Swimming Guidance

General
1

Hi,

I have a session today for swimming - but it has lots of things I don’t understand in it:

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So:

  • “Catch up” - what is this?
  • “drill” - seen this a few times and ignored it and just swam - what is this?
  • “Pull and pads” - assume pull buoy, and what is pads?
  • “100m ch” - ?
  • “include some kick” - is this with a float and just legs with fins?

Sorry, total swimming noob! I can swim lengths and have the “toys” but don’t know any technical terms!

Thanks in advance
Phil

2

Hi @VoodooScience,

No worries at all — appreciate the questions and you’re definitely not alone.

Quick answers:

  • Catch-up = a swim drill where one arm stays extended until the other “catches up” — helps timing and form.
  • Drill = usually a technique-focused part of the session (e.g., catch-up, fingertip drag).
  • Pull and pads = yes, pull buoy + hand paddles.
  • 100m ch = “choice” — swim any stroke you like.
  • Include some kick = yes, use a kickboard and focus on kicking only (with or without fins is fine).

You’ll find more help like this in our Support Archive — especially the swim glossary.

Keep at it — great progress!

Paul

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3

Hi @Prof ,

Thanks for the detail, that’s helped!

So with the one I had today, should I have done any random drill of my choice in the sets where it just says “drill”?

I also noticed that it outlines 100m of swims for the warmup, but gives you 3 x 50m (150m) of actual reps - is this a mistake or am I understanding it wrong?

Thanks,
Phil

4

Many of the swim terms are highlighted in the Help section under “Common session terms”. Here’s a screen shot:

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Drills can be found on YouTube (swimsmooth and others) Kick - yes flutter board and just feet or fins…

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5

oops just realized it was already answered…and yes, drill can be any drill…

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6

No worries, thanks for taking the time to answer, and then answer my follow up :grimacing::+1:

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7

Oh and yes, the 50, 50, 50 to equal 100 does seem like a bit of a bug, otherwise all your other questions appear to have been answered. Good luck!

PS. YouTube videos of misc. drills can be really helpful and give you a menu of options. Fingertip drag, tombstone kick with the kick board vertical in the water, shark drill for rotation, fist and finger drills, catch up drill, etc.. Enjoy!

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