PVC Technical Strategy 37

Underwater Body Whip

Is the purpose of Underwater Body Whip (UBW) to swim less, to swim faster, or both? In my view, it’s both. If a person can swim fewer strokes per 25 and travel more quickly, it’s a win-win! Take a look a Caeleb Dressel’s amazing UBW, and you’ll see what I mean. 

The key to developing a winning UBW in practice includes four steps. First, achieve 100% Streamline off every wall. Second, kick from your chest down and not from your hips down. Three, make sure that the speed of your UBW is faster than the swimming portion of each length because you must “train at speed to gain speed.” Four, shorten your underwater distance off each wall to maximize the speed-side. As your body adjusts to this new concept, you can extend the length underwater.

Scoreboard:

  • Platinum: 75% to 100% of my UBW’s (in practice) were faster than the swimming portion of each length.
  • Gold: 50% to 75% of my UBW’s (in practice) were faster than the swimming portion of each length.
  • Silver: 25% to 50% of my UBW’s (in practice) were faster than the swimming portion of each length.
  • Bronze: 0% to 25% of my UBW’s (in practice) were faster than the swimming portion of each length.

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