SWIM-DRILLS MASTERCLASS

SWIMMING IS THE MOST TECHNIQUE HEAVY OF THE THREE TRI DISCIPLINES, WHICH IS WHY DRILLS ARE AN ABSOLUTE MUST FOR EVERY TRIATHLETE, NO MATTER YOUR RACE DISTANCE OR EXPERIENCE. HERE ARE OUR TOP-10 MUST-DO DRILLS...

- JAMES WITTS

Swim drills are essential to S improve your swim performance in 2023. By breaking down your front crawl into constituent parts, and then working on them with specific drills, you hone better technique for more effortless, faster swimming.

How effective are they? I refer you to acclaimed swim coach Dan Bullock of Swim for Tri. Around a decade ago, Bullock retold the story of one of his athletes, Vicky Gill, who he helped to transform from duathlete to triathlete. Here's the truncated version to highlight the importance of drills. "Swimming didn't come so easily to Vicky, due to the technical nature of the sport. Time in the water wasn't equating to the improvements that might have been seen on land. Swimming can be cruel in that time in the water can result in zero gains for a competitive athlete if you don't have excellent technique.

"At first, in a typical week, we juggled two pure drills sessions, one technical endurance session and a light fitness session. Stroke efficiency developed with this balance. The general drills programme restricted incorrect movements, encouraged correct movements and, perhaps most importantly, interrupted the 'auto-pilot' movements that had been creating inefficiencies and slowing her down. She was moving from the stage of 'unconscious incompetence' towards 'conscious competence', which required a lot of thought, effort and diligence in creating correct pathways that reduced drag and created propulsion. That laid the foundations for her improvement in the water." A decade later and Vicky's race CV includes second at the 2015 Weymouth ETU Challenge Long Distance Championships.

Now, we're not saying spend four sessions in the swim. But we are saying try and add drills to every swim session as a warm-up, whatever your level. You'll soon be swimming smoother and faster...