What Elite Level Swimmers Have In Common! The 5th Stroke!

In 2004 I had the opportunity to watch the World Short Course Championships in Indianapolis from the Indiana University Suite (my alma mater)!  One thing that I really noticed from watching way above the pool was the amazing 5th stroke as "coined" by Milt Nelms and the late Richard Quick.  Underwater Swimming!

Almost every athlete in almost every heat of the events that I watched went 15m underwater and they did it very fast!  Being that the meet was short-course meters underwater work is way more important, but it's still important swimming long-course!  I believe that in order to be one of the elite the athlete must be capable of being very fast underwater!  Swimming has changed quite a bit since I competed and I find myself back in the pool racing some of my kids once in awhile during practice and while I've already taken 4-5 strokes my swimmer is just starting their breakout!  What an advantage!

How do you get faster underwater?  "Practice!"  I really suggest finding a copy of the Richard Quick: Championship Winning Walls: Underwater Swimming - The Fifth Competitive Stroke (DVD) !  Something that I have noticed is that a lot of kids starting out working on underwater skills have a hard time going fast face down, I believe it's their need to look forward and their anxiety of wanting to be on top of the water and race!  Here's a little set that I do once in awhile to elicit some great underwater work!

4 x Thru     5 x Streamline Jumps from a squat position (feet wider than your shoulders)

                  4 x 10m Underwater Fly Kick on your back @ :40

                  4 x 10m Underwater Fly Kick on your sides @ :40

                  4 x 15m Fast Underwater Fly Kick / Fast Breakout to 15m @ :40

                  1 x 50 Easy Swim

We use cones at the bottom of the pool to mark the 10m and 15m markers!  We do this set at maximum effort with the best technical skill possible.  One of my 13 year old athlete's goal is to be at 100m Fly World Record Pace at 15m!  Sometimes she accomplishes it!

It's great to work on all strokes during practice so sometimes we just do a whole practice of 15m sprints!

64 x 15m Breakout Sprints in IM Order @ :40

What goes great with underwater work?  "Turns"  I'll save that for next time!

Swim Fast!