I’ve been swimming a few hundred yards every session for the past two weeks with a pull buoy, ankle band, and towel around the ankle band dragging through the water. It seems (placebo?) to help develop a stronger catch.
Any others ever done this? It’s no parachute, but I doubt it’s any less dorky. Good thing I swim at LA Fitness.
No.
Greg Bennett talked about it in Andrew Hibbitt’s recent video:
I forgot my jammers the other night, only had my over-shorts that had no drawstring.
Did my 2500y but they were like “drag” shorts where I couldn’t kick off the wall (or I’d have given quite the show to the lady sharing my lane) and I had to swim without touching the wall at all, had to propel myself from a dead stop for every 25m. This ended up being quite a good workout and I think it really is a great way to prepare for OWS.
+1
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Increased drag is a bad thing - it’s not like a bike where you can hear down to maintain a proper cadence. The number one thing most swimmers need to do is increase turnover. If you want to improve your catch do 20 x 25s with the same amount of rest as swimming as hard as you can but still going the same time on all of them.
I can see this helping. Remover the legs in any manner and you will probably learn to pull better. Make it harder on yourself and (if you survive) it can be better still. I am not a big fan of the band, but I am a big fan of pulling in general and specifically monoleg pulling.
I don’t really see it helping that much. Reason is that you’ll be going slower, which changes the dynamics of the catch. It takes the emphasis off having to start the catch from a streamline position. If actually done sets like this in the past, many moons ago. Either with the towel, or with a stretch cord attached to the block, or wearing sneakers. Didn’t really like them then either.
better to just swim faster, IMO.
I don’t really see it helping that much. Reason is that you’ll be going slower, which changes the dynamics of the catch.
better to just swim faster, IMO.
Hardly changes the dynamics of the catch.
“Better to just swim faster” could be used to argue against any drill, skill building activity or set that is not “as fast as you can hold”.
I have a big breakdown when applying force, my arms slip right through the water.
It slows me my stroke, yeah, but I’m able to really feel what a strong hold on the water feels like with the best evf I’m able to maintain.
Not really. I see a lot of value in doing things which isolate parts of the stroke, allowing the swimmer to focus on one thing.
Increasing resistance though is different. It does change what happens at the front of the stroke, to more of a “press down” than a “slip through and anchor”. How much more is hard to say, maybe 5%, maybe 10% shift, but it is there, from what I remember.
Taking it to the extreme, it’s swimming against a tether cord. With that, there is no requirement to maintain streamline at all.
You can only pull as hard as you can pull, adding the towel doesn’t change that.
In your opinion, is swimming all out 25s (I think that’s what you mentioned earlier?) the best way to improve my anchoring?
I did not say that, that was someone else.
All out sprints can encourage you to thrash around too much. They are awesome for building strength, but I dont see sprints as a technique building tool. I actually prefer using paddles, especially the finis agility paddles. Pull sets with those will help keep your speed up, and they encourage a high elbow early catch.
Other good drills are fist drill, and I’ve heard good things about the finis fulcrum, although I’ve never used it personally.
how about doing some butterfly or breaststroke? I feel my freestyle is much better after doing those, swimming as if a hot knife through butter
The ‘Finis Ultimate Drag Suit’ is a better option
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how about doing some butterfly or breaststroke? I feel my freestyle is much better after doing those, swimming as if a hot knife through butter
You feel it is, or it actually is? I think developing your other strokes is good for freestyle, but I don’t think it is a direct link.
Oh, I just read ajthomas comment about the 25’s. He’s not actually advocating for all out sprints, that’s not a sprint set. But still, I think sets like that are good for reinforcing technique that you are trying to develop, and pointing out flaws in your current technique if you know what to feel for, but not so much for actually learning it.
To be clear, I didn’t say all out sprints. I said the best you can do for 20 of them. as Jason said an all out sprint is a different thing altogether.
how about doing some butterfly or breaststroke? I feel my freestyle is much better after doing those, swimming as if a hot knife through butter
You feel it is, or it actually is? I think developing your other strokes is good for freestyle, but I don’t think it is a direct link.
Oh, I just read ajthomas comment about the 25’s. He’s not actually advocating for all out sprints, that’s not a sprint set. But still, I think sets like that are good for reinforcing technique that you are trying to develop, and pointing out flaws in your current technique if you know what to feel for, but not so much for actually learning it.
yes and yes, i do them more at the end of a workout when arms get lazy on freestyle, to remember the feeling of the pull with forearms
If that works for you, great. My experience, for me, is that my freestyle gets better after doing freestyle. I actually regress a little immediately after doing another stroke. eg, the last 25 of a 100IM in practice is usually a bit slower than the last 25 of a 100 free. Same in sets where I might do something like 50’s as 25 stroke, 25 free.
I’ve been swimming a few hundred yards every session for the past two weeks with a pull buoy, ankle band, and towel around the ankle band dragging through the water. It seems (placebo?) to help develop a stronger catch.
Any others ever done this? It’s no parachute, but I doubt it’s any less dorky. Good thing I swim at LA Fitness.
A few squads I’ve swam with have used bands and towels. I think they work well. You very quickly learn how inefficient your catch and pull is. Swimming with a poor catch and pull and no towel might feel OK, add a towel suddenly swimming with a poor catch and pull will feel bad. You’re swimming inefficiently and should instinctively start trying to pull differently.