splishsplash with purpose

June 17, 2009 6:03 AM

2 part swimming question - effective core workouts and open water training.

I'm an intermittent keen swimmer and have recently taken the plunge (bdum!) of regular training in the pool again. My motivation is a 2500m open water amateur / charity lake-crossing event in mid-August.

I also practice a wide range of other sports for leisure and at work (adventure holiday company) chiefly snowboarding, walking, mountain biking and climbing.

Question 1: for a bit of variation and ongoing benefit in the other sports I pursue, what exercises can I work into my pool routine to add a decent, more isolated, core muscle workout? I swim crawl and breaststroke fine, my backstroke and butterfly are laughable.

Question 2: what are the most important areas to focus on for making the transition from pool to open water? Specific exercises? I can train in the lake the event will be in at least a couple of times a week, but most of my work will be in the pool.

Thank you in advance hivemind!

posted by protorp to health & fitness (3 comments total)

Question 1: Fly kick on your back will work your core better than any other in-pool exercise I can think of. For variation, consider vertical fly kick. If your kick is weak or you want to get more in, fins are an excellent addition. In general, fly and back are very core dependent strokes (with back working the obliques), so you may want to work on them, just to hit your core some more.

Question 2: When you train open water, practice your open water skills, particularly sighting. 2.5k is not really THAT long of a swim, so look at your pool workouts as increasing your fitness and the lake workouts as working on open water techniques. You may also want to do some fartlek training in the pool, alternating speeds.
posted by dame at 6:41 AM on June 17 [1 favorite]

Question 2: what are the most important areas to focus on for making the transition from pool to open water?

Breathing - work on bilateral breathing, if you don't do that already. Even if you choose to mainly breathe on one side, there will be times in an open water swim when you won't really be clear for a breath on your preferred side, due to other bodies in the water, wave action, or splashing.

Sighting - every 2nd or 3rd breath, after you've turned your head to the side and taken your breath, swing your head up and around and look forward for the next course buoy, or to the beach, or other landmark. Do this regularly, because it's surprisingly easy to wander off course quickly when you don't have the navigational aids that you have in the pool (stripe, lane lines, spinal memory saying 'almost there').

Start - I don't know how your swim will start. Triathlon starts are notoriously crazy; you start on the beach, run into the water to waist deep, then do a dolphin dive and start stroking. There is a lot of flailing, kicking and competing for position as the pack gets going. If you have a chance to practice starts with a group, it will really help you not to get taken by surprise during the event itself. Practice running into the water and starting your stroke over and over, as well. A lot of people like to do a quick burst of sprint-stroking to get out of the pack as soon as they're in the water before settling in to the regular rhythm of the swim. You can also plan to stay out to the side of the pack. People will separate as the swim goes on. The one place that's lousy to be is at the middle back of the back, because everyone who slows or stops will be in your way acting unpredictable.

Goggles - for open water you may want different goggles. I like the big wide kind, because you get much better visibility, especially peripherally.

Strokes - In triathlon you can swim any stroke; I don't know if that's true in your event. If it is true, practice a few and practice transitioning between them during your outdoor swims. If you're allowed to swim something other than freestyle, it can give you some great options for getting through the pack, sighting, and regrouping after sprints and starts. A combination of freestyle and sidestroke, with a little practice on backstroke as well, can be helpful.
posted by Miko at 9:04 AM on June 17 [1 favorite]

Most people have a stroke fault that they don't know about. You're constantly correcting your course based on the lane lines, floor markings, ceiling, whatever. Try swimming with your eyes closed and only open them when you sight as mentioned above.
posted by advicepig at 10:00 AM on June 17