The Bottom Line
If you don't get this one, you are missing a vital swimming resource. I paid for my copy, and would do so again!
Pros
- In-depth look at freestyle technique from above and under the water
- Tips on the vital elements of freestyle swimming, flexibility, core stability, and avoiding injury
- Guidance on wet suits, ocean skills, and open water swimming drills
- Help with stroke rate training, choosing your gear, and writing your workouts
- Printable drill sheets, workout guides, and training pace worksheets
Cons
- Only covers freestyle swimming
- Aimed specifically at triathletes (although it is great for any swimmer)
- Only available on-line from Australia (at the time of this review)
Description
- Covers the technique basics and much, much more
- Breathing, head position, kicking, body roll, hand recovery, hand entry, catch, and pull
- Stretching, core stability, and injury prevention
- Open water racing skills, like sighting, rounding a buoy, and riding waves
- How to properly put on a wet-suit
- DVD format makes moving from chapter to chapter effortless
- Extras complete the package; you can print the swim drills, then take them to the pool with you
Guide Review - The Swim Smooth DVD
This set of two DVD's and one CD-ROM work like a video text book on freestyle and ocean swimming. The first DVD covers the basics of freestyle, including chapters on breathing, head position, kicking, body roll, hand entry and recovery, the catch and pull, and using visualization to help technique. DVD two includes strength, flexibility, and injury prevention help, open water racing, training, and technique tips, and a section on stroke rate training, buying your swim gear, writing a workout, and some specific triathlete workout timing tips. Finally, the CD-ROM includes printable workout sheets, pace sheets, and a pace calculating tool.
This is a good one, not to be missed! Any triathlete or freestyle specialist will be better after using the Swim Smooth DVD.