Fitness planner | Swimming: How to go from zero to 1 km - Part 3

“This month we shall work on improving your endurance through new drills as well as use new equipment like paddles and flippers/fins that help you improve your strength and speed in the pool,” says Millet.

Whether you are new to swimming or have grown up swimming from a young age, technique is key, and for that you need to practice your drills. The drills break down the complex stroke into smaller movements which you can master one at a time.

Chirag Somani, 31, a customer success manager in Bengaluru, who grew up swimming in lakes since he was 10 months old, started working on his technique only 10 months ago when he decided to attempt triathlons. “I knew how to swim but in order to swim the distances required in any triathlon, I needed proper form and technique,” says Somani.

Somani adds he couldn't believe people swam such long distances. He says he quickly realised he didn’t have the technique, stamina or confidence to swim even 100m smoothly. “My biggest challenge was to convince myself that it could be done... Next, I trained with people who were swimming long distances and that helped tremendously. After that I only had to trust my coach and the training plan she gave me,” recalls Somani.

Now that you are going to be swimming longer distances, you might find yourself tiring in the middle of a lap. That is likely to affect your rhythm and even your form and stroke. “Whenever I used to get tired, my left hand would not move as smoothly as the right. I wouldn’t be able to lift it out of the water smoothly. My coach, Nisha, gave me continuous feedback and pointed out what I needed to work on at the end of the lap. During that break I would consciously work on fixing my errors. The continuous feedback helped me become a better swimmer,” says Somani.

Whenever Somani swam without a coach, he used to try and get a video recording of his swim which he would take a look at during the rest break and try to spot the errors. Also, when he swam without his coach’s supervision he swam shorter laps with perfect technique. During this month you might also find that you are dragging yourself to one side and not keeping a straight line. This happens due to one hand being more dominant than the other. You will need to do your drills and make a conscious effort to use both your hands equally, says Somani, who required two months of training to swim his first 1km freestyle.

You are using new accessories this month and you need to know the right way to use them to reap full benefits of the accessory work:

“When you use flippers, also called fins, you need to relax your ankles and bend your knees slightly while performing the kicks. If you don’t do this, you will struggle to move forward and your legs will be exhausted,” says Millet.

"While using paddles for the pull drills, make sure your elbow is bent during recovery and remains underwater. Don’t try to pull with straight arms, even though that gives you greater power, as that cannot be sustained for a distance greater than 100m. It could also lead to shoulder issues over a period of time. The flexion in the elbows and wrist during the pull will ensure you are doing it more efficiently," Millet says.

And one final word for this month’s training: accessories such as flippers, paddles, pull buoys and kick boards are supplementary to the main workouts and drills. “You shouldn’t become too dependent on the accessories,” warns Millet.

Training plan: Weeks 5-8

Plan by Nisha Millet, Olympian and founder of Nisha Millet Swimming Academy:

Also read: Fitness planner | Swimming: How to go from zero to 1 km - Part 4