Action plan to improve backstroke.

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Section B: Action Plan

Clear, realistic goals that are achievable

I have identified my weaknesses and I have chosen 3 main goals that I need to clearly complete.

A good way to plan and achieve these goals will be to use the acronym: SMARTER.

  • Specific - These goals need to be a particular aspect to my sport swimming.
  • Measurable - I need to know how I will measure my development during the programme.
  • Achievable -  I would need to have a method to achieve the goals.
  • Realistic - The goals I choose need to be sensible, and not something like win an Olympic medal.
  • Timescale - I will choose to complete my programme over a sensible period of time 8weeks.
  • Evaluation - I will evaluate my programme at the end, to see how successful it went and if there were any problems.
  • Record - Throughout the programme I will write information to show of any improvements.

Method of achieving goals

My goals could be visualised as climbing a mountain, where my short-term goals are at the bottom and my long-term goals at the top.

Short-term goal:

My short-term goal is too improve upon my reaction time, specifically on my starts off the blocks and dives into the pool. This is an essential weakness in my performance, as in fitness testing a scored below average. A swimming start is vital because you have to respond to the stimulus quickly. In shorter races it can determine first and second place. To measure my progress I will video myself before I start the programme, and after I have completed it, then I will evaluate it to the perfect technical model. Also I will measure the time travelled over a dive of 15 metres and compare it to the time after the programme. I will concentrate on exercises to improve my reaction time, overall I will evaluate this by timing between when the stimulus occurs (starter guns) and when my first body part touches the water, before and after the programme. At the moment I currently complete a 15metre dive at a time of 7.20 seconds at the end of my programme I hope to achieve a time between        6.85- 6.95 seconds or less.

Medium term goal:  

My medium term goal is to improve the component of fitness speed, as in fitness testing I scored just average in a timed 30metre sprint. Even though running is a totally different sport it will still help me to develop explosive strength. Especially when I am doing short sprint swimming in the water i.e. (50m), particularly when I am using my legs to kick very hard. To measure my development I will time myself over a 30m running sprint before and after the programme. At the moment my current 30metre running time is: 4.7 .36 seconds, after the programme I would like it to be 4.6 80 seconds or less. Also I will time myself doing the same distance but swimming in a long course pool (50m) with no dive. My present time over a 30 metre swim sprint is: 16.12 seconds after my programme I would like it to be 15.70 seconds or less.

Furthermore I will time myself doing one length front crawl leg kick, with a kickboard in a 25m pool before and after the programme. My current time for one length freestyle leg kick is: 23.32 seconds, at the end of the programme I hope to achieve I time of 22.50 seconds or less.  

Long term goal:

My long term goal is too improve the technique backstroke, as this part was a large weakness in my performance. This includes the arm entry into the water and the leg kick, which was very weak. Also I need to concentrate on keeping my hips up to maintain my horizontal body position therefore I need to tilt my head up more, so I am looking at the ceiling. To measure my development I will be timed over a short distance (100m), before I complete the programme and after the eight week period. My current time now is: 1.15.83 seconds, and by the end I hope to achieve a time of 1.14.50 or less. Also I will count my stroke rate per length before and after the plan to see if my stroke efficiency has improved. My stroke rate now is 21 per length (25m), I would like to get it down to 19 strokes per length.

Timescale in which I am going to achieve the goals:

I will carry out my programme over an eight-week period, which will be split up into weekly sessions. I have chosen eight weeks because I think this is the most suitable period of time, for the improvements I wish to make. I will split my goals up into weeks which I think I will achieve them by :

  • Short term goal - up to 2 weeks.    
  • Medium term goal - up to 4 weeks.
  • Long term goal - up to 6/8 weeks.

The Method by which I am going to achieve the goals:

Weekly plan:

Aims Week 1 :

This week I am going to train three times in the pool and twice on land. My main aim is too improve small parts of my backstroke technique to help me reduce the time of swims and the overall efficiency and to concentrate on my sprint running technique and strengthening legs to improve upon my medium term goal fitness component speed.

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Evaluation: Record of action plan in practice

At the end of this week I successfully completed everything I had planned. After all the swimming sessions I felt that my backstroke is slightly smoother, and my hips are higher than usual. Even though my leg kick is still a little weak I have a long way to go. I don’t want to do too much backstroke otherwise I may lose interest. Tuesday’s session felt different because I was not used to running training so much and my legs felt a little tired, but after Fridays training I was getting more ...

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