This is a great time of year to work on body position in the water. 

Triathletes have become too reliant on wet suits.  You should always be prepared to swim a race sans wet suit.  Becoming a good swimmer starts with body position in the water.   Contrary to what some people think, we do not swim on our stomach but on our sides. 

The Belly to the Wall drill promotes proper body alignment and balance in the water.  If you struggle with this drill or any drill I always encourage you to start with fins and a swim snorkel.  When you use equipment, it allows you to feel what it is like to do the drill properly. As you become proficient you can remove equipment. The goal is to efficiently do the drill with no equipment.

The key to this drill is proper alignment between the front and back of the body.  Since your lower half is not as buoyant as your upper half, make sure you are applying pressure upfront.  You can even start with a kickboard under your lead hand and push down on the kickboard.  Keep your stomach slightly closed to the water versus over-rotated towards the sky.  I would rather have you more closed than open BUT not on your stomach. Your head position is the same as when you swim.  Breathe by rotating your chin up (unless you are using a snorkel). Don’t lift the head and turn.  The top hand stays on your hip. Push that hip into your hand.

Complete 6-8 25’s on each side during your warm-up. As you become proficient take a stroke and switch from side to side every 6-8 kicks.

Coach Pete Alfino has been coaching multisport athletes since 2004. He is the owner and founder of Mile High Multisport, LLC www.milehighmultisport.com.  You can reach Pete via the contact us link on his web page.