STARTS - FORWARD DIVE SEQUENCE STEP #1

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Straight legs and pointed toes are a big part of maintaining a stable body line during the start. If you're having trouble with this part of the start, check out Step #1 of our 5-part series on the forward start.

If you've always wanted to learn how to do a racing dive off the blocks, or if you've ever tried to teach someone how to dive off the blocks, here's a fun drill that is step #1 in the learning process.

Why Do It:
When swimmers, especially young swimmers, are learning to dive, they often have trouble controlling their legs. This young swimmer enters the water with his arms in streamline, but his legs flip up just as they enter the water.

When the legs flip up like this, it's like opening a huge parachute, just at the point when you are going your fastest.

Your racing dives will be faster, cleaner, and a lot more comfortable if you can learn to control your legs and feet. The idea is to hold the legs in streamline and let everything slip through one hole in the water.

This drill, which is Step #1 in a 5-part series, will help you learn to control your legs and feet. It will help you develop a nice CLEAN entry, with your hands, torso, and feet all in STREAMLINE

How to Do It:
Get a noodle. Many pools have these on deck for water-aerobics classes but, if not, you can find one at your local discount store for a couple of dollars.

Stand in the shallow end and place the noodle out in front of you. Make sure the water is at least up to your waist when you try this. Take a big breath and dive OVER the noodle.

Try to send your hands over and DOWN toward the bottom.

If you send your hands OUT toward the other end, you may end up landing ON the noodle with your stomach.

You want to get your stomach up and OVER the noodle.

Next, focus on getting your legs and feet to slide OVER the noodle. Notice how this swimmer keeps her legs together and her toes pointed, and how her feet and legs seem to FLOW right over the noodle.

This swimmer is now doing a better job of getting OVER the noodle and his feet are together. But he'll get a cleaner entry if he can point his toes as they slip across the noodle.

Here's a good image that you can take to the pool with you when you practice. Remember to dive up and over and DOWN into the water. You'll get a cleaner entry if your toes are pointed and if you let them just SLIDE over the noodle.

Hey! Just TRY IT! Have some fun, and come back next week for Step #2.

STARTS - FORWARD DIVE SEQUENCE STEP #2
Here's Step #2 in our 4-step sequence for learning the forward dive. Even if you already know how to start from the blocks, this drill is fun and will reinforce the key skill of getting your hands in streamline as you enter the water.

Why Do It:
Learning how to dive off the blocks can be a scary and painful experience.

But if you take time to practice a few basic skills in the SHALLOW END, you'll learn how to control your moves in a SAFE environment.

In Step #1, you used a Styrofoam noodle to help control your legs and feet during the forward dive.

In Step #2, you'll again use a noodle. but this time you'll be focusing on the FRONT END of your body and learning to control your head and arms for a streamlined entry.

Here's what you're aiming for as the final result - a start where every part of your body enters the water through a single hole.

How to Do It:
This drill is all about streamline, so let's make sure you've got the basics. A good streamline starts with the hands. Place one hand over the other and lock your top thumb around the bottom hand. This is called the power-lock position or the thumb-lock position, and it's how you should hold your hands when you push off the wall or dive off the blocks.

Once you power-lock your hands, you need to power-lock your head. Extend your arms and clamp your head right between your shoulders. For a great start, keep your head in this position, with eyes down and arms held tight against your head.

OK. Time to get in the water. Stand in the shallow end and place a noodle out in front of you. Make sure the water is at least up to your chest when you try this.

As you get ready to leap up and over the noodle, get your hands in power-lock.

As you jump up, lock your head between your shoulders and DO NOT LOOK UP. You should actually SEE the noodle as you go over it.

Keep your hands and forearms locked and RIGID until your feet slide over the noodle.

The important things to focus on are keeping the hands in powerlock and keeping the head tight between your arms. Keep practicing until you can maintain a tight streamline with your arms, head, and shoulders until your feet are all the way over the noodle.

This drill is really fun and is a great learning tool, even if you already know how to dive from the blocks. Give it a try, and stay tuned for Step #3.

STARTS - FORWARD DIVE SEQUENCE STEP #3
Here's Step #3 in our 4-step sequence for learning the forward dive. If you've never gone off the blocks, this is an essential step! But even if you're comfortable diving from the blocks, starting from the side of the pool can help you try some new things with your hands and feet.

Why Do It:
In Step #3, you'll take the noodle to the deep end of the pool, and use it to break some old habits and reinforce good technique in the forward dive.

How to Do It:
You'll need a partner and a noodle for this one, and at least 9 feet of water. Please DO NOT try this in the shallow end or in water less than 9 feet deep.

Have your partner sit or stand on the side and hold the noodle 1 or 2 feet above the water and about 1 or 2 feet away from the side. The distance from the wall depends on the comfort level of the swimmer.

Stand on the side and curl your toes over the edge to get a good grip. Put your hands in powerlock and then get your HEAD in powerlock.

Before you dive, REMEMBER how it felt to dive over the noodle in the shallow end. Remember how you kept your head locked between your shoulders and how you looked BACK at the noodle as you went over.

Keep those images and feelings in your mind as you crouch down and then dive up and over the noodle.

Make a clean, straight arc with your body, and try to have everything flow through one hole in the water. The hands enter first, followed by the arms, head and shoulders, torso, legs, and finally the feet.

If you continue to hit your chest, or if your feet are still flying up behind you, take the noodle and go back to the shallow end for more practice.

Keep practicing until you can enter the water with your body in a long, clean line.

And be sure to come back next week for Step #4.

STARTS - FORWARD DIVE SEQUENCE STEP #4
When we started our sequence of drills for learning how to do a forward dive off the blocks, we THOUGHT it would take just four steps. But we found that getting from this which is Step #3

... to this... which is the ultimate, would take more than 4 steps, and would call for some troubleshooting along the way.

In Step #4 you'll use a pull buoy to help you control your legs during the forward dive. It's a troubleshooting drill, but it's fun to try even if you DON'T have this particular problem.

Why Do It:
When swimmers are learning to dive off the blocks, one of the most common problems is that they lose control of their legs. This young swimmer allows his legs to flip up just as he enters the water.

Here's a Masters swimmer who does the same thing. When the legs flip up like this, it's like opening a huge parachute just as you enter the water.

What you're aiming for is a clean entry, one in which the hands, head, hips, legs, and feet all slip through one hole in the water.

How to Do It:
If your legs are still flipping up, even after practicing your forward dives in the shallow end and from the side of the pool, it's time to try the PULL BUOY.

Stand on the blocks (or on the side of the pool) with your toes curled over the edge. Place a pull buoy between your knees.

Your goal is to dive into the water and NOT LET GO of the pull buoy.

Keep your hands and arms in streamline, but your real focus should be on your legs and toes and NOT LETTING GO of the pull buoy.

By holding onto the pull buoy, you will automatically keep your legs together and you will be encouraged to keep your knees from bending.

Try several dives and have someone watch you to see if your legs are bent or straight as you enter the water.

Have fun experimenting, and stay tuned for Step #5.

STARTS - FORWARD DIVE SEQUENCE STEP #5
Here is the long-awaited 5th step in the Forward Dive Sequence.

While you really had it all put together with step 4, this final step fine tunes just a bit using a standard tool for swimming, the stretch cord.

Why Do It:
For years, coaches have used the stretch cord to encourage swimmers to dive out FARTHER on their starts. The theory was that you'd travel farther... and get there faster... if you flew through the air rather than plunge through the water with all its resistance. But we've learned a lot in the past few years about starts. This 5th step speaks not just to those trying to learn the start, but also to those trying to master a fast start.

How to Do It:
1. If you're new to this sequence, make sure you revisit the first 4 steps.
• Step 1
• Step 2
• Step 3
• Step 4
2. Now, step up to the blocks and dive in. Have a friend sight, and mark, the spot where you enter the water.
3. At that spot, take the stretch cord, and tie it across the lane line. While there are other products you can use to mark a spot in the water, if you ultimately end up hitting the cord, it will stretch and won't hurt.
4. Your goal now is not to dive OVER the cord, but to spear your body directly into the water and land prior to the cord.

5. While you won't be going out nearly so far, there are a couple advantages of going into the water a bit sooner.
• You have less chance of smacking your body on the water.
• The sooner you get to the water, the sooner you can start using it to propel your body forward.
• You'll carry more momentum into the water and this will help propel you into faster swimming.

How to Do It Really Well (the Fine Points)
Since you're going to be hitting the water much faster, make sure you keep your hands tight on entry. There's a chance they can come apart when you hit the water this fast. Don't forget to point your toes so you don't drag your feet.

Also, of UTMOST importance when practicing this, or any starts: Make sure your pool is deep enough to practice safely. This technique, while cleaning up the process, may initially cause you to go a bit deeper in the water. This dive should only be practiced in a minimum of seven (7) feet of water.

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谢谢悠游游泳网！！！希望分享更多的福利贴！！！

谢谢悠游游泳网！！您辛苦了！！！！

谢谢悠游游泳网！！您辛苦了！！！！

谢谢分享！！非常好的方法！！