Tips for Both Newbies and Veterans

This article is designed for those new to swimming. Every once and awhile I have a group of new swimmers that don’t have a ton of experience swimming. I try to give people the easiest way to correct their swimming form, so here are some details about swimming that i always tell my clients that seem to help them out:

!. You need to empty your lungs in order to get a fresh breath of air. So, blow out bubbles when your face is in the water and then when your face is out of the water, take a fresh breath of air.

2. Kicking is a tough skill that everyone should be able to master; it just takes practice to be able to do it efficiently. First, make sure you’re using your hip muscles to kick. Your legs should be relatively straight with only a minimal bend in the knee. The last important aspect is you should be breaking the surface with your feet and legs as you kick. Remember, there should always be white water coming from your feet.

3. Correct breathing is not just a turn of the head, but also a turn of the whole body. So I tell my clients that your shoulder should point to the sky and your hip needs to point to the sky; once you master that rotation you will establish more space to breathe. To see this in action, check out my freestyle drill video on this site.

4. Always bring a bottle of water to the pool!

5. The only thing you need to get better is yourself. i see many swimmers with a bag of equipment. Equipment is a great addition to any workout, but you can make improvements without purchasing any special equipment.

Five Land Exercises that Will Help You in the Water

I've got 5 exercises that swimmers do when they're not in the pool to enhance their swim workouts. When swimmers aren't in the pool they take advantage of these exercises called dryland. Dryland is mostly used to strengthen areas that are heavily used in the pool.

1. Flutter kick- lying on your back hold your feet straight out with your toes pointed if possible. Your feet should be approximately 6 inches off the ground. For about 30 seconds hold your feet six inches above the ground and pretend to kick. The amount of time is supposed to increase as you get stronger. This exercise engages the abs for sure; after you get the hang of it you'll definitely start seeing the benefits in the pool

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2. Squat and an added jump- Start in a squatting position with your legs at a 90 degree angle. Hold your arms straight above your head in streamline position. Once your arms are in the correct position, jump up, then return to your squatting positions. Try doing five in a row. This benefits starts off the block as well as flip turns off the wall.

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VISUAL OF SQUAT WITH AN ADDED JUMP PART ONE

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PART OF OF THE SQUAT WITH THE ACTUAL JUMP

3. Running man- For this one you will need a friend. You will need a tennis ball and a hardwood floor. Person one and person two will want to stand maybe half a basketball court apart -one person on the outside of the court, the other at the halfway mark. The person on the outer court line runs in place. The person in the middle of the court drops the ball. As soon as the ball drops the person sprints to the ball; the less the tennis ball bounces the better. The purpose of this drill is to focus on reaction speed.

4. Abs in any form are always great. There are so many varieties, that whatever you put into your workout related to ab strengthening will help. You can literally find inspiration any where check out Neila Rey's workouts. They have tons of variety and some of them have awesome themes:

CHECK OUT MORE BY SEARCHING NEILA REY'S WORKOUTS ON GOOGLE 

5. Medicine balls are so versatile but one particular exercise I remember was using a medicine ball against the wall. You can throw it against the wall if you're alone, or do it with a friend if you have one; you can throw the ball in different ways to help engage different muscles. Over the head, back and forth to each side with one hand, and the basketball shot are all ways to strengthen the arms.