Always Evolving

I constantly think about my stroke. I try different head positions, different angles of my elbows through my pull, change the pitch of my hands as they enter the water. I am constantly looking for something to make myself better.

One of the keys to continually getting faster in the sport of swimming is to become more fine-tuned in the small, technical things every season. We must always continue to evolve our strokes, and discipline ourselves to fix our imperfections. Luckily swimming gives us so much time and repetition to continuously fine-tune. I can definitively tell you what I have done every single season to make myself better than I was the year before. Can you tell me, or your coach this same type of thing? If not, start thinking about it more…

The reason I know I must continue to perfect my stroke is because my body still changes shape a little every season, because I continually get stronger, and because I never think my stroke is good enough. For example, my head position this summer might not put my body at the same position next summer, if I gain three or four pounds of muscle. Maybe I’m stronger now so I can have even higher elbows through my pull. There are a number of different things we must all look at in our strokes in order to adapt to the changes our bodies go through each and every season.

I will tell you flat out. If you want to be successful in swimming, work on your technique everyday. If you fail to work on your technique you will not improve in the long-term. Swimming is about being efficient, and maximizing every ounce of power and energy our body gives us. We cannot take anything for-granted nor waste energy. Start working on your stroke today so you can be more fine-tuned tomorrow!