What's the purpose of the catch up drill?
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2012-04-19 8:30 AM |
Veteran 148 Perth, Australia | Subject: What's the purpose of the catch up drill? As background, I'm a 2:10/100m swimmer so I have lots of room for improvement. I had a swim coach watch me swim and she couldn't point out any major flaws other than my arms crossing over my center line when entering the water. My experience with the catch up drill (which I wish I had a video of) is that by touching my extended arm with my catch up arm, it will reinforce my habit of crossing my catch up arm over my center line, and how I'm doing the drill, my pull changes from being a higher elbow catch to a "windmill catch" and my shoulders hurt. Not to mention I feel like I'm sinking every time I have my two arms out in front of me. I've switched to doing the drill while on a pull buoy to keep me more afloat ... Any advice on how I might improve this drill or should I give up and try something else? What skill is the drill useful for? Help swimming pros! |
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2012-04-19 8:35 AM in reply to: #4160004 |
Master 1793 Essex Jct, VT | Subject: RE: What's the purpose of the catch up drill? This is a decent video with explanation. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlfCsA81LAs |
2012-04-19 8:40 AM in reply to: #4160004 |
Expert 1544 Alexandria, MN | Subject: RE: What's the purpose of the catch up drill? My first thought was that this drill is easier initially with fins to keep you going and afloat. Then that's the first thing they said in that video, so I'll stick with that bit of advice. |
2012-04-19 8:42 AM in reply to: #4160004 |
Veteran 148 Perth, Australia | Subject: RE: What's the purpose of the catch up drill? I think flippers would be an excellent idea and I hadn't thought of it before. I obviously can't see myself swim, but I have a pretty good idea that I look NOTHING like the guy in that video! |
2012-04-19 8:43 AM in reply to: #4160004 |
Expert 696 Sugar Hill, GA | Subject: RE: What's the purpose of the catch up drill? maybe the drill has two intents but the benefit you describe has not been my understanding. I use the catch-up drill fairly often and my intent is to improve my glide in the water and reduce my stroke count. If I'm taking the time to wait for my pulling arm to catch up then I'm forcing myself to glide through the water. Further benefit, for me, is that in order to glide I need to concentrate more on my balance in the water and ensure that i'm not swimming "uphill".
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2012-04-19 8:51 AM in reply to: #4160004 |
Master 2725 Washington, DC Metro | Subject: RE: What's the purpose of the catch up drill? ssshaunaaa - 2012-04-19 9:30 AM As background, I'm a 2:10/100m swimmer so I have lots of room for improvement. I had a swim coach watch me swim and she couldn't point out any major flaws other than my arms crossing over my center line when entering the water. My experience with the catch up drill (which I wish I had a video of) is that by touching my extended arm with my catch up arm, it will reinforce my habit of crossing my catch up arm over my center line, and how I'm doing the drill, my pull changes from being a higher elbow catch to a "windmill catch" and my shoulders hurt. Not to mention I feel like I'm sinking every time I have my two arms out in front of me. I've switched to doing the drill while on a pull buoy to keep me more afloat ... Any advice on how I might improve this drill or should I give up and try something else? What skill is the drill useful for? Help swimming pros! I am no swim coach by any means but I think that this (bolded) is a major no-no and not something that you want to reinforce. |
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2012-04-19 9:00 AM in reply to: #4160004 |
Member 1083 | Subject: RE: What's the purpose of the catch up drill? The catch up drill moves your stroke forward - you will feel this when you've got one hand forward waiting for the other hand to meet. In my mind there is a rhythm to this drill (stroke, stroke, glide - stroke, stroke glide). When properly done you will not be crossing the center line in this drill because your hands meet in the middle. Bringing your hands together isn't that important. The point is that you don't start the catch until both hands are forward. Other benefits are that your breathing will be earlier and faster in the stroke and your catch will be quicker. Those skills can translate to a quicker turnover which can make you faster. If you feel like you are sinking then your position is maybe off. Your head and hands should be lower in the water to bring your legs up. |
2012-04-19 9:15 AM in reply to: #4160004 |
Regular 181 San Luis Obispo | Subject: RE: What's the purpose of the catch up drill? In addition to other things, the catch-up drill helps you work on body alignment - long and straight, from the tip of the out-stretched, extended arm down through your shoulder and side all the way to your feet. The catch-up can help with your breath timing also, in addition, help with learning how to delay starting the pulling until the body is in a good position. The speed of your swim will become faster as your body is in proper alignment and the strength of your pull-thru increases. You may think drills are silly, but they're an excellent purpose for learning all - to be more efficient in the water. Good luck, |
2012-04-19 9:32 AM in reply to: #4160121 |
Expert 885 | Subject: RE: What's the purpose of the catch up drill? miamiamy - 2012-04-19 9:00 AM If you feel like you are sinking then your position is maybe off. Your head and hands should be lower in the water to bring your legs up.
This is how I feel when I do this drill. I hadn't thought of using fins. Maybe I should try them and see if that helps. |
2012-04-19 9:34 AM in reply to: #4160004 |
Master 2460 | Subject: RE: What's the purpose of the catch up drill? THe catch up drill is particularly useful for swimmers who fail to fully extend their arm on the reach, which for true newbs, is most of them. I can't tell you how many newb slow swimmers I see that prematurely start their catch before fully extending their reach - this drill definitely fixes that, with good result. It's one of the easiest drills as well, so there's no excuse not to do it if you can't already. |
2012-04-19 9:46 AM in reply to: #4160235 |
Expert 696 Sugar Hill, GA | Subject: RE: What's the purpose of the catch up drill? bar92 - 2012-04-19 10:32 AM miamiamy - 2012-04-19 9:00 AM If you feel like you are sinking then your position is maybe off. Your head and hands should be lower in the water to bring your legs up.
This is how I feel when I do this drill. I hadn't thought of using fins. Maybe I should try them and see if that helps.
my opinion is that if you are using fins then you are artificailly correcting the problem. work on your body position to correct the sinking otherwise you'll continue to have the problem once you take the fins off. Total Immersion (been a while since I read that book) explained it pretty well. While swimming you want to feel as though you are pushing your chest towards the bottom of the pool. As I get tired I also get lazy and stop doing this. Once I remember and push my chest down my feet pop right up to the surface of the water. You should be looking down not forward. make sure most of your head is under the waterline. Also, when you breath, turn your head just enough that one eye is out of the water but the other is still under water.
FWIW, this is my most valuable drill particularly b/c I use it during races. The washing machine experience of the start is all about survival and I get through it any way necessary. I find that as the swimmers spread out and I have room I may still be using the short/choppy strokes that got me through the washing machine. It is not uncommon for me to use the catch up drill for a minute or so to reset my form, concentrate on balance, and establish a rhythm. |
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2012-04-19 12:06 PM in reply to: #4160004 |
Member 152 | Subject: RE: What's the purpose of the catch up drill? Wow, when we do the catch up drill our instructor has us slap the top of our hands so you really don't get an opportunity to glide. I felt like we were working for on our pull. Might explain why I fell like im not moving. I have seen another video with the Brownlee brothers where they use a kick board instead which stops the cross over. |
2012-04-19 1:19 PM in reply to: #4160687 |
Member 51 | Subject: RE: What's the purpose of the catch up drill? Forsey - 2012-04-19 12:06 PM Wow, when we do the catch up drill our instructor has us slap the top of our hands so you really don't get an opportunity to glide. I felt like we were working for on our pull. Might explain why I fell like im not moving. I have seen another video with the Brownlee brothers where they use a kick board instead which stops the cross over. Time for a new instructor, stat! That's among the worse advice I have heard. I think the catch-up drill is effective for a whole slew of stroke issues such as crossover, alligator arms, sinking hips, dreaded cross over wiggle, etc. The best distance swimmers in races come very close to swimming catch up as their regular stroke. |
2012-04-19 5:27 PM in reply to: #4160004 |
Veteran 427 | Subject: RE: What's the purpose of the catch up drill? So, I just happened to read this thread before my swim today, and I did a little experiment. I normally swim like the OP, somewhere between 2 and 2:10, depending on the length of my set. Today, I focused on the advice in here - not the drill specifically, but rather the intended rhythm of stroke + glide, and focusing on body length while the working arm is pulling. This was my mental image: Reach for the opposite wall while the pulling arm is working, don't stop reaching until the other arm is ready to pull. Result: managed 1:55/100 for 100s, 2:05/100 for 500. Coincidence? I think not. |
2012-04-19 6:29 PM in reply to: #4161576 |
Expert 696 Sugar Hill, GA | Subject: RE: What's the purpose of the catch up drill? melanfi - 2012-04-19 6:27 PM So, I just happened to read this thread before my swim today, and I did a little experiment. I normally swim like the OP, somewhere between 2 and 2:10, depending on the length of my set. Today, I focused on the advice in here - not the drill specifically, but rather the intended rhythm of stroke + glide, and focusing on body length while the working arm is pulling. This was my mental image: Reach for the opposite wall while the pulling arm is working, don't stop reaching until the other arm is ready to pull. Result: managed 1:55/100 for 100s, 2:05/100 for 500. Coincidence? I think not. Good for you!!! Keep working on it and it gets better and better. |
2012-04-19 6:48 PM in reply to: #4160004 |
Subject: RE: What's the purpose of the catch up drill? Agree that the hands don't need to actually touch in order for the drill to work. The main thing is that both hands are out, extended in front, before the next arm starts to pull. My interpretation is that this helps correct you from starting your pull too soon. Your body is much more hydrodynamic when you are pulling with one arm still extended out. If you're pulling while your recovery arm is still above your head, you're creating a larger frontal surface that is a lot of drag. If you're strong enough, and your turnover is fast enough, you can deviate from this a bit...but for most novice swimmers in the 2:10 range, you want to have that one arm out extended in front of you as long as possible. This allows you to glide through the water and get the most out of each stroke.
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2012-04-19 7:02 PM in reply to: #4160004 |
Extreme Veteran 601 Cold Spring, NY | Subject: RE: What's the purpose of the catch up drill? I do catch ups at every practice and have had good early results in lengthening my stroke. But regarding fins, i personally wouldnt use them for catchups or other timing-related drills. I find the big kick totally messes up my timing and use a pull buoy to prevent the sinking feeling while doing the drill. |
2012-04-19 8:06 PM in reply to: #4160919 |
Payson, AZ | Subject: RE: What's the purpose of the catch up drill? Fast Swim - 2012-04-19 11:19 AM I think the catch-up drill is effective for a whole slew of stroke issues such as crossover, alligator arms, sinking hips, dreaded cross over wiggle, etc. The best distance swimmers in races come very close to swimming catch up as their regular stroke. alligator arms? |
2012-04-19 8:42 PM in reply to: #4160004 |
Master 2177 | Subject: RE: What's the purpose of the catch up drill? This drill did wonders for me. It forced me to take my time and work on my overall form, especially turning my face out of the water and leaning my ear on my extended arm to breathe. With my arm still extended, the rest of my body stayed level with the water surface. My instructor would make us do a couple 100 of these with and with out the pull buoy. Edited by Blanda 2012-04-19 9:00 PM |
2012-04-19 10:22 PM in reply to: #4160004 |
Pro 9391 Omaha, NE | Subject: RE: What's the purpose of the catch up drill? I actually did the 3/4 catch up drill a lot and it fixed my biggest flaw. I had 0 glide and did the windmill swim like crazy. the catch up forced me to leave my lead hand out there longer (gliding) and I just naturally became more efficient. Number one best drill I even did to improve my times. |
2012-04-19 10:24 PM in reply to: #4160004 |
Pro 15655 | Subject: RE: What's the purpose of the catch up drill? I don't know anything about swimming.....but I'm alot faster than I was before I started doing LOTS of catch-up drills. They have been gold for me. |
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2012-04-19 10:59 PM in reply to: #4160004 |
Member 473 | Subject: RE: What's the purpose of the catch up drill? its definitely helped with my glide, right now i just need to do a light flutter with good rhythm to swim :D |
2012-04-26 8:35 AM in reply to: #4160004 |
Veteran 148 Perth, Australia | Subject: RE: What's the purpose of the catch up drill? After a few sessions in the pool and many laps of the catch up drill, tonight I decided to do some kicking drills and came to realize that my kicking is TERRIBLE! I've been reading lots of posts about triathletes not needing much of kick on the swim to save the legs for the bike and run. I think I was reading into that too much and hardly kicking at all. After a couple laps of kicking, my catch up drills were sooooo much better! No wonder I was sinking! I've now dropped the pull buoy and I actually have what some people might call a glide! Thanks everyone! |
2012-04-26 10:55 AM in reply to: #4174212 |
Pro 9391 Omaha, NE | Subject: RE: What's the purpose of the catch up drill? ssshaunaaa - 2012-04-26 8:35 AM After a few sessions in the pool and many laps of the catch up drill, tonight I decided to do some kicking drills and came to realize that my kicking is TERRIBLE! I've been reading lots of posts about triathletes not needing much of kick on the swim to save the legs for the bike and run. I think I was reading into that too much and hardly kicking at all. After a couple laps of kicking, my catch up drills were sooooo much better! No wonder I was sinking! I've now dropped the pull buoy and I actually have what some people might call a glide! Thanks everyone! Yay, glad to hear things are working a little better. |
2012-04-26 2:43 PM in reply to: #4161576 |
Extreme Veteran 561 Wauwatosa, WI | Subject: RE: What's the purpose of the catch up drill? melanfi - 2012-04-19 5:27 PM So, I just happened to read this thread before my swim today, and I did a little experiment. I normally swim like the OP, somewhere between 2 and 2:10, depending on the length of my set. Today, I focused on the advice in here - not the drill specifically, but rather the intended rhythm of stroke + glide, and focusing on body length while the working arm is pulling. This was my mental image: Reach for the opposite wall while the pulling arm is working, don't stop reaching until the other arm is ready to pull. Result: managed 1:55/100 for 100s, 2:05/100 for 500. Coincidence? I think not. OMG, I had the same thing happen today, I kid you not. Just READING this thread and hopping into the pool for my swim, while thinking "gliiiide, gliiiide, gliiide, gliiide" while swimming, shaved time off. My last 450 yard set (last Thursday) I clocked myself at 9:30ish. Today, same distance, 8:40ish (using analog wall clock...I need a watch!). Talk about motivation to learn and use catch-up drills. Imma have a coach teach me to do them right, and soon! |
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