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open water skills

Swimmers running out of the water in a training session

Take pool swimming training to the open water

As discussed in the previous blog, A Guide to Swimmers’ Lingo, being able to understand and set pool-based training sessions is a useful skill to have as an open water swim coach to add an extra element to your clients’ training plans. Running squad or individual fitness sessions is a great way to increase your client base as well as being fun to coach. But how can you run pool-style training sessions in the open water?

The first question swimmers ask each other after finishing a swim at any open water venue is: “How many laps did you do?” And while it is important to include long swims as part of a training regime, structured speed and threshold sessions incorporating open water skills should be essential elements of your coaching offering. Running sessions with a training goal in mind will motivate your swimmers and allow you to set some fun, interesting and worthwhile sessions.

Set the pace

Structure your open water training sessions in the same way as you would a pool session, with warm-up, sub-set, main set and cool-down swims. The main difference between training in a pool and in open water is the lack of a pace clock and the easily definable distance of a length. However, this is where the fun starts! These “limitations” can be overcome by thinking less of time and more of effort and using your venue’s landmarks to define distances.

If you coach at a venue with a buoyed course these will allow you to easily define distances in your sessions. An easy and measurable way to improve fitness is to time your swimmers’ laps over the season. Establishing personal bests is good motivation as they see times improve and fitness levels increase.

Introduce long interval training into your sessions by swimming one lap hard, one lap easy (depending on your course distance you can either swim one lap or swim 2 buoys hard, etc). Take note of your swimmers’ first hard lap times and encourage them to try to maintain this throughout the session – this will improve pacing as well as fitness. Swimmers can also time themselves on their training watches if they wear them.

Use the buoys of the course to structure your sets. Eg, instead of 10 x 100m swim fast to the first buoy, rest 10 seconds, swim fast to the second buoy, rest 10 seconds etc. You can change this up with longer distances, shorter or longer rests, alternate easy and hard swims.

If you coach somewhere without a buoyed course, it is time to get creative! Think about the set-up of where you coach and how you can use landmarks or objects to define distances. Eg, if you coach off a jetty is there another jetty or landmark that you could use to define distance – from the jetty to the tree, from the jetty to the boathouse, from the jetty to the sailing buoy. The same works if on a beach, lakeside or river bank – from the beach to the groyne, from the shore to the stream, from the bank to the big tree etc. Get creative with where you coach and use its “limitations” to your advantage! You could also use counting strokes – 10 strokes hard, 20 strokes easy etc.

Toys

Just because you are coaching in the open water doesn’t mean you can’t incorporate training toys into your sessions. Paddles and fins can be hooked onto to towfloats, swimrun pull buoys that strap to the thigh can be used. Or toys can be left on shore and picked up when needed.

Speed play

If you are familiar with fartlek training in running, this is an easy way to incorporate speed and interval work into your coaching. Fartlek is Swedish for “speed play” – so instead of set intervals with set recovery, fartlek is unstructured and alternates between moderate to hard efforts with easy efforts throughout as active recovery. Play with speed by swimming hard for short periods of time followed by easy-effort swimming to recover. For example, swim hard to the first buoy, easy to the oak tree, hard to the moored boat, easy to the bend in the river etc. Use the features and course of your venue to create a fun but challenging workout.

Different strokes

Introduce other strokes into your open water training sessions. Intervals of breaststroke, backstroke or butterfly will keep things interesting, work different muscles and improve your swimmers’ front crawl. A bit of a change will also help keep swimmers motivated if they are doing a lot of distance front crawl.

Strength training

As we saw in the Evening with… Menopause Movement talk, strength training as we get older is essential for both men and women. This can be incorporated into your sessions in a really fun but challenging way by including land based exercises in your training sessions. Eg, swim hard to groyne 1, get out and perform 10 press ups, swim steady to oak tree, get out and perform 10 star jumps, swim hard to jetty, get out and perform 10 squats, swim easy to jetty, get out and run to beach entry point etc. Be aware of your swimmers’ abilities and any conditions and offer alternatives, eg press up variations from the knees, walk instead of run etc. And of course always check your entry and exit points beforehand to ensure your swimmers’ safety.

Kit

If you are having your swimmers get out the water to run it is a good idea to have them wear shoes. These could be swimrun shoes, swim shoes if the terrain is suitable or a pair of old trainers (drilling holes in the soles can help if they are becoming waterlogged, but swimming in shoes is usually surprisingly easy).

Open water skills

If running a squad session, this is the perfect opportunity to introduce some open water skills in a race environment. Eg, start the session off with a deep water start, incorporate buoy turns into the sets, get your swimmers to sight every sixth stroke, put your swimmers into pairs or threes and have them practise drafting, alternating taking the lead.

These kind of sessions can be really fun and challenging both for your swimmers and yourself!

How to Swim for Long Distances in Open Water

If you’re thinking about completing a long distance swim, these tips will help you get there.

Swimming is a brilliant full body exercise that uses most of the body’s muscle groups. So it’s little wonder that when you leave the pool you feel tired and could quite easily take a nap. Even during your swim, you may feel like you need to take several rest periods, which is totally understandable if you’re training hard and not simply floating around and enjoying the water, which is also perfectly fine to do!

We’ve all seen those people who make long distance swimming look easy, like they could swim for hours without stopping. But it’s very likely that those people have practiced hard, honed their technique and made sure that they’re swimming regularly. Ultimately, absolutely anyone can learn to swim continuously if they’re willing to put in the time and effort and reward is absolutely worth it. Imagine being able to say you’ve swam the channel. Feeling up for it? Then take a look at our tips for swimming continuously.

Our hit list for swimmers looking to go the distance.

Trickle breathing

You may have already heard of trickle breathing, but this is something that many beginner swimmers struggle with and if you have only just started to go open water swimming, then this is an important thing to master.

Trickle breathing works by breathing out whilst your head is under the water so you’re ready to breathe in again when your head is out of the water once more. The trick is all in the breathing out. If you breath out slowly, through your nose, then you won’t breath out too much. And this way, the inhale will take care of itself.

This is a difficult thing to master and might not come naturally right away, so try practicing in a pool before you venture out into the ocean or a lake.

We appreciate that if you are new to swimming that this is a lot to take in and it might sound awkward! So consider booking a session with an open water swimming coach, who may be able to help you master this technique.

Check your body position

Even the most fit and healthy people sometimes find that whilst they can run a marathon, they get tired after swimming just a few lengths. This is usually because their body position is wrong, and the wrong body position can use up energy quickly.

When you’re in the water, ensure your legs aren’t sinking. Our bodies are like see-saws and lots of people think that our legs are just heavy or ‘sinky’. But that’s not usually the case. If your legs are trailing underneath you, that is likely to be the consequence of your head position looking forward. So to keep a flat body position, try looking directly down to the bottom of the lake and your legs should raise up into a far more streamlined position.

Again, none of this will come naturally, so don’t feel down if you don’t get it right away. Try some strength training along with your swimming practice to increase strength in your arms.

Get the right equipment

The equipment you have is not vital but can be helpful if you’re looking to swim continuously or for long distances.

Try wearing a hat in the water, to keep your head warm and your hair from going in your face. Appropriate goggles can also be a huge help, make sure they’re clear for when it’s overcast and mirrored for a brighter day.

If you find the water too cold, then you might consider a wetsuit. A wetsuit will not only keep you slightly more streamlined, but it will also keep your body temperature slightly raised. If you’re swimming outside in a lake, loch or sea, your body will use up more energy trying to keep you warm. If you’re swimming long distances then you need every bit of energy you can get. Using a wetsuit, will help with your buoyancy and whilst this won’t help you swim for longer, mentally it can be helpful to know you have that additional help during your swim.

Keep your pacing steady

This is important for long distance or endurance sports and if you’re a runner or a cyclist, this will already ring true for you. Pacing is incredibly important when you’re open water swimming, because the last thing that you want is to feel exhausted toward the end of your swim. Ideally, you want to feel in control of your speed at all times and a good way to do this is to start off more slowly than you would usually swim and increase your pace overtime.

Understanding what feels like a comfortable speed for you will only come with time and practice. One way to help get to know yourself better as a swimmer is to time your laps and keep a log of how you’re feeling after each lap. That way, you’ll build up a good understanding of what is an easy lap for you and what feels like you’re pushing yourself.

Technique

Technique is so important for all types of swimming, but as we’ve touched on before, ensuring your position is right and your pacing is steady is a great way to allow yourself to swim more efficiently and preserve energy.

Other elements of your technique are just as important. Your legs are more muscle dense than other parts of your body and so each kick will use up more energy than one of your arm strokes. This means that for long distance swims, you want to use your legs as little as possible. So time your kicks so that they, like your pace, are steady and continuous, and you’re not kicking constantly, as you might do in a sprint.

Whilst this might all sound like it’s a lot to think about, a good coach will be able to help you understand how to improve your technique in just a few sessions, arming you with enough knowledge to continue practicing and perfecting it.

Training Plan/ Fitness

This might be the most important element of all, which is to practice, practice and then practice some more. Like any skill, your swimming and technique will improve over time, so don’t feel disheartened if you don’t feel like you can swim for miles from day one. It’s perfectly possible that you’ll achieve your goals and by keeping a log, you will be able to track your improvements over time, which is always very gratifying to look back on.

A good tip to sticking to your practice is to develop a training plan, ensuring that you’re swimming at least three times a week. Make sure you include a good diet as part of your plan as eating the right balance of foods can play a big part in your swimming performance. For more tips, you might want to watch our talk with the Wild Swim Brothers here.

Just as important as training is getting lots of rest and keeping well hydrated. Feeling tired will mean that you lack the energy to swim continuously, likewise, being dehydrated can be draining.

Long distance swimming can be incredibly rewarding, particularly if it helps you to accomplish something on your bucket list. And that feeling will ultimately be worth all of the time and effort you’ve put into your training and technique. For more extra tips on training and a free training plan, our Straight-Line Swimming membership is a great place to start. Hear first hand advice from experts, get free courses and gain access to a brilliant community of like minded swimmers to swap tips and tricks on achieving your open water swimming goals.

Should I Swim Even When My Body Is Tired

The five factors to consider before you continue your open water swimming training when you’re feeling low on energy.

We’ve all been there, that feeling of overwhelming tiredness when all you really want is a nice comfy sofa. Training for an event is the last thing on your mind. But we also all know that sometimes it’s important to push through a bit of tiredness. Sometimes, exercise can really revive you and you always feel much better for it. So If you’re training hard and you come across that feeling of total exhaustion, does it mean that you should take a day off?

This feeling can sometimes be down to mental exhaustion. If you’ve been busy at work or you’re juggling a lot then taking some time out for yourself to go swimming could re-energize you and make you feel much better in yourself, particularly if you take it easy and just enjoy the water, rather than putting too much pressure on yourself.

However, if you’ve been training a lot and it’s your body that feels tired, rather than your mind, you could have muscle fatigue. In which case, it could be time to take a rest. How do you know that it’s time to take a break from your training? Here are our five top things to consider.

Are you sleeping well?

If you’re an active person, chances are you train hard and sleep like a log and that’s to be expected. If you’re sleeping perfectly well after a day’s training then you should be in tip top condition to swim the next day if you choose to. Even if your body feels tired, if you’ve slept well, it should give you the energy you need to continue on with your session, though you might simply choose to take it a little easier than usual. It’s important not to give up at this stage as your body is getting stronger.

However, if you’re sleeping poorly in general, this may be a sign that you’re overtired. This may or may not be down to how much training you’re doing but it is a sign that it’s time to give your body a break. Spend a day or two doing something more gentle, like a walk or a cycle or simply having a well earned rest.

How long do your muscles ache for?

It’s perfectly natural for your muscles to ache after a swim, after all, swimming is a brillant full body workout. Working all of your muscle groups simultaneously is bound to burn through lots of energy and so it’s easy to understand why many swimmers report feeling so sleepy after a session.

If you find that your muscles are still aching after a day or two then you may have delayed-onset muscle soreness or DOMS. Again you may feel fine to do a light swim during this time but if your muscles are feeling extremely sore and tight, it might be better to take a rest day, to avoid it turning into an injury, so why not put your feet up.

What’s your resting heart rate

Just like sore muscles, it’s normal for your resting heart rate to be slightly elevated after training. But as you train more and get fitter, your resting heart rate should get lower over time. If you do take note of your RHR before and after your swim, you will likely notice that it’s slightly higher after your session, but probably not for very long. You should ideally take a note of your RHR in the morning, for best results.

If you’re finding that your RHR is still elevated 24 hours after your swim, this could be a sign that you’re fatigued and not allowing your body the recovery time it needs. If this is the case, it’s a good time to stop swimming for a day or two and enjoy some downtime.

Are you drinking enough water?

There’s a misconception that you don’t sweat whilst swimming and it’s easy to understand why. The combination of cool water and even just being in the water at all, would make sweat difficult to detect. But if you’re working hard and pushing yourself during your training, it’s likely that you will be sweating.

It’s commonly understood that when you sweat, you need to rehydrate, and nobody would look out of place with a water bottle after a heavy gym session. But often in swimming, people forget to re-hydrate and actually, it’s equally as important as it is in any sport.

If your body is feeling tired and you have a session planned then try drinking lots of water ahead of time or use a rehydration drink if you don’t have all day to catch up. If you start to feel less tired then you’re good to go for your swim. If it is a case of dehydration, then you are perfectly safe to continue your training sessions and in fact, you should! Just make sure that you’re taking lots of fluids with you for when you leave the water.

Are you resting in between sessions?

Muscle fatigue is often caused by excessive lactic acid, which accumulates in the muscles. The best thing you can do to remedy this, is to take a rest. If your body is feeling tired, you will probably know in yourself whether or not you’re resting appropriately in between swims.

There’s no issue with swimming daily if you feel happy to do so, but if you’re doing a tough training session in the water, followed by a busy day on your feet or you’re combining your swimming training with running or cycling on the same day, it’s reasonable to suggest that you might not be allowing your body time to recover. If you’re training for a triathlon, it’s perfectly possible that you can combine your swimming with other forms of training, but just be careful to not overexert yourself. Try a long run, followed by an easier swim, or crush your laps but then go for a gentle cycle.

Swimming is a wonderful way to feel reinvigorated after a busy day or week, especially in the calming environment that open water swimming can provide. So if your body is feeling tired and you still feel motivated to swim, give it a go. But make sure you listen to your body at all times. You know your body better than anyone else, if you think it’s time to take a rest, it probably is. Sometimes a little rest, can improve your training and allow you to come back to the water refreshed and raring to go.

Our Straight-Line Swimming membership comes with a free training plan, a great way to maximise your efficiency in the water without feeling muscle fatigue. Sign up here.

Open water – Why is it easier to swim in sea water than in fresh water?

Swimming in the ocean can be a truly enjoyable experience for any swimmer, whether they are a beginner, an expert, or just out for a dip in the sea. And whilst some people view open water swimming as a little daunting at first, learning to swim in salt water can be a great way to take the first steps to becoming an open water swimmer. This is thanks in part to the natural buoyancy that the salt within the water can give us whilst we swim.

Here’s our ‘in a nutshell’ guide to saltwater vs freshwater and why either could be a great option for you.

What Is Saltwater?

Salt Water is essentially a body of water with a high density of salt. This is any sea, ocean and even estuaries but you can also find some man-made saltwater pools. A quick internet search should tell you where you can find one close to you.

Why swim in Saltwater

It’s no secret that the density of the salt in the sea is what can really help us to float. It’s why the Dead Sea is so famous. Swimming in this naturally buoyant environment is a fantastic way to build confidence in the water.

The added benefit of swimming in the sea is that it helps the body to sit higher in the water and can ultimately help you to become more streamlined whilst swimming.

Swimming in the sea is also really great for our skin-health as it’s packed with lots of natural minerals like magnesium, sodium, calcium, chloride and sulphate. You’re unlikely to absorb these but if you suffer from any sort of skin disorder, such as psoriasis or eczema, then you’re sure to see a benefit.

What is Freshwater?

Freshwater is any body of water with a low density of salt. These are usually, lakes, lochs, rivers and reservoirs. It’s important to remember that not all freshwater is “safe to drink” and this is largely due to run off, pollution and erosion.

Why swim in Freshwater

It’s certainly easier to stay afloat in seawater but freshwater in lakes and lochs often has the advantage of having fewer things that affect the water like tides and currents. So on a calm day it will likely to be far less choppy- a factor which could throw off your balance when you swim. The salt in the sea can also lead to some chaffing around the neck. Whilst this can be reduced with good body position and an eco-friendly lubricant, chaffing is not something that you would need to worry about in a lake!