Four Swim Skills for Swimmers to Master for Faster Swimming

小臭贝

Many things limit how fast a swimmer can swim, from swim technique to fitness to hand and foot size to a swimmer's natural bone and joint structure. Some athletes will have limits on technique because they don't bend certain ways - their range of motion is physically limited by joint structure. That does not mean that those swimmers can't get faster, but they may never be as fast as swimmers that have a differing joint structure.
There are several swimming technique skills you can work on to get faster in the water. These skill can also make you more efficient - you might go the same speed but use less energy. To increase swim speed, decrease swimming drag or increase swimming force. Swim slipperier (yes, that is a real word) or swim stronger - or both.

Swim coaches like to talk about how swimming gets harder as a swimmer goes faster because of an increase in drag. The swimmer must decrease the impact of that drag or apply a great deal more muscle power while swimming. Swimmers find it difficult to get results from applying more muscle power to the water if they are not doing it the right way. The first steps to faster swimming are positioning, grabbing, pressing, and rotating, things that everyone can learn. Here are a few things to check before trying to put more muscle power into your swims.


Positioning

You need to have your body in the best possible position to both minimize drag and increase the potential muscle power available. Get your body straight and long, parallel to the water surface, as you swim.
Check what you see. You should be looking down at the bottom, sideways or almost up to the side as you breath, but never forward. If you look forward, your legs will tend to drop towards the bottom, and you will lose your parallel alignment with the water.
The top of your head always points towards your destination.
Imagine that you are swimming in a long tube. Keep yourself within that tube as you move forward. It may require a gentle kick, it may require looking a little more backwards than down, but practice your positioning.

Grabbing

You must grab or catch the water so you have a way to transfer your muscle power from your body to the water.
You need to put your hand and arm in a position that allows this to happen. Trying to grab the water with just your hand and you will be losing a lot of your grip.
Try to use your hand and forearm.
Imagine that you are reaching forward and down over a wall as you swim, with the edge of the wall at your elbow. Point your fingertips towards the bottom of the pool, point your elbow up towards the sky or out towards the side, and think of everything from the elbow joint down your forearm and through your fingertips as one large paddle.

Pressing

You must press on the water with the largest muscles available. For most swimmers that means the muscles in your chest and back, not in your arms or shoulders.
You should feel a pocket develop in your armpit as you apply force to the water.
As you press on the water, your back and chest muscles pull your arm from ahead of you to under and behind your chest (but do all you can to maintain the fingertip down, elbow up "grab" position).
Imagine yourself grabbing the water first, then pressing on the water. Feel your body surge forward over your arm as you press.

Rotating

To fully use your position, your grab, and your press, you must add body rotation.
Your body should rotate about an axis defined by a line from the top of your head through your neck, back, and legs.
When the arm is grabbing, the body body is rotated so that the grabbing arm side is under water and the opposite side is above the water - or at least closer to the water's surface than the grabbing side.
The body rotates as one unit, from shoulders through hips, with the hips and shoulders in line with each other (this means you need to use your core muscles to hold it all together).
After you have grabbed the water you are going to press on the water. As you press, you also rotate your body, moving the body slightly ahead of the press. moving the body so that the side that was lower is moving up towards the surface and the side that was up is moving lower (and that moving lower side's arm is moving into the water ahead of you, sliding forward and extending, but not moving into the grab or catch yet).
Imagine a string going from your hip to your palm. Move the hip to start the press by pulling on that string when the hip begins to rotate from a deeper to a shallower position.
Work on these swim skills and you will be swimming faster in no time.

Four Swim Skills for Swimmers to Master for Faster Swimming
游得更快的四种技巧

Many things limit how fast a swimmer can swim, from swim technique to fitness to hand and foot size to a swimmer's natural

bone and joint structure. Some athletes will have limits on technique because they don't bend certain ways - their range of

motion is physically limited by joint structure. That does not mean that those swimmers can't get faster, but they may never

be as fast as swimmers that have a differing joint structure.
There are several swimming technique skills you can work on to get faster in the water. These skill can also make you more

efficient - you might go the same speed but use less energy. To increase swim speed, decrease swimming drag or increase

swimming force. Swim slipperier (yes, that is a real word) or swim stronger - or both.

许多因素限制了一个游泳者能游多快，从游游泳技术到手脚的尺寸到天生的骨架和关节连结等都会有影响。一些运动员会遇到技术上的瓶颈是

因为他们的动作受到了关节位的弯曲范围的限制。但这并不意味着这些泳者不能游得更快，只不过是意味着他们不能游得像那些有着与众不同

的身体连接结构的泳者一样快。（译者：看来各项运动都要讲一下天份啊！）

有几样技巧能使你游得更快。这些技巧也能使你游得更有效率——在同一游速下耗费更少的能量。要增加游泳速度，就要减少了阻力或提升游

泳的力量。也就是说要游得更滑溜一些（嗯，滑溜这个词用得贴切）或者游得更用力些，或者两者兼有。


Swim coaches like to talk about how swimming gets harder as a swimmer goes faster because of an increase in drag. The swimmer

must decrease the impact of that drag or apply a great deal more muscle power while swimming. Swimmers find it difficult to

get results from applying more muscle power to the water if they are not doing it the right way. The first steps to faster

swimming are positioning, grabbing, pressing, and rotating, things that everyone can learn. Here are a few things to check

before trying to put more muscle power into your swims.

游泳教练常说“游得越快就越难游得更快”，因为水的阻力在不断更加。游泳者必须减低阻抗或用更大的肌肉力量去游。泳者会发现在水中如

果他们没有把力用对门路的话就算用上更大的力气也没什么效果，

Positioning
定位

You need to have your body in the best possible position to both minimize drag and increase the potential muscle power

available. Get your body straight and long, parallel to the water surface, as you swim.
Check what you see. You should be looking down at the bottom, sideways or almost up to the side as you breath, but never

forward. If you look forward, your legs will tend to drop towards the bottom, and you will lose your parallel alignment with

the water.
The top of your head always points towards your destination.
Imagine that you are swimming in a long tube. Keep yourself within that tube as you move forward. It may require a gentle

kick, it may require looking a little more backwards than down, but practice your positioning.

你需要使你的身体处在一个最少阻力和能增加肌肉力量的姿势之中。游泳时要尽量伸直和舒展你的身体，要与水面保持平衡。
注意你的视线。你应该是向下看、向旁边看，或者在呼吸时向池边瞅瞅，但决不能往前望。如果你向前望，你的腿就会朝下沉，那你就不能和

水面保持平衡了。头顶要总朝着你的游向。在练习时你可以想象一下正在一条长长的管道里游泳。当你游进时要把自已保持在那管道里。这就

要求轻轻地踢水，视线要稍向后望而不是向下望。


Grabbing
抓水

You must grab or catch the water so you have a way to transfer your muscle power from your body to the water.
You need to put your hand and arm in a position that allows this to happen. Trying to grab the water with just your hand and

you will be losing a lot of your grip.
Try to use your hand and forearm.
Imagine that you are reaching forward and down over a wall as you swim, with the edge of the wall at your elbow. Point your

fingertips towards the bottom of the pool, point your elbow up towards the sky or out towards the side, and think of

everything from the elbow joint down your forearm and through your fingertips as one large paddle.

你要抓住水就要找办法使力量从肌肉传到水中。要这样的话，你就要用手和臂一起去抓才行。单单用手去抓水的话你是抓不住多少的。尝试运

用你的手和前臂。想象一下当你游进时向前下翻过一堵墙，手肘刚好搭在墙边上。把你的指尖指向池底，手肘则向天或露出水面向池边，当每一下大力打水时都要思考
一下从手肘到前臂到指尖的每一个细节。
  

Pressing
压水

You must press on the water with the largest muscles available. For most swimmers that means the muscles in your chest and

back, not in your arms or shoulders.
You should feel a pocket develop in your armpit as you apply force to the water.
As you press on the water, your back and chest muscles pull your arm from ahead of you to under and behind your chest (but do

all you can to maintain the fingertip down, elbow up "grab" position).
Imagine yourself grabbing the water first, then pressing on the water. Feel your body surge forward over your arm as you

press.

你必须用最大的肌肉力量去压水。对于绝大多数的泳者来去就意味着要用胸背肌肉去压水，而不是用肩或臂的肌肉。
当你向水施加力量的时候，你可以感觉到腋窝处会形成一个“袋”。当你压水时，你的胸背肌肉把你的手臂从你的前方压到你的胸下（一定要

尽力保持指尖向下、高肘抓水的姿势）
想象一下你先抓住水，然后把水压下去。当你压水时会感觉到你的身体越过你的手臂向前飙。

Rotating
旋转

To fully use your position, your grab, and your press, you must add body rotation.
Your body should rotate about an axis defined by a line from the top of your head through your neck, back, and legs.
When the arm is grabbing, the body body is rotated so that the grabbing arm side is under water and the opposite side is

above the water - or at least closer to the water's surface than the grabbing side.
The body rotates as one unit, from shoulders through hips, with the hips and shoulders in line with each other (this means

you need to use your core muscles to hold it all together).
After you have grabbed the water you are going to press on the water. As you press, you also rotate your body, moving the

body slightly ahead of the press. moving the body so that the side that was lower is moving up towards the surface and the

side that was up is moving lower (and that moving lower side's arm is moving into the water ahead of you, sliding forward and

extending, but not moving into the grab or catch yet).
Imagine a string going from your hip to your palm. Move the hip to start the press by pulling on that string when the hip

begins to rotate from a deeper to a shallower position.
Work on these swim skills and you will be swimming faster in no time.
最大限度地运用好定位、抓水、压水这几个技巧，你必须加上身体旋转。
你的身体必须绕着一条贯穿你头顶、颈、腿的轴旋转，当手臂在抓水的时候身体必须同时旋转，那么抓水的那手臂在水下的同时身体的另一侧

就在水面上方。或者比抓水的一侧更接近水面。
身体旋转是一个整体。从肩膀到臀，使肩膀和臀还有或其它部位都在同一条直线上（这就意味着要用你的核心肌肉使身体的各个部位协同发挥

作用）
你在抓水之后就要压水。当你压水时也要旋转身体。把身体稍移到压水的手掌前边。移动身体就会使处于较低位置的一侧移向水面。而原本处

于上面的那一侧侧移向较低位置（移动较低位置的手壁是移向前方的水里，向前滑动展髋，但还没有移到抓水或压水的位置）
想象一条线从你的臀到你的手掌。当臀部从较深的位置旋转到较浅的位置时，移动臀部拉线压水。

努力练习这几样游泳技巧，在不久的将来必将游得更快！