Practice Plan for Balance and Streamline

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Practice Set for Balance

Skills To Build

• Aligning the spine from tip of head to tail
• Building the frame in your torso
• Letting water support your frame
• Becoming long, lean, firm along that spine
• Shifting weight forward

You want to feel long, straight, stable in Superman, gliding forward for 3 or 4 seconds parallel to the surface, feeling the full support from the water, before your legs start to sink (for those who have sinking legs). The better you are stretched out and long, from tip of head to toes, the longer you may delay that sinking of the lower half of the body. For those who don’t sink, you may experience more forward glide as your body is nicely toned to transfer force forward rather than absorb it.

Focal Points

• Weightless (neutral) Head
• Straight (shishkabob) Spine
• Lever your weight forward, in front of the lungs (sternum is heavier, hips are lighter)
• Tippy Toes – be stretched out, long and lean, from shoulders to pointed toes
• Shoulders slide outward and forward
• Open up the armpit
• Arms straight, on Wide Tracks
• Hands at Target Depth
• Let Arms Hang Heavy
• Tree Branch Arms (soft fingers and forearms)

Choose 3 or 4 of the focal points above to work on today.

Then, for each focal point, work through these activities, as far as you can go successfully. Take one focal point and work through the list. Then take the next focal point and work through the list again, and so on.

Practice Set

• 4 to 6x Superman Glide for 6 seconds (time of comfortable breath hold)
• Superman Glide for 2 seconds, then 4 strokes
• 4 rounds of ‘6 to 8x whole strokes’ holding the same focal point (no breathing)
• 2 rounds of ‘4x whole strokes, Interrupted Breathing, 4x whole strokes’

 

Practice Set for Streamline

Skills

• to maintain balance skills and…
• Hold long, straight, firm Skate, from fingers to ankle
• Hold low, stable rotation angle

You want to feel long, straight, sleek and stable at a low-rotation angle in Skate Position. Along with the sensations from Balance skills, you want to see that you can slide parallel to the line on the bottom of the pool and to slide farther, more easily, the more streamlined and stable your body is. Sliding in Skate for 6 seconds with these positive feedback signs is a good goal to work towards.

Focal Points

• Head remains anchored – face down position (don’t turn the head as torso turns)
• Lead Arm stays on Wide Track (as torso turns)
• Lead shoulder extends forward
• Other arm tucks in at your side, underwater
• Hips and shoulders rotate as one unit
• Hold low (minimum) rotation angle
• Skate side scapula dips below surface
• High side scapula barely pokes above surface

Choose 3 or 4 of the focal points above to work on today.

Then, for each focal point, work through these activities, as far as you can go successfully. Take one focal point and work through the list. Then take the next focal point and work through the list again, and so on.

Practice Set

• 4 to 6x on each side Superman To Skate for 6 seconds (time of comfortable breath hold)
• Superman for 1 second, the Skate for 2 seconds, then 4 strokes
• 4 rounds of ‘6 to 8x whole strokes’ holding the same focal point (no breathing)
• 2 rounds of ‘4x whole strokes, Interrupted Breathing, 4x whole strokes’
• 2x length of pool, whole strokes with interrupted breathing

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