FRS07 Category: Heads-Up
Description:
Normal freestyle technique with the added complication of holding the head forward and up above the surface of the water. This greatly limits the desired body rotation and forces the body to be rather flat. It can also add stress to the shoulders so it is often best to swim ½ laps (12 yards or so) for most swimmers and then drop the head and swim normally for the rest of the distance.
Purpose:
Helps eliminate any glide from the freestyle to improve sprinting speed.
Also helps develop a better range of stroking muscles
Variations:
FRS07-01 With buoy between thighs
- The easiest way to get used to this drill is to start with a buoy between the thighs for a balance lift of the legs
FRS07-02 Without buoy , no kick (GIF)
- Heads up without a kick or floatation is perhaps the hardest on the cardio and muscle development due to the high resistance from the sinking legs (also the most stress on the shoulders)
FRS07-03 Buoy between the ankles (GIF)
- Use the 1Flexband as a safety strap to hold a standard buoy between the ankles
- This drill variation will seriously challenge the side-to-side balance of swimmers
- This drill is also ideal to develop core muscles
FRS07-04 With Touch Paddles (GIF)
- Add Touch power paddles (3 size options) to help intensify muscle development
FRS07-05 With displacement paddles (Precision or Brute) (GIF)
- Add Precision or Brute paddles to remove the contact with the hands and force all power to the wrist/forearms
- This also greatly impacts the side-to-side balance of the swimmers
- For the ultimate side-to-side balance challenge, combine displacement paddles with a buoy between the ankles
- The use of displacement paddles can be deceiving as merely only technique devices but swimmers will quickly learn that they are much harder to use (due to their instability in the pull phase) and will develop a much better range of muscles when used regularly
FRS07-06 With Power Bags (GIF)
- Add Power Bags to the feet to create a stronger pull and workout the core