Competitive Performance Swimming Coaching

Competitive Performance Training

Training Tips & Info:

Efficient swimming is the key to high performance swimming... to efficiently transfer energy from our body to forward motion we need to be balanced in the water. It is of paramount importance to feel balanced in the water - we will help you develop the technique. Stroke technique is EVERYTHING!

By using the following training tips you will drive down those personal bests and achieve your goals:

Arrive in plenty of time to allow you to warm up and fully stretch which will reduce the risk of injury and increases mobility helping you improve your swimming (see: Dynamic Warm-up below);
Attend all scheduled training sessions as each are equally important;
Bring all of your training equipment with you;
Drink plenty;
Use a log book and keep it up to date, recording how well and how often you have trained and to register your improvements in both training and competitions; An LSSC Swimmers log book is coming soon.
Keep a positive attitude and be ready to train at the level your coach requires;
Pay attention to your coach. He/she is there to advise you and to help you to become a better swimmer;
Do everything that your coach asks to the best of your ability. Doing less is only cheating yourself!

Learn the stroke counts (strokes per length over 25m) – almost all training set has stroke count. You will need to lengthen your stroke (decrease the number of strokes) of shorten your stroke (increase the number of strokes) depending on the aim of the session. If you aren’t aware of your stoke count in all strokes over 25m you cannot train effectively and improve. Remember that a perfect race also has the perfect stroke count, length and rate for that swimmer. If you don’t practice it in training, it will be more difficult to swim your perfect race!
Train at the intensity your coach asks for and finish each length correctly;
Learn to pace yourself in all sets;
Always think about your technique. Streamlining, butterfly kicks and maintaining good stroke technique throughout training. It is what will make you swim faster!
A short swim-down after a hard session will help avoid muscle stiffness;
Think about each session and leave having accomplished something positive and enjoyed it!

Remember, each training session provides a chance for you to improve as perfect practice helps make a perfect performance.

Land Training

Land training should be seen as complementary to pool sessions. To gain optimum strength and power competitive swimmers need to supplement their pool training with land training

There are four different types of land activities that can help your swimming: Stretching, Abdominal Exercises, Weight Training (only to be carried out with the consent of the Head Coach), and General Exercise.

The benefits of land training are substantial. You should concentrate on your core muscles which are the most important for swimming performance.
Land training will help you improve on your stroke technique, starts and turns.
Land training will allow you to develop a more balanced physical development that will ultimately result in avoidance of injuries.

For more information on land training,
click here

Example training drill VIDEO

Graded Tables

Graded Swimming gives all swimmers the means to measure their own personal progress and also to compete in open competitions against swimmers of similar ability.

How does it work ?
The system has 4 Grades, which are AAA, AA, A, and B. Everyone below B grade is automatically a C grade. For a given time, for each of the standard events and for each sex there is a corresponding Grade.

AAA Grade is approximately the same level as the National Championships qualifying times, AA grade is about Regional standard, A is about county standard, and B is good club swimmer standard.

A set of tables has been developed which cater for both sexes, for all Age groups and for all events. To determine the grade of a swim is simply a matter of comparing your latest time against the times in the table for your sex, age group and event.

The graded table used by the club can be found here.

Dynamic Warm up

Q. What is a dynamic warm-up?
It is essentially stretching with movement.

Q. Why do a dynamic warm-up?
The benefits of an effective dynamic warm up are:
Increases body temperature, allowing your muscles to work more efficiently;
Gets the heart and lungs ready to engage in vigorous activity;
Stretches muscles actively, improving your joints range of motion and preparing them for the forces experienced during training/competition;
Establishes proper movement patterns and the coordination needed in training/competition. 5. Stimulates the nervous system and gets the brain talking with the muscles;

Q. Should I ever do static stretching?
Yes, but static stretches are more suitable to the cool down – recovery - period as they help muscles to relax, realign muscle fibers and re-establish their normal range of movement (see below).

Q. Should my warm-up contain static stretching?
For many years it has been typical to perform a light warm-up followed by some static stretching (this is a stretch that is taken to the point of slight muscular tension and held for 15-20 seconds). Indeed, you will see many athletes – from novice to elite competitors – starting their sessions or preparing to compete with some static stretching.

However, recent research has shown this may not be appropriate because static stretching can reduce the amount of power and force a muscle can produce. With this weakening effect lasting for more than one hour it is not great for obtaining your peak performance in either training or completion.

RCTPSS therefore recommend that a dynamic warm-up be performed – in place of static stretching - before each training session or cometition. It is also important to remember that your normal warm-up in the pool is essentially a dynamic warm-up and it is essential to perform both correctly to ensure best performance.

The Foam Roller

Youth Squad Only
Using a foam roller can provide very similar benefits as deep-tissue massage. By focusing on the deeper layers of muscle tissue, also called connective tissue, it works to release the persistent patterns of muscle tension in the body, increasing flexibility and helping to prevent injury and improve performance.

Make the following foam-roller exercises part of your regular swimming routine--swim, roll, then stretch. See the instructional video below, which provides a good overview of the rolling techniques:

​Competitive Performance Training