Here is some jargon that you're likely to hear bandied about during coached swim practices. If you're new to such workouts, browsing through this glossary may help get you oriented.
See also:
- Bilateral breathing
- The ability to breathe alternately, and with equal facility, on each side. Important for developing overall evenness in your stroke, especially in freestyle.
- Breakout
- The point at which the body breaks through to the water surface following a turn.
- Build
- A steady increase in speed and power during a workout piece.
Example: "4 X 50 odd smooth, even build" means "on the 1st and 3rd laps, swim at a steady speed and pay attention to your stroke; during the 2nd and 4th laps steadily increase your speed." - Catch up
- Freestyle drill in which you pull and recover while keeping the other arm outstretched in front. Allow both hands to touch in front of you before starting the pull with the opposite arm.
- Count strokes
- See distance per stroke drill.
- Descend
- An increase in speed (i.e., decrease in time) from one piece to the next during a set.
Example: "3 X 100 descend" means "swim the first 100 at a moderate pace, the second a bit faster, and the third even faster still."
Example: "6 X 100, descend by 3's" means "swim the first 100 at moderate pace, the second a bit faster, and the third even faster still; then repeat this pattern for the next three 100s." - Distance per stroke (dps)
- Drill for all strokes that encourages you to lengthen each stroke. Count the number of strokes you need to complete, say, 25 meters. Now swim the same distance, but extend your reach and lengthen your glide so that you can complete the same distance with one fewer stroke. Repeat several times, reducing your stroke count by one stroke each time. (Sorry -- increasingly powerful push-offs from the wall do not count in this drill!)
- Dolphin kick
- Kick used in the butterfly stroke, some breaststroke drills, and following underwater backstroke turns. The legs kick in unison and the body moves in a smooth undulating motion.
- Drag
- The natural resistance of an object to movement through the water. Although drag can never be eliminated, it can be vastly reduced by improving the efficiency of your stroke and by paying attention to your body's streamline.
- Fingertip drag
- Freestyle drill in which you drag your fingertips along the water surface during recovery. Helps you learn to keep your elbows up during recovery.
- Flutter kick
- The basic kick used in freestyle and backstroke, in which the legs move alternately up and down.
- 4-4-4 drill
- Backstroke drill for practicing body roll. Alternate four tootsie rolls with four full backstrokes.
- Fly
- Butterfly.
- Headbangers
- Freestyle drill in which you brush your thumb along the side of your head just before the hand enters the water. Helps you learn to keep your hands from crossing the midline when they enter the water.
- IM
- Individual medley. A set consisting of the four competitive strokes in the following order: butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle. (Sometimes written as "IMO", for "IM order".)
- Interval
- A set of repeated swims, each of which is to be completed within a predetermined time. The time interval includes the time both for swimming and for resting before the next swim. Interval training is an important tool for developing your aerobic capacity and muscle strength.
Example: "5 X 50 on 1:00". If you can complete 50 meters in 35 seconds, you'll get 25 seconds rest before you have to begin the next lap; if it takes you 45 seconds, you'll only get 15 seconds rest. The faster you swim, the more rest you get. Use the pace clock to keep track of when you must start each lap.
Example: if you start the set "5 X 50 on 0:50" when the pace clock reads 0:00, you'll start the next laps when the clock reads 0:50, 1:40, 2:30, and 3:20, respectively. The math gets a bit tricky when dealing with descending intervals. For example, if you start the set "5 X 50 on :55, descend by 5 sec" when the clock reads 0:00, you'll start each subsequent lap when the clock reads 0:55, 1:45, 2:30, and 3:10 (and you'll complete the last lap by 3:45).
(In interval training it's especially helpful to have a coach yelling "Go!" at the appointed time, thereby relieving you of the burden of working out these complex problems in higher mathematics, when your primary concerns are gasping for air and just trying to keep your stroke together.)
- Kick
- A drill for improving the efficiency and strength of your kick. Depending on the stroke and the particular drill, the arms may either be in streamline position, at your sides, or holding a kickboard.
- Kickboard
- 1. A floating foam board sometimes used in kick drills.
2. A handy device that allows you to swim alongside your lane partner and chat, while keeping up appearances of working out. - Lap
- One round-trip swim down the pool (two lengths). In a short course pool, one lap is either 50 yards or 50 meters.
- Length
- The length of the pool (one-half lap). In a short course pool, one length is either 25 yards or 25 meters.
- Main set
- The central (and usually longest and most challenging) set in a workout, which characterizes the purpose of the entire workout.
- Negative split
- A piece in which you swim the second half faster than the first.
Example: "100 negative split" means "swim the second 50 faster than the first 50." - Piece
- In a workout, a basic unit of swimming exercises that, when added together, constitute a set.
Example: The set "2 X 100 kick, 3 X 50 swim" consists of two 100 meter pieces, followed by three 50 meter pieces. - Pull
- 1. The most powerful part of the stroke during which the arm(s) pull back through the water, propelling the body forward.
2. A drill for strengthening the arms, in which kicking is curtailed. May or may not involve the use of flotation buoys ("pull buoys") between the legs. - Pullout
- In breaststroke turns, the actions immediately following push-off from the wall: streamline glide, one pull, and one kick.
- Recovery
- The non-power portion of the arm stroke, during which the arms move forward before the start of the next pull.
- Reverse IM
- Individual medley, in reverse order: freestyle, breaststroke, backstroke, and butterfly. (Sometimes written as IM-1.)
- Set
- In a workout, a series of one or more pieces chosen and arranged to focus a particular aspect of swimming (e.g., warmup, distance, duration, sprinting, technique, etc.).
- Stop-stop-switch ("SSS")
- Freestyle drill to develop balance and a good body roll. Kick on your left side for three kicks, then turn your head down to prone position for three kicks ("stop"). Recover your right arm and keep it extended in front, joining the left arm in streamline position. Hold arms there for three kicks ("stop"). Take a stroke and roll to your right side ("switch"). Repeat on alternate sides. (Note that "SSS" is different from "3S"!)
- Streamline
- 1. A body position that permits the smooth and efficient passage of water along your body as you swim, thus minimizing your
drag in the water. An important consideration in every stroke!
2. A low-drag body position in which the arms are extended straight ahead, usually with the hands placed one atop the other or palm-to-palm. Used mainly during kick drills and immediately after turns (before breakout). - Stroke
- In workouts, "stroke" (or "off-stroke") usually refers to any swimming stroke other than freestyle (i.e., butterfly, backstroke, or breaststroke). Unless the coach specifies a particular stroke, the choice of stroke is up to you and your lane-mates.
- 3-4 drill
- Freestyle/backstroke drill. Take two strokes freestyle, and on the third stroke (when you turn to breathe), continue the roll until you're on your back. Take three backstrokes, and on the fourth stroke, continue the roll until you're back in the prone (freestyle) position. Continue alternating three freestyle and four backstroke strokes. This drill helps you focus on good body roll in both strokes.
- 3S
- See Triple-switch.
- Tootsie roll
- Backstroke drill for practicing body roll. Swim on back with your arms at your side. Keeping head level, swim with one shoulder turned upward then, after six kicks, roll your body (starting from your hips) to turn the opposite shoulder upward.
- Triple-switch ("3S" or "trs")
- Freestyle drill based on stop-stop-switch. Instead of turning to breathe during the "switch", take three strokes and breathe on the third stroke. A good way to incorporate bilateral breathing into your drill. (Note that "3S" is different from "SSS"!)
- Variable
- A set consisting of four pieces that are to be swum in the following order: build (increase speed), reduce (decrease speed), slow, and fast.
Example: "4 X 50 variable" means "In the first lap build from slow to fast, in the second lap reduce your speed to slow, in the third lap swim slow, and in the last lap swim fast." - Warm-up
- An easy set that gives your muscles a chance to warm up, stretch, and loosen before the main set. An important part of every workout.
- Warm-down (or cool-down)
- An easy set that gives your muscles a cool down and recover after the main set. An important part of every workout.
