Grab your sneakers and jump into the deep end! Make sure you haven't strolled on any dog-walking trails. Better yet, just buy a pair and keep them in your swim bag - this is a drill you'll want to do more than once.
Yesterday my 9 year old age-group swimmer got to swim with the older kids. While this time he was able to do this drill without shoes because he has a LC JO Qualifier meet this weekend, the others got the pleasant experience of doing this drill in their sneakers.
The Drill (they did this in a 25 yard pool):
Why put yourself through this torture? (and even without the shoes it is unpleasant)
When you are in a race, and your legs want to quit on you and you just feel like you don't have anything left, this drill trains your body (and mind) to dig down and make your legs give you more (when they are screaming that they can't).
My son's coach drills this into the kids because if your legs decide to give up and you haven't trained them to amp it up, you're going to get left behind by those who have learned to tell their legs to accelerate to the wall by downshifting and kicking in the reserves.
Many drills are not fun, but when you see the results, it's all worth it.
If you get a chance to try it out...let me know what you think.
Yesterday my 9 year old age-group swimmer got to swim with the older kids. While this time he was able to do this drill without shoes because he has a LC JO Qualifier meet this weekend, the others got the pleasant experience of doing this drill in their sneakers.
The Drill (they did this in a 25 yard pool):
- Flutter kick on the side of the pool (45 seconds strong kick/15 seconds ALL OUT sprint kick)
- Grab a kickboard and haul it to the other side of the pool (you can use any stroke kick on this part)
- Repeat based on your level...(I think they repeated 6 times)
Why put yourself through this torture? (and even without the shoes it is unpleasant)
When you are in a race, and your legs want to quit on you and you just feel like you don't have anything left, this drill trains your body (and mind) to dig down and make your legs give you more (when they are screaming that they can't).
My son's coach drills this into the kids because if your legs decide to give up and you haven't trained them to amp it up, you're going to get left behind by those who have learned to tell their legs to accelerate to the wall by downshifting and kicking in the reserves.
Many drills are not fun, but when you see the results, it's all worth it.
If you get a chance to try it out...let me know what you think.
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