How To Construct A Tune Up

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So what exactly might a ‘Tune-Up’ look like?

A Tune Up is a sequence of steps you take to prepare your mind and body for the main task of the practice. It’s a series of steps, or a routine even, for bringing each essential piece into line so you have the best opportunity to achieve the objectives of the day.

Step 1

Do some activity to get your attention drawn into the water and into your body. You may do a Silent Swim, to swim as gently as possible and just enjoy the feeling of buoyancy, of flowing, of water slipping down my body line. It doesn’t take long to notice something that leads you to Step 2 and feel motivated to take care of it.

Step 2

Scan for tension, tight spots, discomfort and start clearing these out. It’s like dynamic stretching but just range of motion in the form of strokes and drills. This is ‘aqua-yoga’ time. Again, everything is gentle or pleasantly stretching. No strain. The goal is to get range of motion loosened up and feel the body systems align around swimming motion patterns.

Breathing rhythm is a really big part of this. Many may struggle with it in the early part of practices. The goal is to form a gentle, steady exhale underwater, as much from the nose as possible.

Step 3

Wait for the body to lengthen and the stroke to lengthen naturally.

This is the crux. You should know what your normal optimal stroke length is,  but if you are not hitting this with ease in th tune up time then something is wrong.  A short (shorter than normal) stroke signals ‘low energy’, ‘low force output’, or ‘high drag’.  If you continue into my main practice set without solving this (or at least knowing what the culprit is) then what kind of training will you be able to do, and what results will you expect? If you are not in control of your stroke length then you cannot be in control of your energy expense.

Stroke Length is the foundation of easy speed. If I don’t find my easy optimal SL then I will be practicing struggle and costly speed- those are skills I don’t need to improve. So I want to find that easy long stroke again, as quickly as possible and hold onto it for the rest of practice.

What if something isn’t quite right?

Stroke Length comes from flexibility and coordination. In other words, it comes from shape and timing. These are primarily motor skills and that requires a strong brain-to-body connection.

So you may use some shape forming focal points to scan your body and tune up any weak spots in balance and streamline. Start with the head and spine. Then the torso. Then the arms. Then the legs.

Then scan for timing points, looking for how the catch is timed to the rotation, then how the spear is timed to the rotation, then how the catch is timed to the spear, then how the toe flick is timed to the spear. Start with simple connections and work your way toward more complex ones.

Then scan for the feel of the full steady catch. Feel for the full steady pressure of the toe flick (along the shin and foot).  Try to match the steady pressure of the catch to the steady pressure of the flick.

Step 3 is for taking time to test stroke length and do some additional tune up to get it ready to work.

How long does this tune up take?

If your stroke count quickly settles into your best range then not long at all – 10 or 15 minutes. But if you don’t come into your best stroke length you just may need to spend more time figuring out what is holding you back on this particular day. You need to find this out so that you are not a continual victim of circumstances which play with your quality in swimming.

The more that you use your tune up time to work through this process, the better you will get at it, and the more consistent you will be in doing your best work in the main sets.

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