How to swim in a straight line in open water
There's no white line on the bottom of the lake, and you don't often get a rope to guide you, so I always have trouble swimming in a straight line in open water. Bearing that in mind here are my top tips for how to swim in a straight line:
- Bi-lateral breathing
When I learnt to swim at school, I was taught to swim every 4th stroke, and always breathe to the right hand side. This makes for an inherently uneven swim stroke, and can tend to drag you to one side. Learning to breathe every 3 strokes, and breathe on the right and the left can help you go straighter. - Look where you're going
If you're swimming breastroke, you'll tend to go in a straight line, but because your head is underwater 90% of the time with front crawl, you'll find yourself swimming in circles unless you learn a technique known as sighting. Before you start off in the direction of the next buoy, work out where it is in relation to something large and obvious in the landscape - a large tree or electricity pylon is good. Then aim to look up every 10-15 strokes, either as part of your breathing motion, or by just slightly bringing your eyes to the surface, and see where your point of reference is. Make small adjustments if you go off track rather than large movements which can be the start of a wild zig-zagging motion which can significantly increase the distance you end up swimming!
- Even up your stroke
I think part of my problem is that I have a tendency to pull harder with my right arm, which leads to me drifting off to the right. Concentrate hard on pulling with the same force with both of your arms. - Kick harder
Definitely not scientific fact, but I find that if I kick evenly and strongly, I tend to go straighter as well as faster. I think the reason is that by kicking harder - and kicking evenly - I'm compensating for my uneven stroke strength, and therefore making the rightward drift less severe. - Think straight
Keep your body as straight as possible and imagine yourself going in a straight line. It helps a lot if your sighting is good, as you'll have a mental target to aim for. Imagine yourself as a compass needle and your next turn as North. It might sound a bit corny, but try it. At the very least by imagining yourself as a needle/arrow you're likely to keep your body nice and straight which will help! - Follow someone else
Now bear in mind that this will only work if the person you're following is employing all of the techniques above (or is in a boat!). At the Oxford Tri Championships I followed a very helpful lady in a bright green cap who was swimming part breastroke, part crawl, and she led me gently from buoy to buoy! Remember that if you're following someone else, you might be concentrating more on following them than swimming fast, so don't expect to get a PB unless you're following someone who's going straight and fast.
Bi-lateral swimming and why it's a good idea: http://www.trifuel.com/triathlon/swim/bilateral-breathing-should-you-breathe-to-both-sides-000114.php
Zoggs swim training site
http://www.swim4fitness.com/home
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