Synchronised Freestyle Swimming
No make up, hair ties or lipstick for this kind of synchronised swimming!
Sync swimming is great fun activity to do, but can also bring awareness to the possibilities of how to adjust your ‘catch’, and act as an introduction to different ‘swimming gears’ available to you.
What to do?
- Get a swimming partner.
- Decide who’s doing the swimming, and who will sync them.
- Decide which side you will pull into your first stroke (this needs to be the same)
- Your aim is to synchronise the same ‘tempo’ as you partner.
- It’s not easy! Give it a few goes and you will start to problem solve how to keep at the same tempo.
What factors will affect your ability to swim at the same tempo?
- Height
- Wingspan
- Stroke length
- Efficiency
- Skill
- Core stability
If I am swimming with someone who has a bigger wingspan or is more efficient than me. I can feel myself adjusting my catch, by swimming in a low gear; trying to cover a lot of distance with each stroke to keep up with them. I work at reducing drag and a feeling of heavy pressure on my catch phase.
If I am swimming with someone who is less efficient and/or has a shorter wingspan than me. I can feel my adjustments are different, I need to lighten my catch, apply less pressure, cover less distance per stroke, in order to sync with my partner. In addition, with this combination, my core stability is challenged, and I need to engage my core stabilisers in order to stay balanced.
Give it a go, and ensure to try out with several swim buddies to get a spectrum of challenges.