Catch and Stroke

From Feel For The Water

"The Catch' is the movement you make to get a hold of the water and begin pressing it backwards at the very front of the stroke. For most swimmers the catch is a bit of a mystery, you probably know that it is important to your speed and efficiency but getting a feel the catch and improving it seems very elusive.

A good catch is about making the right movements and timing them correctly. In this post we're going to look at the timing of the catch - and as a consequence how it should feel. The feeling of a good catch may be quite different from what you expect and this is one reason why it's difficult to grasp (pardon the pun!).

Matching The Water Speed

Let's take a look at elite swimmer Mel Benson, swimming here at around 65 seconds per 100m pace. Like all elite swimmers, Mel's got a fantastic catch which is one of the secrets of her speed and endurance.  This is the catch phase of her stroke on her left arm, see how her elbow starts to bend straight away and how she begins to press the water back behind her:

You might have read or been told by a coach that you should 'keep your elbows high' underwater and we can see that Mel's doing that nicely, keeping her elbow higher than her wrist and her wrist higher than her fingertips at all times.

This is an interesting image sequence as Mel's taken a few bubbles with her into the water. See how the bubbles don't move much at all relative to her hand and forearm, this is because Mel's merely matching the water speed as it travels past her. This means she's feeling a relatively light force on her hand and forearm.

The important point here is that you can feel powerful during the catch but it's not about brute force or high effort, it 's just about engaging with the water. The lack of force required is one reason why your 11 year old daughter can zoom past you so easily. Her arm action is far superior to yours under the water and she doesn't need much strength to complete the movements.

The Pull Phase

Moving on a little and Mel's arm starts to accelerate as it passes under her body. We can now see her arm start to leave those bubbles behind as it does so:

Pressing backward through the water, the pressure on the hand and forearm now builds. This is where most of the propulsion is created in the stroke but that couldn't happen without the catch phase immediately before, where Mel matched the water's speed so that it stabilised around her hand and forearm.

How The Catch Should Feel

Many swimmers are searching for a really strong feeling during the catch, thinking that when they get it right they will suddenly feel their muscles working hard in a kind of "eureka moment". Unfortunately searching for such a feeling may lead you to press down on the water or even try and push it forwards. Both of these stroke faults increase the load placed on the shoulder and so increase your perceived effort:

Pushing down or forwards will create a pressure on your palm but don't let this fool you into thinking you're developing a nice catch. The movement should feel smooth, rhythmic and relatively easy. We say rhythmic because a good catch take less time as you're not changing the water's direction, you're simply helping it on its way. A good catch lifts your stroke rate (cadence) and so increases your sense of stroke rhythm.

The next time you're swimmi ng try a lighter feeling to the catch and focus on engaging with the water and pressing it backwards to the wall behind you. Drills such as Sculling and Doggy Paddle from our DVDs will help you refine this movement, you should immediately see your times improve on the pace clock and notice the extra rhythm in your stroke.

Conveyor Belt Visualization, Swimming

Great Article from Dr. Smooth on how to get through the water faster and without dead spots in your stroke. What you have to do is simple, try and keep one arm stroke on the conveyor at all times – so as one stroke finishes at the back you begin catching the water at the front. As you do this try and stay relaxed and find a new rhythm, there will be a temptation to swim harder but this isn’t necessary. In fact, as you remove the deadspot and become more efficient, you can reduce the effort in your stroke a little to swim at the same speed – great!

Simple yes, read more...

Swimmer Shoulder Problems Fixed

We all feel something and most hope that we never get shoulder problems, but age and poor form might lead to this.

Swimmers' Shoulder Problems In A Nutshell
The four leading causes of shoulder injury:

- Thumb first hand entry

- An S-shaped pull

- Pulling deep with a straight arm

- Cross overs (normally caused by poor rotation to one or both sides)

If you’re suffering from shoulder injury or pain then concentrate on fixing these problems and 9 times out of 10 shoulder injury will disappear quickly. Find out more: Swim Smooth

Off Season - Triton Swim Trainer

Perfect for when you can't get in the water and for the days when you just want dry land training. A swim bench is great for this, Triton Fitness has come up with one of the most ergonomically swim devices on the market;

The Triton is to swimming what a treadmill is to running. And so, efficient freestyle swim training can now be accomplished in a 'totally dry' home or health club setting. For any swimmer or triathlete, swimming is a matter of proper technique and endurance; understanding how to move your body correctly and then practicing it over and over until it becomes habit. Practicing proper swim form is the key to becoming a capable and competitive swimmer. The Triton was designed with that in mind and encourages those using it to execute a correct freestyle swim stroke. It allows swim athletes to customize their freestyle stroke paths to replicate exactly how arms move through the water during pool workouts or competition, thus taking dryland to a much higher level of neuromuscular and training benefit. A perfect swim coaching device.
Check it out! Triton Fitness

Go Swim! Everything about swimming, plus videos

So you wanted to learn to swim better and reading all these books does not seem to be helping you with your in water technique. Well Go Swim might be your answer. It has drills, practices and video's. Yes videos that actually help you. It is a great site. Here is a actual picture and content from GoSwim.tv,

"As Kara extends forward to initiate her stroke, her eyes are down, with most of her head showing below the surface. This is a comfortable position for Kara because it allows her body to rotate freely and sets her arm up for a great catch."

(the image is much bigger).
So if you are itching to learn how to swim better head on over to GoSwim.tv.

Get Wet, Get Fit: The Complete Guide to Getting a Swimmers Body

Some of us want to look good and others dream of having the body of a Olympic swimmer male or female. This book by Megan Quann Jendrick, seems to be able to give you that body and form you always dreamed of.
Jendrick has set 26 American records and one World record in her swimming career up to date. She is a ten-time National champion and ten-time US Open champion.
In 2000, after being the youngest medalist on the US Olympic swim team with gold in the 100-meter breaststroke, Megan was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine, becoming one of few women to hold that honor.

Elite-level swimmers share a common trait -- their toned, shapely bodies. Get Wet, Get Fit shows how anyone, regardless of age or size, can use swimming to get into the best condition of their lives. The Jendricks offer detailed instructions along with underwater photographs that illustrate how to achieve proper form and technique for the four basic strokes -- backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, and freestyle.

But unlike the average training manual or how-to book, Get Wet, Get Fit also provides:

Training regimens for everyone from beginners to Olympic-level competitors, including dynamic drills for strengthening, fat loss, and endurance
Physique-building workout routines (with and without weights) for dry land
A complete diet plan, including tempting recipes and menus (swimmers need carbohydrates, so this is a diet to love)
Tips from world-class swimmers
Low impact and gentle on the joints, swimming is one of the most enjoyable and exhilarating ways to exercise, but Get Wet, Get Fit shows how it can also be one of the most effective ways to get your body into top shape.

Swim Planning

Swim Planning is one of the hardest things to do. You can run steps or hills, cycle can be time trials, endurance or just a local ride. Well SwimPlan.com changes that. Once you register, you can plan your workouts, from triathlons to full competitive swim workouts. Here is an example one that you can run.

Duration 45-60 mins
Distance 3800yd
Pool length 25yd
Issued Jan 14 2008
Warm up (repeat 6 times)


• 1 x 50yd Freestyle Swim (even pace), rest 0:15 / 50yd [Easy]
Freestyle swim at a steady pace.
• 1 x 50yd Breaststroke Swim (even pace), rest 0:15 / 50yd [Easy]
Breaststroke swim at a steady pace.
Build up (repeat 2 times)


• 2 x 100yd Lateral Kick with fins, rest 0:15 / 100yd [Aerobic]
Freestyle side-on kick drill. One arm held out front, the other held loosely at your side. Keep your ear on your shoulder (except when you turn to breathe) and kick on your side. The arm out front sculls the water with a flat hand and fingers below the wrist. Reverse arms and side every full or half pool length.
• 1 x 300yd Single Arm with fins (arm out front) 12 x left, 12 x right, 12 x full stroke, rest 0:20 / 300yd [Easy]
Freestyle using one arm at a time, focusing on shoulder and hip rotation. Complete 12 arm strokes with the left arm then 12 strokes with the right arm, followed by 12 strokes using both arms. The non-stroking arm is held out front in a streamlined position.
Core (repeat 4 times)


• 5 x 100yd Freestyle Swim, target time 01:14 / 100yd, rest 0:20 / 100yd [Aerobic]
Freestyle swim at a steady pace, trying to keep closely to the given target time for every 100yd. If your target time is too easy or too difficult please complete another time trial.
• Rest 0:30 seconds [Easy]
Warm down


• 2 x 50yd Backstroke Easy, rest 0:10 / 50yd [Easy]
Backstroke swim at a slow, relaxed pace. Concentrate on long slow strokes.
• 2 x 50yd Freestyle Push & Glide, rest 0:10 / 50yd [Easy]
Freestyle swim, pausing at the end of every stroke with arms out-stretched, one held out front, the other held loosely against the body.

Intensity key


Easy: 50-60% of your maximum heart rate


Aerobic: 60-70% of your maximum heart rate


Endurance: 70-80% of your maximum heart rate


Sprint: 80-90% of your maximum heart rate



Check it out! SwimPlan.com

Dry Land Swimming - Bands or machine - Dara Torres

Dara Torres is back in the pool after giving birth about a year ago and setting records. Well if you are not sure who she is, then here is the surprise she is 40 years old and breaking records and shamefully putting it to kids half her age. How is she doing it, by spending less time in the water and hitting the gym for dry land training. The NY Times has a great article about her.

Anyway the most interesting part was that "her day had begun just after dawn in the weight room, where she worked her legs until they quivered and her arms until they ached — without pressing a weight or lifting a dumbbell. The 90-minute workout was the first leg of her training triathlon. It was followed by 90 minutes of swimming and 60 minutes of stretching." So does a swiss ball and bands or weights help or a dry swim trainer help you stay fit. From the looks of Dara I would say whatever she is doing it is working.

The results are in the time that you put into any sport. As we get older it is much more difficult to recover and with science and technology helping us understand our bodies better, doing exercises different from the sport in which you compete might help jump start and heal you for taking it to the next level.
Cheers and Happy Thanksgiving

Swimming: Master Breathing

Photo, Underwater by Rowell Spencer, All Posters
I was asked the other day, how do I catch my breath while swimming? First, make sure you breathe out all of your air before you rotate to take a breath. This is not like running or biking where we can get a breath anytime we like, part of establishing a good breathing technique is more swimming and becoming comfortable in the water. The more you swim the better everything gets.
Here are some good pointers:
•On a 100 yard freestyle (4 laps of a 100 yard pool) break up the laps into sections, on the first 25 breathe every 3rd stroke, the next 25 breathe every 4th stroke, next 25 every 5th stroke and last 25 on the 6th stroke. This will take some time to get used to but it is a great drill, especially if you are doing triathlons where sometimes you have to switch up your breathing in a pack full of people.
• Side kicks are great to practice, make sure you are rotating while you are taking a breathe not just turning you head.
• Extend your arms, make sure you are reaching with the opposite arm keeping you moving through the water.
If you would like to know more read The Complete Guide to Triathlon Swimmingby Kevin Koskella