It can feel like there’s a lot to learn for outdoor swims. The good news? Many skills can be learnt in the pool, says Swim Smooth’s Adam Young
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The open-water season in the UK is relatively short for triathletes, with most of us getting in the lakes and seas around May every year, then heading back to the warmth of the pool in October when the mercury plummets and race season is finished.
Just because you’re not in open water all year, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t practise all-year round for when you are, though. Familiarising yourself with the skills you
need for open water can be done in the pool – which is great as it means you’re not having to think about a million new techniques at the same time as dealing with an unfamiliar environment.
Joining a triathlon club with pool time can be a great way to get started, as many will include open-water sessions. This will mean you can train alongside others and work on the skills needed for competing with multiple swimmers, such as swimming close to others, mass starts, swimming around other people and drafting. Alternatively, grab a couple of swim mates and hit the pool at a time when it’s quiet, so you don’t disturb others.
Other open-water skills are easy to practise on your own and can be incorporated into your usual swim sets. These include: breathing to each side and/or bilaterally (so you can cope with waves whichever way they come at you); sighting; and turning without touching the wall, to replicate turning around a buoy.
Read on for Adam Young’s essential 10 skills, as well as a couple of example sets that you can take with you next time you go to the pool. Then come open-water time, you’ll be ready to smash it!
“Grab an empty lane with two friends and swim together in a tight pack”
Swim Smooth is the world’s leading swim coaching company. They wrote the coaching curriculum taught by British Triathlon and have highly trained coaches ready and waiting to help you develop your swimming all over the UK. Find out more about them at: www. swimsmooth.com
03 Develop versatility in your breathing The ability to breathe easily to both sides and to be able to swap at will is invaluable. If a big swell is coming from your left then you need to be able to breathe to your right. Or perhaps you have a key competitor on your left you need to keep an eye on! Practise breathing to both sides regularly in training, ideally breathing every three strokes if you can (as in the previous tip on bilateral breathing).
04 Accelerate out of turns A fun exercise is to swim normal laps of the pool but instead of turning and pushing off the wall, turn two metres short when you’re above the black ‘T’ on the bottom, as there is no wall in open water. You can do this by performing a somersault (a tumble turn away from the wall) or by quickly dropping your legs and swivelling on the spot. The key is to get back up to speed as quickly as possible afterwards.
02 Breathe bilaterally to swim straighter If you have a balanced, symmetrical stroke then you will naturally swim straighter. The key to stroke symmetry is to breathe every three strokes (bilateral breathing) during the majority of your swimming training. If you struggle with this then make sure you are breathing out continuously underwater when you aren’t breathing - it makes bilateral much easier.
01 Get comfortable swimming close to other swimmers In a busy open-water swim, it’s impossible to find clear water - plus you’d miss out on the benefits of drafting. To get comfortable swimming close to others, grab an empty lane with some friends and swim together in a tight pack two or three abreast. You might get knocked every now and then, or splashed in the face, but you’ll soon get used to it.
06 Arrow head drafting This is a more advanced form of drafting that requires a little more skill. Instead of swimming behind the swimmer in front, swim to the side of them so that your head is about level with their belly button. Get as close as possible and synchronise your arm turnover with theirs to avoid clashing and make sure you breathe in towards them. You’ll soon be swept along in their bow wave!
05 Learn to sight effectively To navigate round the buoys on a swim course you need to look forward to see where you are going every three to 12 strokes (depending on conditions and how straight you naturally swim). To sight effectively, keep your head low as you look forward with just your eyes above the surface (not your mouth). Get a quick look and then rotate your head to the side to breathe.
08 Swim 10 strokes with your eyes closed The ultimate test of your ability to swim straight is to close your eyes, push off and see how straight you can swim with your eyes closed! Do you veer off to the left or right? This will be the same when you get in the open water so work on straightening up as much as possible to swim straight. Definitely one to practise in an empty lane!
09 In-line drafting The most common way to draft is to swim directly behind another swimmer. Practise this with friends of a similar speed, swimming a few laps with one person leading and the rest of you as close behind as you can without touching their toes. The key skill here is to quickly adjust your pace when needed, surging to stay on their feet or backing off to avoid crashing.
10 Try to swim with a higher stroke rate In open water you need a good stroke rhythm to help you punch through waves and chop. A great drill to develop this is head-up water polo. Swim 25m at a fast pace with your head held up out of the water looking forwards. Do this with a fast arm turnover to develop that rhythm and wear a pair of fins if you struggle to do 25m at pace.
07 Deep-water starts Many triathlons start in a treading water position. To practise, go to the deep end, move a metre or two away from the end and float on your front with your head up and arms out in front of you. Do this for a few seconds, imagine the gun goes off and accelerate as quickly up to speed as you can down the length. Use short strokes and a powerful kick to accelerate.