Go How Far? No, Go Farther!

Like the rubber torpedo toy described in the last post, you should make like a torpedo when you swim. Now I haven't described stroke technique at all, so I'm not jumping ahead - of course go right ahead if you are already there. But try this first. It's something I used to do with friends when I was a kid for fun and if you've been keeping up with this blog, you're about ready for this. No, it's not juvenile. If you still can't put your head under without trouble and keep it there (holding your breath), go back and practice the tips I've provided in prior posts. Like my friends and I, you can do this and still look "cool." We sure were (ha ha). OK, hold onto the pool ledge in waste deep water as usual. Put your face in, lie out flat and hold the torpedo position. Practice this until you feel totally comfortable in this position. Come up and put your feet back on the bottom when you need air. When you feel comfortable with this routine see if you can hold the position after pushing off the wall. Go ahead and kick off the wall and go immediately into the torpedo. Experiment. See how far you can go. You may surprise yourself. See what happens when you turn a little bit left or right, even just a little bit - you won't go as far. Choose a goal - a lane in the pool or boey and see if you can kick off, go into the torpedo position and with no subsequent motion of your own, glide to that point. Repeat until you go can unbelievably far. Boy you look cool!