pressure and surrounded by other athletes is what actually improves your race performance.
Our tips:
– Swim frequently
– Focus on shorter, quality repetitions
– Build fitness and efficiency
– Perhaps get some video of you swimming
– Practice in your wetsuit
– Get in the open water
The goal isn’t to become the most technically perfect swimmer. The goal is to become a faster triathlon swimmer.