Technique Tuesday: All in the Hips

Speed skating sensation Apollo Ohno went on "Dancing With the Stars" after his Olmpic debut years back and did wonderfully. In fact he started working an entire muscle set and aerobic base that he had not before. And instead of stopping this new exercise, he embraced it as a new and intense form of cross training. As a result he shed heavy muscle, leaned his image, and became vastly more athletic than before.

I do not recommend every one out there should go and begin competitive dancing in order to become a better swimmer. In fact, the reference to this form of training is more for the phrase, "It's all in the hips". This is both a true statement and falsehood when it comes to swimming. It's not "all" in any given location. More accurately it's everywhere.

When breaking down your stroke there are _____ major zones. You have the area from your shoulders up (Head Zone), the area between your belly button and your shoulders (Stomach Zone or Upper Torso), The area between your belly button and knees (Core, yes this includes your hips) and of course from the knees down to the tips of your toes (Leg Zone or Feet/Toes depending on what needs to be tweaked).

Coaches routinely fuss at swimmers to work their hips or use their core muscles. This zone is crucial for effective competitive swimming. A weak core will hinder proper rotation on your long-axis strokes and impede quality undulation with your short-axis strokes.

The question here is what does such a generic zone have to do with technique and how am I going to talk about it in a way to tweak your technique. Well here it is:

Just like last week's go out and play with head position I want you to try this out as well. Your hips dictate your direction in and out of the water. Stand flat footed, both feet pointing forward, just shy of shoulder width apart. Now set your head in neutral position while standing up as straight as you can. Next, while keeping your arms relaxed by your side I want you to turn right by leading with your shoulders, keeping your hips facing forward.

You're able to face right!!!! ...but only from the Upper Torso zone up.... If you were in the water think of how your body would be twisting here. Almost serpentine like. When swimming you want to eliminate any extraneous movement or direction, so you want your entire body to rotate to the right.

Now reset your position. This time, turn to the right while leading with your left hip, but try to remain facing forward. It's almost impossible on land and if you can do it, it's far from comfortable. Keep playing with this on land to get a feel for Core-Body connection. From here move to the water and try this out.

This connection is pivotal for next week's Technique Tuesday where we take a closer look at rotary breathing. Make sure to continue playing with your head position in the water and locating that neutral position. Remember when your head reaches that sweet spot for neutral position you should feel your body accelerate in the water.

Fast Swims!

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