Swimglows has its own Swimming Forum which we are extremely proud of:

www.SwimmingForum.co.uk

Below are just a few examples from the “ask the coach” section:

Q: I’m a real beginner on butterfly. Any tips? Anything will help. I’d like to swim it better.

A: You could start by improving your butterfly thinking!
Butterfly enjoys a reputation as being the most difficult stroke. You’ll find that those who want to be good at fly often end up putting so much effort into breathing and recovery that there’s nothing left for the actions that move you forward.
* Try not to push the water back – think more of reaching forward instead. The old story of less strokes, with more stroke length.
* Try not to lift your head too much when breathing. Think more of trying to keep your head as close as possible to your natural body position.
* Think about your overarm recovery – Imagine you are catapulting your hands to the front and directing momentum forward during the recovery.
* Think about ‘anchoring your paddles early’ so that you can whip your body over the anchors. Try using your hands to hold on to the water as far in front of your body as possible – as soon as your body moves over your hands, release the water and whip them out and over the body again.
* Believe you are using your torso more powerfully and quickly, instead of thinking about pulling or kicking harder.
* Keep in your head the thought that you are undulating in a relaxed and rhythmic manner. This will help you learn to swim the most painless 50 metres of butterfly you’ve ever imagined.
* The double-overarm recovery of butterfly is difficult, but it’s manageable if you learn to just sweep your arms forward without trying to climb out for a breath as well. When you swim whole-stroke for the first time, try doing just 3 to 4 non-breathing strokes.
* Imagine you’re swimming inside a tunnel and avoid bumping your head on the ceiling. This will help you to cut out up-and-down movement in your head and shoulders.
* Land forward, not down, as you complete each recovery.
* Sweep your arms forward (no lift) leading with the ‘face of your wristwatch’. Keep hands and arms relaxed as they fly forward.
* Don’t practice “Butter-struggle!” Don’t feel as if you have to plough through that set of 10 x 100s butterfly to prove your character and toughness. Keep it to 25 metre repeats during training. This is very more important for the butterfly beginner.
* Swim only as many strokes as you can with a balanced, long stroke. Don’t persevere when your stroke is falling apart.
* Think like a butterflier!

Q: How to swim Breaststroke for different Distances 50, 100 & 200

I qualified for the Kent’s this year for the 200m Breaststroke and came 5th Place with a time of 2.58:61
But I can’t get a Kent qualifying time for the 50m & 100m Breaststroke as my times are 40.19 & 1.27:38

Do you swim a 50, 100 & 200 differently and if so please could you tell me the style and technique?

A: Although breaststroke is the slowest of the four competitive strokes, it is commonly agreed that it is by far the most difficult to do correctly. It is also often the hardest to teach to young swimmers after butterfly due to the importance of timing and the co-ordination required to move the legs properly.
Captain Matthew Webb was the first man to swim the English channel (between England and France), in 1875. He used breaststroke, swimming 21.26 miles (34.21 km) in 21 hours and 45 minutes.
The 1904 Olympics in St. Louis were the first Games to feature a separate breaststroke competition, over a distance of 440 yards (402 m).
In the early 1950s, swimmers found they could swim much faster underwater than on the surface. This led to a big row at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, where six swimmers were disqualified, as they repeatedly came up for a breath, then swam long distances underwater.
However, a Japanese swimmer, Masaru Furukawa, got round the rules by not surfacing at all after the start, but swimming as much of the length underwater as possible before breaking the surface. In the 200m event he swam all but 5 m underwater for the first three 50 m lengths! He also swam half of the last length under water, winning the gold medal.
The use of this technique led to many swimmers suffering from oxygen starvation and even to some swimmers passing out during the race, so a new rule was introduced by FINA, limiting the distance that can be swum underwater after the start and after every turn, and requiring the head to break the surface during every cycle.
50m, 100m and 200m races are so different. At club level you will see swimmers winning all three events in a club championship situation. In Elite swimming this is rarely seen. The 50m specialist wouldn’t dream of entering a 200m event.
Just look at Mark Foster, for example. In my opinion. he was Britain’s greatest sprinter ever, yet he couldn’t swim a 200m to save his life! Many people believe that having more fast and slow twitch muscle fibres will determine what events swimmers excel at, and how they respond to training.
Of course there are differences in racing a 50, 100, and 200m breaststroke event. The explosive power in the 50m is never seen or used, in the 200m event. Pacing is the key for the 200m – Even if you are a breaststroke specialist, you will know how easy it is to tire rapidly in this event. All three distances are hard to compete in, especially as you get older, because swimmers specialise.
Personally, I believe you are too young to even consider training specifically for a particular distance. Just try to enjoy working on all four strokes and all distances. You will find, as you get older, that you prefer a particular distance. You will instinctively know whether you are a better sprinter or distance swimmer.
Breaststroke is an unnatural stroke when compared with the other three strokes. You will usually find that good breaststrokers are ONLY good at breaststroke, whereas a good butterflier is often good at backstroke or front-crawl.

Q: When my son comes home from training, his nose starts running and he sneezes a lot. This goes into next day too. It’s as though he has a constant cold. Is this common amongst swimmers?

A: About 20 years ago I was training at our local masters club and I noticed that the woman in the next lane to me always wore a nose clip. I asked her why. She replied, “Because if I don’t, I’m sneezing next day and my nose is always running.
This was happening to me also. I’m guessing it was probably caused by the chemicals in the water. I’d swim for years before, without any trouble.
The next day I bought a nose clip and the results were instant! I’ve worn it ever since and haven’t experienced the runny nose or sneezing problem to this day.
It’s a simple answer, but 100 per cent effective. You will be amazed. It cures it immediately.

Q: When I swim backstroke (I’m not very good at it) I find I’m holding my breath for several strokes at a time. Then I get out of breath quickly. Obviously, my mouth is out of the water all the time, but I wondered if there was a proper breathing pattern I should be following?

A: The norm is to breath in on one arm, and out on the other arm, but really it’s down to your stroke rate.

Most swimmers probably have not given much thought to breathing on backstroke because, as you say, your mouth is clear of the water at all times. In the other three strokes, your face submerges between breaths so you have to breathe when your mouth surfaces. This dictates timing and rhythm. In backstroke, there’s nothing similar to regulate your breathing.
Some swimmers and coaches recommend breathing twice in every stroke cycle – inhaling and exhaling on each armstroke. Swimming is all about finding what works for you. Using this method of fast, shallow breathing, causes some to hyperventilate. If you are racing a 400 Individual Medley, you could find yourself spending the Breaststroke and Freestyle segments gasping, and trying unsuccessfully to recover from breathlessness.
If you try inhaling on one arm and exhaling on the other, you may find (not every time), that you frequently choke on splash while inhaling – after which it would take you another full breathing cycle to clear the water from your mouth and throat – again which will reinforce your feeling of breathlessness.
You could try to experiment with breathing rhythms. During freestyle, your inhale is short and sharp, while your exhales are a bit more sustained. Because backstroke allows time for a more sustained inhale, you will have more time to swallow water.
Try experimenting with a short, sharp inhale just before your right hand enters, then sustain the exhale through that stroke and the beginning of the right arm recovery.
This is important… If you breathe naturally to the left when swimming freestyle, try inhaling sharply just before your left hand enters. This will feel ‘more right’ and comfortable. As you get used to it you can try experimenting further. World record holder, Lenny Krayzelberg allows water to wash over his face for most of his exhale, then surfaces his face just briefly for the inhale.
You may find that this feels even better! Allowing water to wash over your face encourages you to emphasize exhaling through your nose. It will also gave you a distinct sense of a breathing rhythm in backstroke, similar to those you would be familiar with in the other strokes – in which the face is submerged between breaths.
Keep trying – Keep experimenting. It will get easier in time.

Q: Do you think stretching before a race is going to help me? Also, should I stretch before my trainning sessions?

A: Before a race and before training, it is most important to run through a stretching routine.

Q: Do you recommend that I train in the morning when I have a gala later the same day?

A: This is a difficult one. It all depends on what you are aiming for. If your training programme has been geared towards this coming gala then you would have gone through a taper anyway, and then, as WaveMaker says, the morning training session would have been cancelled. I’m guessing that this gala isn’t that important, in the grand scale of things.

Many age-group clubs have galas every weekend, so it is impossible to prepare and taper for every one. You have a choice; miss the training session on gala day, or swim through it. I’d go along with Tewson, purely because of our age (not yours) – we would benefit from a restful day. You have age on your side and so your gala swim is unlikely to be affected if you train in the morning.

I think you need to look at the bigger picture. Not easy, because age-groupers, their parents and some coaches rarely see further than the gala on a Saturday. The more experienced you become, the more you will understand that your times in a ‘Saturday gala’ matter little. Let’s face it, you won’t do a PB every week. If you did, then you would be breaking the world record before too long!

Q: I have noticed that during my pool swims, if I use “tumble turn” I pop up at around 6/7 metres with no loss of speed, just from kick off from the wall, have found that, by not using “tumble turn” I can get into a more streamlined position and pop up after 8/9 metres but seem to lose the speed, for the next lap/length.

A: Every swimmer in the world is good at streamlining – WHEN STANDING ON THE POOLSIDE! But when in the water, it’s a different matter.

Here’s a few things to think about when leaving the wall…

Q: Most my gala’s start at around 6-6.30pm and I normally leave home around 5.00pm
Please could you recommend which dinners and food is best to eat on the day of my gala?
Also what is the best times to eat my dinner?

A: You may not believe it, but the last few meals before a swimming race make all the difference in how well you will perform.

Firstly, it’s not as simple as “Eat spaghetti the night before a gala and you will be able to swim a PB!”

Carbo-loading needs to take place several days before your event, at least three days prior to competition. Pastas, breads, cereals, etc. can be incorporated into your diet more than usual, although be careful not to add or increase your intake of cream sauces, butter, or milk with those items.

A common mistake people make when carbo-loading is that they stop eating vegetables, fruits, and proteins. Pasta carbo-loading is fine, but not at the expense of other nutritional supplements that are vital to giving you your best performance ever.

Be careful the night immediately before a race – you may want to lay off the tomato sauce (tomatoes contain acid that can give you an upset stomach).

Steamed or microwaved vegetables are essential to peak performance, but don’t forget they are also a good source for carbohydrates. However, vegetables take longer to digest than simple grain-based carbohydrates like bread and cereal.

Uncooked vegetables are definitely not recommended. Stay away from broccoli, carrots, corn, and other “hard” vegetables in favor of watery ones like salad, zucchini, squash, and asparagus. They will pass through your system, supply you with carbohydrates and nutrients that you need, and not weigh you down.

What to Drink
Orange juice and milk are fine with any healthy breakfast, but are best avoided 24 hours before you compete. Much better to stick with boring old water as your fluid intake in the day before you race; you don’t need the extra calories or acidic side effects of a fruit juice (no matter how healthy it is), nor the hard-to-digest side effects of dairy products.

With pure water, you stay hydrated without additional calories, and there will be no unexpected side effects that a fruit juice, dairy product, or soda could provide.

Snack time
Pretzels are a fine carbohydrate, provided that they are unsalted (salt causes your body to retain water, leaving you bloated and heavy).

Dried fruits, although they sound natural and healthy, are bad because they pack plenty of calories and, once consumed, they absorb water and expand to their full size (so just a few dried apricots can bloat you).

Light is Right
The morning of your event, it is best to eat light. Avoid a Juicy Lucy type full English breakfast and go for half a bagel, half a banana and a glass of water.

A light breakfast, such as a bowl of cereal and a banana, or an energy bar if you’re swimming a morning event.

If you’re swimming in the afternoon, eat a big breakfast and a light lunch.

Two hours before the event, bananas, crackers, and plain toast with no butter in modest amounts are good food. The best foods are pasta, cereals, bagels, breads, fruits, and vegetables. These are out of the stomach in two hours, therefore should not be eaten more than three hours before swimming or they could override the energy in time for the race. Bananas are great because they have potassium which makes you more resistant to fatigue.

Actually, it’s best not to change your diet too drastically in the days before you race. Increase your carbohydrate load slightly while maintaining a healthy intake of protein, and stay away from dairy products and highly acidic fruits.

Twenty-four hours before your event, I suggest drinking water for fluid intake and having a light meal at dinnertime the night before consisting of grain-based carbohydrates, soft vegetables, and light protein (chicken, fish). The morning of your race: water, half a bagel, and half a banana should be enough to provide sustenance and optimum performance without weighing you down.

Q: I take a drink on to the poolside during training. I’ve noticed that some swimmers don’t bother. Is there any need to have a drink with you?
What is the best drink to drink during trainning?
Also what about during galas?
I have lots of gala coming up soon and want to do my best, I feel all these small things could take milli seconds off my times which could be the differene between a PB or not.

A: Avoid dehydration at all costs
Every swimmer wants to get better, and every swimmer knows the best way to improve is by training smart and hard. But there’s another way, and that’s by fuelling your muscles. By fuelling your muscles in the best possible way during and after training, you will have more energy and perform better in your sessions, and you will compete better, too!

Your muscles are like a car engine
A swimmer’s muscles are like a car’s engine. A car gets its energy from petrol. Swimmers get their energy from carbohydrate, which comes from foods like fruit and bread. When a car runs out of petrol, it stops moving. The same thing happens when your muscles run out of carbohydrate. Besides fuel, cars also need things like oil to run smoothly. Swimmers need other things, too. The main ones are water and electrolytes. When exercising, you lose water through sweat. This process is known as dehydration. The more water you lose, the more your body heats up, and the worse you feel, and perform.

And that’s not all. Along with water, certain minerals called electrolytes are also lost in sweat. If you don’t replace the electrolytes you lose, you’ll get tired faster.

Training sessions can last a long time. During training you burn a lot of carbohydrate fuel and can lose a lot of water and electrolytes. Years ago, swimmers only drank water during workouts. But water gives swimmers just one of the three things they need to help their muscles work best.

Help you to train harder
Today, many swimmers drink sports drinks during training. Sports drinks contain the water, the electrolytes, and the carbohydrate you need to fuel your muscles. Drinking a sports drink during training will give you more energy and help you train harder, especially at the end of the session. And the better you train, the better you’ll compete.

But not all sports drinks are the same. There are many new sports drinks that have a little protein in it. Scientists found out that putting a little protein in a sports drink is like putting a fuel injector into the carburettor in your car. It gets the carbohydrate fuel to your muscles faster, which helps you train harder and longer and makes you less tired.

You must replace the fluids you’ve lost
It’s also a good idea to drink a sports drink after training and competing. This will help you replace the fluids you’ve lost and the carbohydrate you’ve burned more quickly. Swim meets can last hours. That’s enough time to get dehydrated and to run low on muscle fuel even without competing much. By sipping on a sports drink throughout the day, you will be as fresh for your last event as you were for your first.

Here’s the bottom line: your body is like a machine. In order to train and compete well, you need to give your muscles fuel for energy.