Swimming Drills

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What are swimming drills??

To my knowledge, swimming drills are exercises or workouts that are done to improve the swimming technique. Throughout my beginner swimming experience, I have done many drills. Some drills help you go faster, some drills help you have better endurance. Overall, drills make you a better swimmer, without them, you wouldn't be able to swim well. 

When do you do your drills?

Back when I was in the varsity swimming team, we did our drills after warmup and before our main set and cool down. Our typical swim session would look as follow:

1. Warm-ups
2. Drills
3. Main set
4. Cooldown/stretches

Swim session example for 2.2km session.

1. Warm-up - 200m

2. Drills - Total 800m
Kicking - 200m
Pull-buoy - 200m
Fins - 200m
Paddles - 200m

3. Main set - Total 1.1km
100m X 4 - medium pace
200m X 2 - easy
300m X 1 - easy

4. Cooldown - 100m

How often do you do your drills?

Well, we had drills every session, because swimming is not a natural movement for humans and it takes practice and repetition to improve your technique. Even the greatest swimmers are improving their technique out there. So, are you confident with your technique?


Do you need equipment for drills?

Yes, you do. Drills can be made to focus on several parts of your swim. For example, if you are focusing on improving your hand entry, you need to waste your energy on your legs, so you can simply use a pull-buoy to immobilize your legs and keep them afloat as you do your drill. 


What is the type of drills?

Well, there are many types of drills out there suited for each discipline of swimming. For the front crawl, there are different drills. The same goes for breaststroke, backstroke, and butterfly. 

Youtube always has drills posted by many professionals and coaches. It will be convenient to look for drills there. Drills help you improve your basic swim technique, so if you find yourself swimming slowly, it's best to do practice some drills during your next swim session. 
Location: Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia

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