Top 10 Limiters

How to look at a swimmer: feet - hips - shoulders - head - hands

• Look at the movement pattern of each body part in order and see if there is evidence of a limiter.

1. Head too high (when inhaling and/or exhaling)

   1. Drill: Side swim

   2. Cue: 

      1. Inhalation

         1. One eye in, one eye out. 

         2. See water wash on the bottom goggle

         3. Where are you looking? Look for lane rope

         4. Rest your ear on a pillow.

      2. Exhalation (head down)

         1. Tuck the chin, look down (or not as far down lane)

         2. Apple under the chin

         3. Neutral head

2. Cross-over

   1. Drill: 

      1. Pull buoy and band. A splayed kick keeps us in balance and we don’t notice it. When not kicking, and with the feet together, the motion becomes very obvious and this allows the swimmer to widen their arms and feel the result in the leg positioning.

   2. Cue: 

      1. Imagine you’re paddling a surf board. The board is wide beneath you and won’t let your arms come inside.

      2. Swim on the rails. Two rails, shoulder width apart. Keep your arms along that line.

3. Hand Too High on Extension

   1. Drill: Superman/One Arm. 

   2. Cue: 

      1. Down-sloped arm

      2. Fingers below elbow, below shoulder 

4. Dead Spots

   1. Drill: 

      1. With fins, hold side swim position for three seconds then switch sides so arms change from front to back, back to front at same time. 

      2. Same as above but pause with recovering hand even with ear before switch happens (front quadrant)

   2. Cue: 

      1. Maintain opposition of the hands, like a windmill. (This is an initial over-compensation to break them out of catch up.)

      2. Imagine you’re on a treadmill. If you don’t move water with your hands you’ll fall off the back.

5. Short Finish

   1. Drill: 

      1. One arm drill with focus on finish

      2. Pulling with a focus on full and even hip rotation

      3. Kick board held between legs, tap it on finish as you swim

   2. Cue: 

      1. Thumb to thigh. Ensure your thumb lightly brushes your thigh at the end of every stroke.

6. Holding Your Breath

   1. Drill: side swim with rotation of head to inhale/exhale

   2. Cue: 

      1. Continuous Bubbles. Start exhaling the moment your face enters the water so you are ready to inhale immediately.

      2. Make sure depth of inhalation and exhalation matches effort level, shallower and relaxed when swimming easy, deep and powerful when swimming hard.

      3. Experiment with breathing every second stroke if usually breathing every third. 

7. Fingers Too Spread

   1. Drill: none 

   2. Cue: 

      1. Fingers together, thumb out. This is step one usually in correcting.

      2. Soft hands with fingers relaxed and very slightly apart is step two.

8. Wide/Swinging Recovery

   1. Drill: Zipper Drill. Draw your thumb up the side of your body from your thigh to your armpit during the recovery phase.

   2. Cue: Aim for the railway track coming from your shoulder.

9. Dropped Elbow in Catch

   1. Drill: 

      1. Sculling

      2. Fist/palm. Focus on keeping the elbow higher than the wrist during the initial pull phase.

      3. Dog paddle

   2. Cue: 

      1. Imagine you’re paddling a surf board. 

      2. Feel water on your forearms

      3. An eyeball on your elbow would be looking to the side

10. Muscling the Water

    1. Drills: 

       1. Sculling

       2. Fist/palm.

    2. Cue: 

       1. Gather, feel, throw 

       2. flow don't muscle