If you want to go :41 in the 100 free, or 1:31 in the 200 free... you'll need to get aggressive. But aggressive doesn't mean shortening your stroke. Why do it:
NCAA and Pan American Games Champion Joao de Lucca shows us what he focuses on when working on polishing his stroke. Joao shows us that REACH is the FIRST thing to focus on while building your stroke. How to do it:
1 - This will be a single arm drill. Push off, and start taking two strokes with one arm, then switch to taking two strokes with the other arm.
2 - The focus on this drill is to PUSH the extended arm directly forward.
3 - Keep the arm rigid and direct it straight to the other end. How to do it really well (the fine points):
If you're TRUE to the goal of direct extension on each stroke, then the simple act of pushing that arm forward, helps the body rotate and adds power to the pull. A better pull is the result of the focus on better extension. Focus too much on a better pull, and you may miss that great extension. It's important to see such a great athlete pointing out that this is one of his key focus points. When Olympians show us the details they work on, it raises the question, how much should YOU be thinking of these details? |