Three Critical Technique Differences Swimming in a Wetsuit
By Michael Collins
Nova Masters Swimming & Multisports Orange County
I ask every triathlete I coach “how do you change your stroke when you swim in a wetsuit?” Few ever get the answer right. The say things like “uh, well I float better so I don’t kick at all.” I rarely get much beyond the mention of the increased buoyancy and using the legs less or not at all.
I believe there are 3 critical technique changes required to maximizing the speed and efficiency of using a wetsuit in triathlon competition.
Let’s go through each of these in more detail.
1 - USE A LIGHTER KICK – BUT STILL KICK
Because the wetsuit does add substantial buoyancy a hard kick with a lot of knee bend will result in just kicking the hell out of the surface and making a lot of splash but give little forward propulsion or help in balance. The result is wasted effort in the form of higher heart rate than is required to hold that speed. However, by not kicking at all, just dragging the legs along with result in too little core rotation and overwork the arms and shoulders which will need to pull the body through the water.
Many people who “think” they are not kicking still do a GIGANTIC scissor kick every time they breathe to gain stability. It definitely works to do that, but also creates significant drag as the legs create a parachute effect. By keeping a steady and narrow kick the athlete can maintain correct body rotation, cadence and breathing without compromising body position.
2. USE A STRAIGHTER ARM RECOVERY
If you try to use a high elbow recover with the fingertips recovering close to the water surface and your armpit you will wear out your shoulders quicker and not be able to keep an “easy and rhythmic” cadence. In a wetsuit I like to see “whole body rotation” where the swimmer tips back and forth from one hip to the other by shifting the body weight back and forth. It’s important to recover the arm in front of the body line and not above or behind which will slow cadence and work against the force of gravity.
3. USE A SLOWER STROKE RATE THAN WITHOUT A WETSUIT
If you use a slow stroke rate without a wetsuit you will start to sink between strokes if you don’t have great balance or buoyancy. With a wetsuit there is a lot more leniencies to swim with a slower stroke rate and keep better forward momentum.
Most triathletes “program” their swimming technique and stroke rate while swimming in a pool without a wetsuit where the effects of gravity and buoyancy are very different than with a suit on. Additionally, even if swimming in cool water, many athletes will start to overheat in their wetsuit if they use the same stroke rate and kicking effort that they do when they train in a pool. You cannot dissipate the heat from your body as easily in a wetsuit than without.
This is one of the reasons triathletes often feel AWESOME for the first few hundred meters in the swim when they are fresh and the wetsuit has not gained any weight by soaking up water. However, half a mile into the swim with the suit has soaked up water that is HEATED from the work expenditure and become heavier it becomes difficult to maintain the same cadence used in pool swimming without a suit.
I recently did a set in the pool where I swam 5 x 100 on 1:30 with a wetsuit and was comfortably holding 1:04 with 12-13 strokes per length (in a 25 yard pool). Next I took the suit off and swam 5 x 100 on 1:30 with no gear and held 1:08-:09 with 14-16 strokes and more effort in my kick. If I had swam in the wetsuit at the same stroke rate and kick that I did without I would have likely swam about a 1:01 or 1:02 on the first one and then faded to much slower as I overheated and built up heart rate and shoulder fatigue from working against the suit.
Suggestions for dealing with the differences of regular swimming to wetsuit swimming
Example Pool sets to prep for wetsuit racing. I would recommend doing this practice 2-3 times over the last month leading up to an important race.
Warm-up w/ wetsuit on
200 swim EZ with 10 fast strokes thrown in each lap in the 2nd 100
Main Set for a Sprint Race
3 x 50 Fast @ :10-:20 Rest. Faster than goal race pace. Use EASY speed.
6 x 100 @ :20-:30 rest holding best possible average
3 x 50 Fast. Faster than goal race pace
Jump out of the pool and remove wetsuit quickly
Get back in and repeat set with a pull Buoy
Main Set for Olympic Distance
4 x 50 Fast @ :10-:20 Rest. Faster than goal race pace. Use EASY speed
4 x 300 @ :20-:30 rest holding best possible average
4 x 50 Fast. Faster than goal race pace
Jump out of the pool and remove wetsuit quickly
Get back in and do Sprint distance set above with a pull buoy
Main Set for 70.3 Distance
4 x 50 Fast @ :10-:20 Rest. Faster than goal race pace. Use EASY speed
4 x 500 @ :20-:30 rest holding best possible average
4 x 50 Fast. Faster than goal race pace
Jump out of the pool and remove wetsuit quickly
Get back in and do Sprint or Olympic distance set above with a pull buoy
Main Set for Ironman Distance
4 x 50 Fast @ :10-:20 Rest. Faster than goal race pace. Use EASY speed
4 x 1000 @ :30-1:00 rest holding best possible average.
Take wetsuit off after #2 if the water is really hot and use a pull buoy
4 x 50 Fast. Faster than goal race pace
Jump out of the pool and remove wetsuit quickly
Get back in and do Sprint distance set above with a pull buoy
Michael Collins coaches the 350+ member Nova Masters Swimming as well as Multisports Orange County. He specializes in video analysis and technique improvement for swimming ,cycling and running.