USA Swimming - High Performance Tips

Tips & Training

Digital Splash: May-June

Ten American swimmers won individual gold medals at last year’s Olympic Games in London. In this issue, we asked each of them – minus Michael Phelps – a few questions that would help you get to know them better.

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National Team High Performance Tips

Welcome to the National Team High Performance Tips. On a weekly basis, this page will summarize some current perspectives, research and observations in swimming. This information is intended to help you to make a more educated decision for what is best for you or your swimmer(s). Please come back to see what we have to share with you.

Comments? Questions? Suggestions? HP@usaswimming.org

Featured Article

5/20/2013 World Performance Comparison: Is the U.S. Ready?

As we approach World Championship Trials next month, it seems like a good time to take a look at what the rest of the world has been up to in 2013.

Featured Article

5/13/2013 Following Routine: Should I Do a Wake-Up Swim?

With the summer championship meets just around the corner, a lot of athletes and coaches are working to finalize the details of their race-day plans. While there is something to be said about the calm and confidence that can be gained through following a routine, the ability to be flexible and adapt to situations is something that gives elite athletes an edge.

Long Axis Strokes: Freestyle and Backstroke

03/26/2013 Backstroke Hand Entries

In backstroke, it’s widely known the hands should enter pinky-finger first and above the shoulder or just outside of the shoulder. Yet one of the most common and recognizable flaws are hand entries that are too narrow and/or with the back of the hand. Why is that?

02/25/2013 Women’s Freestyle Tempos

Last week, we looked at men’s freestyle tempos and highlighted important points about tempo. This week, we look at women’s freestyle tempos from the top 8 performers at 2012 US Olympic Trials.

02/19/2013 Men's Freestyle Stroke Tempos

Tempo is an involved topic, but for mature senior athletes and their coaches, having at least an awareness of tempo can be valuable. Some coaches use tempo as a regular training measure, and these numbers show what the best in the country are racing at. Here the tempos for the top 8 male performers at 2012 US Olympic Trials.

12/17/2012 Six-Beat Kicking a Distance Race

It’s pretty clear that the trend in distance races is to six-beat kick the whole race. The evidence is strong. The current trend of six-beat kicking can translate down to a good 400 and 200. In other words, SPEED, which is absolutely essential to a competitive 800 and 1500 now.

12/10/2012 1500 Freestyle: How the Best Swims It

The London Olympics saw eight different world records broken, including the men’s 1500m freestyle, in which Sun Yang dropped his own world record by more than three seconds. Only three men have swum a sub-14:40 race in a textile suit, and Sun Yang has done it three times. So how does he do it and what does is mean?

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Short Axis Strokes: Breaststroke and Butterfly

01/22/2013 Butterfly Breathing Patterns

It’s easy to get fixated on breathing patterns in fly, but with certainty the most important part of breathing in fly is the technique.With that said, breathing patterns are one of the most frequent things I get asked about. Looking at each of the finals at the 2012 Olympics, here is what I observe

11/26/2012 Breaststroke: Learn to Tempo Up

Breaststrokers need to be able to change gears to find speed at the end of a race. That ability is driven by your technique and emphasis on driving the body, arms, and hands forward; minimal emphasis on pulling a lot of water back.

10/22/2012 Breaststroke: Command Your Tempo

The men’s 100m breaststroke got real fast in 2012. In history, 19 different textile swimmers have been under one-minute – 16 of those were in 2012. No other year in history had more than six people go under. Of the 16 swimmers in 2012, only 3 were American. Can we learn anything from comparing the world’s best 100m breaststrokers and America’s best?

05/29/2012 Butterfly: Pull Pattern

Teaching and coaching a specific butterfly pull pattern has been popular for a long time, maybe for as long as the stroke has existed. Film study of the USA National Team and many of the world’s best has proven one thing though: there are different pull patterns among the best butterfliers in the world. So what does that mean?

03/19/2012 Butterfly: Press Forward, Not Down

Want to know the key to swimming fast butterfly? You have to maintain forward momentum throughout the stroke. Sounds easy, right? While this may seem simple enough, it requires swimmers to combine two key elements. Having two equally powerful kicks in butterfly is very important. The other key element of fast butterfly is a body-driven stroke.

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Skills: Starts, Turns, Dolphin Kick, Finishes

11/05/2012 Butterfly Breakouts: Think Out, Not Up

We say it all the time in these articles, but I think it bears repeating: There is no single “right” way to do things when it comes to swimming technique. We also talk a lot about the importance of good body line and positioning. With these things in mind, the following are some of my observations about butterfly breakouts.

10/15/2012 Turns: Foot Placement on the Wall

Turns are a bit like stroke techniques and snowflakes, no two are exactly alike. However, from observing some of our top athletes, here are a few general technical thoughts.

04/23/2012 Finishes: The Importance of a Good Finish

How important is the finish of the race? How many times does a race come down to a fraction of a second? a mis-judged finish this summer could mean the difference between a spot on the Olympic Team or just missing out on an Olympic medal.

04/23/2012 Turns: Back to Breast Turns

Have you attempted to do a back to breast turn that ends in failure? Follow these five simple steps to learn how to improve your IM transition.

04/16/2012 Starts: Wedge Setting on Incline Blocks

With all the hype surrounding the FINA starting block wedges, we get a lot of questions about what number a swimmer should use. While height can be a limiting factor, wedge setting should be selected based on comfort, flexibility and ability to generate power off the blocks.

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Out of Water: Health, Nutrition, Strength, Dryland

05/20/2013 World Performance Comparison: Is the U.S. Ready?

As we approach World Championship Trials next month, it seems like a good time to take a look at what the rest of the world has been up to in 2013.

05/13/2013 Following Routine: Should I Do a Wake-Up Swim?

04/29/2013 The 10K Race is not a Marathon

Also known as the marathon event, the 10K open water race is perceived as a long, steady-paced swim. The 2012 London Olympic race proved that it is anything but. In fact, successful pool swimming can make open water success very attainable.

04/23/2013 Where We Are: A Grand Prix Times Comparison

At last weekend’s Mesa Grand Prix, I had a number of conversations with various people about how the meet “felt like” the beginning of the ramp up to World Championship Trials. For a number of reasons – strong international field, new location and facility, summer-like conditions, big crowds – Mesa seemed to mark a change in approach and intensity.

04/01/2013 Swimmers' Lungs are not Like Other Humans'

Conventional wisdom says that lung capacity cannot be increased. There are mechanisms for athletes to increase how efficiently they use the oxygen they inspire, but increasing the actual capacity of the lungs is considered to be a dodgy proposition. But, wait a minute!

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Training Philosophy

05/06/2013 VO2 Max Training

The usefulness of VO2 Max training has been a topic for a few years in the endurance sports world. At the elite athlete level, it is nearly impossible to train an improvement in VO2 Max, and it takes about 10 minutes of training for an athlete to achieve VO2 Max. VO2 Max is also extremely difficult to test in the swimming population.

04/08/2013 Lessons Learned from National Junior Team Camp

Colorado Springs played host to the National Junior Team Camp last Thursday through Saturday, and there was no shortage of lessons to be learned. The two that stood out most to me were the importance of peer coaching and creating the right culture.

03/19/2013 Percentage of World Record: An Evaluative Tool

Here at the National Team one of the methods we are starting to use to evaluate past performances and compare them with our current developmental athletes is to look at times as a percentage of the world record. Check out our charts to see how our Olympic medalists have compared to the current world records in their medal events at each age during their progression.

03/11/2013 Performance Comparisons: Trials vs. Olympics

As a follow up to my previous article on Olympic Trials Progressions, I did some research into how our team went on to perform at the Olympics. We collected information from 56 total swims (52 individual swims plus 4 relay leadoffs) and tracked the best Olympic performance compared to each athlete’s lifetime best and their fastest performance at Trials.

03/04/2013 What's Your Muscle Type?

An important variable when classifying an athlete as a sprinter, or an endurance athlete, is having a good idea what their dominant muscle fiber type may be. Identifying the ideal training for an athlete’s events is dependent upon choosing the training most specific to their fiber types.

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Disclaimer

The tips, thoughts, ideas, observations, and information contained in this section of the USA Swimming website (collectively referred to as the “Information”) are provided for general informational purposes only. The Information does not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of USA Swimming, but rather sets forth knowledge and/or information gained or observed by the individual posting the entry.

The Information provided in this section of the USA Swimming website is not intended as, and should not be relied upon as, specific medical advice or a treatment plan, training regimen, diet, nutrition plan or other course of action. The Information provided may not be appropriate for you, and before you use any of the information provided in this section of the USA Swimming website, you are strongly encouraged to contact a qualified coach, doctor, registered dietician or other appropriate professional. If you do use any information provided in this section of the USA Swimming website, you do so at your own risk and you specifically release from any and all liability USA Swimming, members of its board of directors, and its officers, employees, members (including without limitation coaches), volunteers, other participants, and agents in connection with your use of the Information.