Swimmers and triathletes are very busy people, and getting to the pool to train can often be a challenge. Sometimes, the pool is crowded or the times it’s open do not fit into your schedule. However, if consistent, quality swim training is not getting done, it only leads to poor preparation, erodes your confidence, and jeopardizes your potential.
Fortunately, there are alternatives. Swim training on the Vasa Swim Ergometer is a great substitute for time in the water. That’s because “swimming” on the Swim Erg requires the athlete to use the exact same stroke-specific mechanics used in swimming. Equally as important, the convenience of having the Vasa Swim Erg in your home, office or club makes it simple to maintain consistent, high quality swim training without the complications of pool training. Consistency is critical for progressing with improvements in technique, sustained power & endurance.
While it’s not exactly like swimming in a pool or the open water, Swim Erg training is an outstanding simulation of the pulling power part of the stroke. As long as proper stroke form is maintained, like high elbow catch and connecting your core rotation muscles, you’ll be able to steadily achieve significant gains in technique, power and efficiency.
Coach Karlyn Pipes teaches Freestyle technique using 5 focus points which can be used in the water and while swim training with a Vasa Swim Erg. Check out this video to learn how to swim stronger and with greater confidence:
Integration
Once you’ve familiarized yourself with how to train using proper form, it’s useful to understand how best to mix Swim Erg training with actual swimming in the water. We teamed up with High-Performance Triathlon Coach Tim Crowley, to give you a step-by-step guide on how to integrate Swim Erg training from land to water and vice versa.
Coach Crowley simplifies this integration by using a front-mount swim snorkel, a pull buoy and ankle band in the pool. This allows the athlete to focus on the pull with a high elbow catch while connecting your core rotation muscles – exactly like Swim Erg Training. Then gradually, drop one of the tools to add that aspect to the full stroke, be that breathing or kicking. For power and force, Tim suggests using a swim paddle, which puts the force at the top of the hand. This allows you to shift the force of your swimming to the larger muscle groups of the back and minimizes the use of smaller, more vulnerable shoulder & arm muscles. See Tim’s video here:
Swim training with the Vasa Erg, in connection with some pool swimming, will accelerate improvements in swim technique, speed, and sustained power and stamina.
Tim Crowley is an Olympic Triathlon Coach, and Head Strength & Conditioning Coach. He has an irrepressible can-do attitude. He thinks out of the box and he has a knack for simplifying complex tasks to get the results he needs for athletes.