Swim Snorkel Pro is the latest development on the more conventional Swim Snorkel. Designed for more experienced swimmers, its hydrodynamic design guarantees exceptional stability at high speeds. This feature not only allows you to maintain an efficient swimming technique, it also guarantees an efficient swimming style in workouts focusing on developing strength in the water.
Swim Snorkel Pro features two different types of “caps” to prevent air from flowing in, so that you can adjust your training intensity; less air enters through the smaller cap to make your workouts more intense. This can be used for three different types of exercises: so-called “relaxed speed” training (i.e. swimming at a steady pace with slow and shallow breathing), for developing the muscles of your diaphragm and for working in hypoxia.
Let’s see how we can use it to improve our training in the water.
1. Power Sprints.
– Swim with clenched fists with as fast a stroke rate as possible. Swim 8 x 15 m freestyle without breathing or 8 x 15 m backstroke arms using a pullbuoy with 30” recovery.
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– Swim with paddles without pushing off the ends of the pool. Perform 3 cycles without the paddles attached to your hands (gripped sideways), then release the paddles immediately and swim 3 fast cycles and then 3 cycles at maximum stroke rate with clenched fists. Swim this drill for 8 x 25 m freestyle with 30”recovery or 8 x 50 m (25 as described above + 25 easy backstroke) with 30” recovery.
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2. Speed Sprints
– 50 m sets dividing the pool into three parts (15 m +20 m +15 m) with 10 second rests, performed flat out. Perform 4 x 50 with 1 x 100 m between reps working on technique, swimming 25 m with left arm only + 25 m with right arm only + 50 m complete stroke breathing every 3 strokes.
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3. Leg drills
– Aimed at controlling your body position and core. 100 m sets without a board swimming 25 m with butterfly legs + 50 m with freestyle legs + 25 m fast legs with 20” recovery, keeping your body perfectly streamlined and controlling your head position.
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– Aimed at focusing on your stroke rate and pace. 10 x 25 m sprints with 60” recovery.
4 .Correcting your technique
A good example is correcting your head position. Lots of freestyle swimmers hold their heads too high resulting in greater front resistance. The best way to correct this problem is to swim 25 m sculling with your hands out in front of your head and your chin almost resting on your chest. Then swim 25 m freestyle with your head in the same position. Swimming normally after each technical drill will reinforce the correction and make sure you swim with the proper technique. Swim 6×50 like this with 20” recovery.
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5. Improving the balance of your body
– Body position in the water is essential for assessing swimming technique. Wearing fins, swim 300 m legs only in a sideways position with one arm extended out in front of your head and the other along your side. Change sides every 50 m, swimming first on the left side, then the right side and then facing forwards. Try to maintain the best possible position by controlling the position of your head and neck and keeping your body aligned in the water using your core muscles.
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Swim Snorkel Pro can be used in combination with other arena tools, such as Elite Hand Paddles and the Powerfin Pro (all the relevant details will be given in a forthcoming article!) These are just some of the drills you can perform using our Swim Snorkel Pro. Please do not hesitate to ask for any further tips for improving your training in the water.
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