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    II. Terminology & Skills


    There are a number of basic skills that are common to swimmers that have reached the peak of performance. Some are mechanical, related to a particular form or body position, others are process-based, or how the forms relate to one another and work in concert.  In this course we will use a set of terminology to describe the different parts of the Australian Crawl stroke, to identify the types of skills that we hope to impart to the student, and some basic workout terms and swimming "jargon" that you will need to be familiar with in order to follow along.

    General Swimming Terminology 
    • Stroke – a single arm pull 
    • Cycle or Stroke-Cycle – While a “stroke” refers to a single arm pull, a “cycle” refers to two arm pulls: 1 right and 1 left. Thus, two strokes make 1 complete cycle. 
    • Pull – only using arms 
    • Kick – only using legs 
    • Full-stroke Swim – used interchangeably with the term “swim” – indicating that the swimmer is to use both arms and legs 
    • Length – a single traversal of the pool from one end to the other 
    • Lap – two “lengths” of the pool, down and back 

    Common Swimming Interval Types
    The term "interval training" in sports such as running and cycling often refers to very specific types of high intensity activities (often threshold or VO2 max intervals).  In swimming the term "interval" is much more commonplace, and simply is used to indicate the relationship between work and rest.  Two types of intervals predominate, "set-rest" and "send-off" (see below), of which "send-off" intervals, are more common, and usually are referred to simply as "the interval".  The "set-rest" interval is used extensively in this program due to its flexibility for varying levels, and its utility in drill mastery.  These two types of intervals are defined here as follows:
    • Set-Rest – swimmers are allotted a pre-specified amount of time between swims.  Therefore, even if their intensity changes (or if their speed drops as a result of fatigue), the amount of rest will remain constant.  When a coach is using this type of interval, it is generally referred to as "on XX:YY rest", where XX:YY is some duration to rest between swims, for example: "10 x 50 on :10 rest".
    • Send-Off - swimmers are required to begin each successive swim at a specified departure time (or send-off time).  Thus, the rest may vary as it is the remainder of time after completion of the most recent swim and the scheduled departure time of the next swim.  Coaches will indicate these types of intervals by writing/saying "on XX:YY", for example "10 x 100 on 1:30".

    Speed-Play Types and Terms
    The use of speed-Play or "fartlek" is wide-spread in swimming workouts.  There are 3 basic modalities of speed play that seem to be most common in swim groups all over the world, and are used extensively in this program: build-ups, descends, and negative-splits.
     
    • Build-Up – Increase speed gradually over the duration of a single swim. For example, if you are doing a 25 build-up, start slow, increasing speed as you move down the lane, you should be near top speed by the time you get to the flags at the other end. If doing a 50, top speed is reached somewhere near the last 10 yards of your last length.
    • Descend – This is a basic speed-play concept which generally refers to increasing speed between successive swims in a set (increasing speed = decreasing time, hence “descending”). So, if we are doing a set of 6 X 50, descending 1-3, it means we will increase our speed as we go from the 1st to the 2nd to the 3rd swim of the set, and then begin the process again through the 4th, 5th and 6th swims. This is in contrast to the “Build-Up” which involves changing speed within a single swim.
    • Negative Split - The second half of the swim is faster than the first. Example: 3 x 200 negative split, each swim is started out slowly, with the first 100 done in 2:00, and the second 100 needs to be faster than 2:00.

    Basic Components of Freestyle Stroke
      Figure II.1
     



     
    Recovery (A)

    		 This section of the freestyle stroke is known as the "Recovery", in which the arm travels forward out of the water, in order to begin the next stroke. This part of the stroke is non-propulsive, and allows the recovering arm to rest in between exertions.
     
    Finish (B)

    		 This part of the stroke is the final and for some, one of the most powerful parts of the propulsive phase.
     
    Sweep (C)
    		 Typically composed of an 'Insweep' and an 'Outsweep' this forms the initial part of the propulsive phase.
    Catch (D)

    		 This essential, yet mostly non-propulsive phase of the freestyle stroke is where the swimmer establishes a hold on the water to be used in the latter, propulsive phases.


    "Finding Freestyle with Passive Technique" is a 12-week course with a different approach to developing the basic techniques for fast swimming.  Finding Freestyle is available as an online, self-paced course, and also in a group class in certain areas.

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