swim type 4: The Overglider

the biggest thinkers in the sport but they have gone down a cul de sac with their stroke

Overglider Profile

The Overglider can be male or female but with one common trait - a very conscientious approach towards developing their swimming technique! Their stroke is typically long but contains too much glide and has a distinct dead-spot within its timing.

Overgliders In Action:

Overglider Common Characteristics:

• A long and smooth stroke when viewed from above the water but often with a very slow stroke rate which lacks rhythm and flow. A clear dead-spot is always present, normally at the front of the stroke at full extension.

• Typically breathes every two strokes to one preferred side (unilateral breathing) with distinctly more rotation to the breathing side.

• Lack of rotation to the non-breathing side causes non-breathing arm to sweep round the side of the swimmer rather than over the top.

• Very common to see lead hand extending forwards and the palm pushing against the water "applying the brakes".

• Straight arm catch and pull pushing down on the water rather than pressing it backwards. This is fundamentally linked to the dead-spot as a better bent elbow catch technique would remove the dead-spot and naturally lift stroke rate.

• Overgliders often have a pronounced scissor kick due to a loss of balance whilst gliding.

• Low stroke rate and big dead spots gives a tendency to stall between strokes causing a loss of efficiency. This is worsened in open water where cramped or choppy conditions further stall the Overglider.

Fascinating: We're 92.8% certain that Spock is an Overglider.

• Typical swimming speed is 1:30 to 2:20 per 100m.

Personality Traits:

• The most conscientious swimmer of all, having read all the books and watched all the DVDs on how to improve their swimming.

• Tends to treat swimming as a serious technical exercise.

Areas To Work On:

• Development of a better catch and pull through technique is essential for the Overglider. Not only will this increase propulsion, it will act to remove the dead-spot.

• Improved rhythm, timing and flow is a must for the Overglider. They should be looking to lift their stroke rate by 3 to 8 strokes per minute.

The Overglider's lead hand has been trained to pause out front in a dead position.

• Once stroke rate has been lifted slightly this gives the opportunity to breathe bilaterally and so naturally develop more symmetry in the stroke.

Glide Is A Dirty Word

Swim Smooth believe that glide is a dirty word in swimming because it encourages swimmers to stop, pause and do nothing at the front of their stroke. This is very bad for your rhythm and timing and greatly harms your catch.

Introducing glide to make your stroke as long as is humanly possible has led many swimmers down a stroke technique cul-de-sac. If you have glide in your stroke it will feel strange at first when you remove it. Don't let this put you off: you'll soon notice improved swimming efficiency as the increased stroke rate starts to feel good.

Potential

Waves and chop from other swimmers can easily stall the Overglider during their glide phase, meaning they tend to under perform in open water.

An Overglider's determination to be good at swimming is a definite strength. Once they have intellectually bought-in to the removal of glide from their stroke they can make rapid progress.

A combination of increased stroke rate and improved catch technique can rapidly improve their swimming efficiency and move them progressively towards the Smooth type.

Stroke Correction Guides

If you are an Overglider, our full guide to improving your swimming includes detailed analysis, explanations and advice on developing your stroke. We include all the specific drills, methods and visualisations you need and four full training sessions to follow, all specific to your unique needs.

Improve: There's a full Stroke Correction Guide for each Type.

The 20 page guide is supplied as a digital download straight to your computer in PDF format - order now and in minutes you'll be getting the insight you need to take your swimming to the next level.

Other Product Help

One of the keys to removing the deadspot from an Overglider's stroke is to improve their catch and feel for the water. Our new Catch Masterclass DVD explains in detail how to do this and highlights the important distinctions between an Overgliding stroke and true-Smooth stroke with amazing video quality:

Swim Smooth's Catch Masterclass DVD: Enlarge Image

Slightly from left of field, a waterproof MP3 player such as a Finis SwiMP3 can be very useful for an Overglider as it helps them switch off from over-thinking and simply focus on stroke rhythm.

Do You Know An Overglider?

Overgliders are competent swimmers who are often stuck on a bit of a plateau. Take a look under the water and watch for a dead spot at the front of their stroke, often accompanied by a dropped wrist, showing the palm forwards momentarily. They might also be quiet and thoughtful in their approach to swimming.

Please let them know about this site! It's often much easier to recognise traits in others than ourselves so give them a quick prompt in this direction and let us get to work on removing their dead spots and improving their rhythm and timing.

Find out more.

Forum

On the Swim Smooth Forum we've created a special area for Swim Types. Create a logon and post your experiences and questions about the Swim Type system. Go here!

If you're an Overglider who likes gadgets then you'll love the new Finis Swimsense watch, now on sale on our swim shop here.