6-Month Practice Plan

During Cycle 1 these are the different features of the head position to work on:

• Keep the head in line with the spine laterally – avoid side-to-side tilting of the head.
• Keep head neutral (weightless) between gravity pushing down and water pressure pushing up – avoid lifting the head higher or pushing it down lower.

During Cycle 2 these are the different features of the head position to work on:

During Cycle 1 these are the different features of the spine alignment to work on:

• Lengthen the spine from tip of head to tail – as if someone were pulling on your spine like a puppet pulled up by a string.
• Allow deep abdominal muscles to tighten is if you are standing on ‘Tippy Toes’.
• Allow top of the pelvis to become ‘level’ (by tilting back slightly) with your lower back becoming slightly more flat (but not extremely so).

During Cycle 2 these are the different features of the spine alignment to work on:

• Keep kick motion and leg spread to a minimum – instead keep thighs firmly connected with abdominal muscles, in line with the torso, and resist bending the knees for your kick.
• Keep your body long and straight from tip of head to knees.

During Cycle 1 these are the different features of the front-end alignment to work on:

• Keep the recovery motion swinging forward.
• Keep the entry hand entering on track, in front of the shoulder.
• Keep entry and extension path on track, in front of shoulder.
• Bring extending hand to the target below the lowest part of your body.

During Cycle 2 these are the different features of the spine alignment to work on:

• Keep the head-spine line straight, pointed straight ahead (as if pulled by a string) without letting any arm or leg motions pull the head-spine out of this alignment.
• During breathing, keep your lead arm extending forward – DO NOT push downward. Do not set the catch until your head has returned to face-down position after breathing.

During Cycle 1, these are the different features of the Rear-End Alignment to work on:

• Keep the body line long, stretched out.
• Keep thighs straight behind torso (like standing tall), and resist bending thighs at the hips.
• Keep ‘Tippy Toes’ sensation of firm, stretched torso – from ribs to knees.
• Keep legs close together, knees nearly brushing.

During Cycle 2 these are the different features of the Rear-End Alignment to work on:

• Keep feet in counter-balanced foot position, if you have learned this (you may view the Video Tutorials on this).
  • Skate side foot is pigeon-toed, pointing at the ankle of the other foot
  • Other side foot is pointed, angled downward slightly
  • Each press of the foot is enough to lift rear and help rotate the torso
  • Permit no extra foot movement or flutter between counter-balanced foot positions
• If you use flutter instead, flutter from the ankles, not from the knees.
  • Permit only a slight flex in the knees, but do not bend them.
  • Point big toes inward slightly, as you flutter the feet.

During Cycle 1 these are the different features of the Rotation Stability to work on:

• Keep a low (less than 45 degree) torso rotation angle
• Turn just off your tummy
• Keep hips and shoulders together, as one solid unit
• Send recovery swing WIDE, send the elbow away from the spine

During Cycle 2 these are the different features of the Rotation Stability to work on:

• Prevent over-rotaton by sliding entry arm to perfect target on wide track – resist spearing toward center line
• Prevent over-rotation by lengthening Skate side – stretch only the Skate side, do not twist the torso farther
• Prevent over-rotation by sending the elbow wide on exit – resist pulling the elbow up and behind the back
• Prevent over-rotation by finishing underwater push at the hip – the elbow does not pause at the back, but immediate swings forward pulling the hand with it, releasing pressure of the push

Rhythmic Breathing

During Cycle 1 and 2 these are the features of Rhythmic Breathing to work on:

• Turn toward air as soon as you can, with the start of the catch
• Turn and touch the air with your mouth quickly, briefly

Recovery

During Cycle 1 these are the different features of the Recovery to work on:

• Elbow exits water by going wide, to the side (not up, above the body)
• Elbow moves forward continuously – do not pause to swing forearm forward
• Counter-balance recovery by holding lead arm on its wide track
• Keep a relaxed, lazy (ragdoll) forearm, hand, fingers
• Keep fingernails in contact with surface of the water
• Drag the knuckles so that the forearm drags behind the elbow until last moment

During Cycle 2 these are the different features of the Recovery to work on:

• Swing the arm like swinging a bag of fruit – keep it smooth, fast, dynamic, (not jerky, slow, robotic)

Rhythmic Breathing

During Cycle 1 and 2 these are the features of Rhythmic Breathing to work on:

• Finish your exhale underwater so that you only need to inhale when turned to the air
• Take a quick sip of air and return the head to face-down position immediately (do not linger)