How to Swim Sense Endurance Style
A Step-by-Step Guide for Triathletes
For triathletes, swimming efficiently can make or break your race. A strong swim helps set the pace for the bike and run, yet many triathletes overcomplicate their swim training or fall into poor habits. Given that triathletes typically only spend 3 hours per week in the pool, it's vital to make that time count. The trick is offering a simple stroke with only a few, key elements to track rather than spending endless time doing drills and focussing on minor details that ultimately have no significant effect on your stroke.
Let’s simplify swimming. The Sense Endurance approach focuses on building strength and rhythm through technique, empowering you to swim stronger, faster, and more efficiently—especially as fatigue sets in. This style is particularly effective for triathletes who’ve often started swimming later in life and need to maximise energy output while maintaining technique. By focusing on the right stroke and using the body’s natural mechanics, you can conserve energy and swim with greater power—essential when every second counts.
In this guide, we’ll break down the key elements of the Sense Endurance stroke to help you swim more effectively for triathlon. These steps will help you develop the strength needed to maintain form under fatigue, ensuring you swim your best, even when you're already tired from the swim leg.
1. Start with a Neutral Head Position
The position of your head is crucial for stroke efficiency. A neutral head position helps keep your body aligned, reducing drag and maintaining a streamlined position throughout your stroke.
How to do it:
- Keep your hairline in line with the water's surface.
- Look down and slightly forward.
- Keep your neck relaxed, ensuring your body stays aligned from head to toe.
2. Hand Position Upon Entry
Your hand should enter the water in line with your shoulder, not too wide or narrow.
How to do it:
- Imagine Superman flying with two fists in front of him. Your hand should enter the water directly in line with your shoulder.
3. Hand Entry and Straight Arm Recovery
After your arm exits the water, swing it straight overhead, using your torso to drive it forward as far as possible. Many swimmers learn to use their hips to drive the arm forward, like a boxer throwing a punch. However, this doesn't engage the strength of your core effectively. We don’t benefit from driving our arm forwards. Instead, think of a cricket pitcher using their body to throw a ball forward and downward. This is where your energy needs to go.
How to do it:
- Keep your arm straight after it exits the water and swing it forward as far as it will go while staying aligned with your shoulder.
- Use your torso’s rotation, not just your arm, to drive the hand forward. Direct your energy down and forward.
4. Press Down Immediately After Hand Entry
As soon as your hand enters the water, engage it immediately by pushing down. This avoids the glide phase many swimmers are taught, helping you maintain rhythm and generate propulsion right away. It also engages your core and shoulders, which is key to swimming effectively without over-relying on your legs.
How to do it:
- Press your hand straight down as soon as it enters the water.
- Move the hand towards your belly button, automatically bending the elbow and setting your arm in the correct position.
- This creates immediate propulsion, helping you avoid dead spots and maintain a strong rhythm.
5. Push Phase: Rotate with Your Body
As you transition from pressing down to pushing your hand back towards your belly button, use your body's rotation to propel your arm through the water. Your hips will rotate thanks to the straight-arm overhead swing on the opposite side of your body, allowing you to drive the underwater arm back powerfully.
How to do it:
- After pressing down with your hand, push towards your belly button to set up the arm in the correct position, then drive it back towards your hip.
- Your torso will already rotate in response to the overhead swing of your other arm, allowing you to let your hips drive the movement to push your arm back.
- Keep the stroke strong and controlled, using your core to extend your backward reach and push your hand past your hip.
6. Exit Phase: Straight Arm and Hip Rotation
As you complete the push, your arm should exit the water smoothly. Exit with a straight arm set up your cricket pitcher overhead arm for a seamless transition into the next stroke.
How to do it:
- Once your hand passes your hip and moves back as far as possible, exit the water with a straight arm.
- Rotate your hips to propel your arm out of the water, preparing for the next stroke.
The exit should feel fluid, with your hip rotation helping propel your arm out and then forward for the next stroke.
7. Swim Large: Think Windmill-Like Movements
To maximise stroke length and propulsion, swim “large.” This means fully extending your arm in front of you and driving it back as far as possible, using your core and hips to generate power. It’s not just about efficiency—it’s about creating power with each stroke to help propel you through the water.
How to do it:
- As your arm swings forward, extend it as far as possible above the water—don’t glide. Focus on creating a large, sweeping stroke that continuously drives you forward.
- Use your body’s rotation to help push the water back as you pull with the other arm.
- Imagine yourself as a windmill: one arm swings forward, while the other pulls back strongly from the hip, creating maximum reach and efficiency with each stroke.
Swimming large isn’t about speed—it’s about using your body to generate powerful strokes that propel you forward and maximise every movement.
8. Use the Pull Buoy and Paddles to Build Strength
A key aspect of swimming Sense Endurance style is developing upper body strength. Tools like the pull buoy and paddles isolate your upper body, allowing you to focus on building strength while maintaining rhythm—without relying on your legs. This helps you develop the endurance needed to maintain a strong stroke, even under fatigue.
How to do it:
- Use a pull buoy throughout the entirety of your workout to isolate your upper body and maintain a streamlined position.
- Use larger paddles to increase resistance. This turns your swim into a full-body workout, strengthening your arms, shoulders, and core. If you have the strength needed to, use the paddles throughout the entire workout.
- Maintain your stroke rhythm, ensuring there are no dead spots or pauses in your stroke cycle.
Regularly incorporating the pull buoy and paddles will help you build the strength to maintain technique and rhythm, especially in longer races when fatigue sets in.
Final Thoughts
Swimming Sense Endurance style is about more than just swimming longer distances or doing more drills. It's about developing the strength and rhythm needed to maintain efficient technique under fatigue, so you can swim at your best during the entire race.
By focusing on a few simple but key steps—the cricket pitcher swing, pressing down immediately, and pushing your hand towards your belly button—you’ll swim faster, stronger, and more efficiently. This stroke will help you conserve energy, improve your form, and set you up for success in your triathlon race.
Ready to swim stronger? Commit to these principles and practice consistently to build the power and efficiency you need in the water.