core stability, squeeze your butt, make sure you are getting enough reach in front of the stroke, and don't let your hand lollygag at the finish of the stroke...

---

Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly

Thanks, I will give it a shot

That's normal when you start.

Start by loosening the band a little but also using it with a buoy. Move onto removing the buoy only after you can swim for distance while banded with buoy.

A trick once you're just starting the 'only-band' stage is to use small dolphin kicks to keep your legs up when needed. You can reduce these once you're better at it.


A key concept for me - it's a mistake to think you should keep forcing your chest lower to pop your legs up while banded. The band rewards minimizing excess motion - extra motions fore/aft or side/side tend to amplify since you can't kick compensate. So if you push your chest down excessively, in one second, your chest will bob up and the legs will go down. So this drill rewards a flat body position, but just as much, an efficient stroke that doesn't waste energy with excess motions.


There's a coach on these forums who I'm sure will chime in that it's just as good to skip this drill and just swim 'unileg', which means no band but just focusing on keeping your feet together. I disagree with him on this - from what I've seen with MOP AOS swimmers who can't do the band at all, they do a terrible job with this 'unileg', and cheat so badly that they might as well skip the drill. The whole point of the ankle band is that it FORCES you to do it correctly, and even if you're not doing it perfectly for awhile, the skills you learn by dealing with the torture of being banded are valuable later on.

I'm also a mop swimmer, should we be squeezing our butt the whole time? (Not in relation to this drill) I usually feel it more in my lower back and not so much butt. Thank in advance.

Not really, it's just a cue to get your legs in line with your torso. With regular swimming, you can't really actively squeeze your butt cheeks and kick at the same time (at least I don't think so)

---

Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly

To start, try to get your legs up with just a push and glide in streamline position. your legs will sink eventually, but try to keep them up as long as possible without moving. then add the arms..

---

Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly

Try and then you will be able to swim with a band.


Really though, a better drill for beginners is "the invisible swim band" or what I call

I started with the band around my knees. That caused me to have a subtle cheat kick you can call it I guess. After about 4 sessions with that I discovered what my flaws were and it help force me to have an EVF, taught body and faster stroke rate. It really helped to keep my armpits open in the water.. I’m an adult onset swimmer. Slowman likes this drill with a snorkel, maybe try that out.