The Swimmers Snorkel allows swimmers to concentrate on body balance, head position, and stroke technique by eliminating the breathing cycle rotation. Breathing through a snorkel increases the capacity of the lungs to expel air, which is required for optimal intake of oxygen.What is the Swimmer’s Snorkel?The Swimmer’s Snorkel is a patented front-mount snorkel designed specifically for swimmers and can be worn with any standard swimming goggle. At its most basic level, the Swimmer’s Snorkel allows a swimmer of any ability to relax in the water and maintain a completely laid out, horizontal position. The key benefit to this is the ability for the person to breathe naturally and rhythmically. This skill is the most critical aspect for novice level swimmers to master. The ability to be laid out, completely horizontal and relaxed is beneficial to all levels of swimmers, as it allows people to swim at normal or even slower speeds while maintaining a full range of motion.Why do I need the Swimmer’s Snorkel?Many of the fastest swimmers in the world use the center-mount Swimmer’s Snorkel in practice every day. For people with poor technique, the effect from using the snorkel can be dramatic – from a floppy, sloppy stroke to battleship stability in one lap!It is a beneficial training tool for beginners, tri-athletes, masters and recreational swimmers. The Swimmer’s Snorkel allows swimmers to concentrate on body balance, head position and stroke technique by eliminating the breathing cycle rotation. Greater emphasis and promotion of proper body alignment, complete axis rotation and arm stroke pattern are automatic once the Swimmer’s Snorkel is incorporated into the swimmer’s training regimen. Instantly, the swimmer will glide through the water without worrying about turning to breathe, enabling an improved and uniform stroke.How do I get started?First, get familiar with swimming and breathing through the snorkel. A popular program is to incorporate the snorkel into every practice’s warm up and warm down sessions. Try breathing naturally, but learn to inhale and exhale powerfully. To avoid water going up your nose, exhale mainly through your nose. If a lot of water gets in the snorkel, blow out hard until all water is clear.Try these introductory drills with the snorkel:Balance Drill – Keep your arms at your sides and maintain a moderate, but steady kick. Swim 25 yards, exaggerating your chin way up. Next, swim 25 yards, exaggerating your chin way down. Finally, swim 25 yards where your chin falls to its natural position. This should help you find the correct head and body position that provides the greatest sensation of forward motion and balance. Shark Drill – Extend your arms out in front of you and maintain a moderate but steady kick. Begin to stroke with the left arm. Recover with a high elbow and delay in the shark fin position for six kicks on your side. Maintain positive alignment throughout rotation and six-kick delay. Resume the stroke and repeat the drill on your opposite side. Every Day Use Before every practice, warm up for 500 yards using the snorkel. This will help you to maintain proper alignment throughout your entire practice. After every practice, warm down for 500 yards using the snorkel. Using the snorkel when you are most fatigued will strengthen your muscle memory and improve your overall results.Mike Bottom, Head Coach at the University of Michigan and former World Sprint Team Coach uses the Swimmer’s Snorkel with all his top sprinters and estimates they use the snorkel during practice 25-30% of the time, every day.Quick Tips:It is possible to do a freestyle flip turn with the Swimmer’s Snorkel, and the snorkel is designed to alert you to improper form during execution (it will rotate or wiggle to let you know that your streamline can be improved). Blow out hard to clear all water from the snorkel. If water persists in going up your nose, try a nose clip. A perfect freestyle swimmer is very well balanced and should have a similar rotation on both sides. Breathe through the snorkel, keeping your head in line with your spine. This position allows the swimmer to visually confirm that they are spending as much time on their right side of their body as their left. If water happens to get inside the tube, debris may build up within the purge valve of the snorkel and can be corrected by simply cleaning it..
