Masters 10/13/15
Weekly Focus: Freestyle Rotation
Rotation is an extremely important part of freestyle. The best freestylers rotate their shoulders to either side about 30 degrees from the surface, meaning that they never even rotate halfway onto their side (which would be 90 degrees). It is beneficial for two main reasons:
(1) Longer stroke / greater distance per cycle: Rotation allows you to extend your arm further in front of you and therefore enables you to hold onto water for a longer amount of time during each arm stroke.
(2) More powerful stroke: A freestyle stroke with rotation can be much more powerful because rotation allows a swimmer to use their hips and core muscles – in addition to their arm muscles – during the arm stroke.
However, there are also two big reasons why you should be mindful about how much you rotate
(1) If you rotate a lot, it’s still very possible to get a great high elbow catch underwater. However, the more you rotate, the more you’ll have to pay attention to when you start the underwater catch. If you start your catch while you are rotated too much, your shoulder will be down and you will very likely catch the water with a straight arm or dropped elbow. If you start your catch when you’re rotated about 30 degrees, your shoulder will be more to the side of your body, and you’ll be in a much better position to get a great catch with a high elbow.
(2) The more you rotate, the slower you’ll be able to move your arms. You must be able to find a balance between rotation and your stroke rate (how fast you can move your arms).
Warm Up:
3x150s @ 2:30/2:50 descend 1-3
3x100s @ 1:30/1:45 descend 1-3
3x50s @ :50/:55 descend 1-3
Main set:
16 x 25’s freestyle @ :30
#1 – half fast half easy
#2 – half easy half fast
#3 – all easy
#4 – all fast
12 x 50’s (One round of each stroke, no free) @ 1:00
#1 – 25 fast 25 easy
#2 – 25 easy 25 fast
#3 – all easy
#4 – all fast
6 x 100’s Free @
#1 – 50 fast 50 easy
#2 – 50 easy 50 fast
#3 – all easy
#4 – all fast
4 x 75’s pull @ 1:30 rest
Breath control 5 breaths first 25, 4 breaths second 25, 3 breaths third 25
200 easy