The Triathlon Optimist » swimming drills http://www.thetriathlonoptimist.com A novice triathlete with a can do attitude. Mon, 17 Aug 2009 14:33:55 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 Swimming: Fist Drills http://www.thetriathlonoptimist.com/2009/06/25/swimming-fist-drills/ http://www.thetriathlonoptimist.com/2009/06/25/swimming-fist-drills/#comments Thu, 25 Jun 2009 14:22:07 +0000 Howie http://www.thetriathlonoptimist.com/?p=76 My goal this morning was to do 2000y in the pool but  only completed 800y. Sometimes it is not the quantity of the workout but the quality. It is even better when you have an experienced Ironman looking over your shoulder to help you along. Today my stroke was broken down and some basic technique issues were identified. One of the things that was suggested to help me address some of my swimming stroke shortcomings was the fist drill. I had never done this before but it was a great learning experience.

We talked about two problems. First my pull through was poor because I was not fully maximizing each stroke. The other issue was I was crossing over causing me to wobble in my glide. I my own evaluation I felt like I had very little glide. The fist drill really builds awareness on how to use the full arm to power the pull but also how to engage the water earlier in a stroke helping both the glide and pull.

Tri-newbies online has a excellent article and analogy about this drill. The article compared the swimming stroke to a canoe paddle. This totally made sense to me having compelted the drills earlier today. Take a read of this article and view the short video below. I think it is worth the time if you are unfamiliar with these swimming drills.

Let me know any other tips or resources.

Swimming Video: Fist Drill

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