I spent this weekend going through the Swimming DVD Swim Smooth (http://www.swimsmooth.com) by Paul Newsome. Swim Smooth is a box set DVD and CD-ROM program. The information is pretty comprehensive and was developed to help you clean up your stroke and improve your efficiency. Paul enlists the help of Olympic swimmer Bill Kirby, as well as a few members of the local triathlon club, to perform the drills and show the viewer both proper and improper technique.

The DVDs

DVD 1
The first DVD takes you through an enormous amount of information. It's about 75 minutes in length, so set aside a block of time if you wish to go through it in one sitting. You'll most likely want to rewind or take notes as Paul covers many drills and techniques. The DVD is broken down into 9 sections so you can easily tackle one section at a time if you prefer.

The Sections:

• Introduction
• Breathing
• Leg Kick
• Body Roll
• Recovery
• Hand Entry
• Catch and Pull
• Visualization

Paul tackles each of the individual subjects above with great detail. He explains why each element is critical to an efficient stroke. He then provides several drills, proper technique by Bill Kirby, and even a montage of improper techniques to help you identify your own problem areas. I found the visual aspect of seeing proper and improper techniques side by side to be very helpful and recognized several aspects of my stroke I need to work on.

The Visualization section is a 5 minute compilation of watching Bill swim for your use as a reference before heading to the pool.

DVD 2
The second DVD is shorter in length, about 45 minutes, and covers the following elements:

• Strength & Flexibility
• Open Water Skills
• Extras

Strength and Flexibility covers stretching, flexibility, core exercises, and injury prevention and management. Paul demonstrates proper technique and walks the viewer through several drills and exercises in each area. He then takes us to visit with a Physiotherapist to discuss common injuries and ways to prevent and address them.

Open Water Skills covers wetsuits, specific drills, and interviews with local triathletes and life guard who also demonstrate entering and exiting the water and utilizing the waves.

The Extras sections walks you through writing your own plan (or swim sessions), what gear you should consider having in your swim bag, and some additional tidbits and bloopers.

The CD

The CD has tons of information available as well. While it contains a number of documents covering and providing photo examples of stretches, core, and strength training exercises — what most will utilize is the 8 week swim training program. The CD offers three levels (Novice, Intermediate and Advanced) of full programs, each containing 24 sessions.

The sessions contain Warm-up, Drill Set, Build Set, Main Set, and Cool Down.

The cons of the Swim Smooth box set is the production value. It has more of a home video feel and often the production gets in the way of presenting the information. Too many transitions, clever camera angles, and poor sound for my taste.

Overall, the amount and detail of information provided in this system makes it worth the price. If you aren't part of a Masters swim program, then this system is a must. If you do swim with a Masters class then the information and drills provided may not be new to you, but I think it's still worth a view to reenforce proper techniques and provide you with useful drills you may not be aware of.

The DVD set isn't cheap, retailing for $59.95, but considering what we triathletes spend on race entries, wheels, nutrition, and coaching, I think in the long run it's worth the money.

You can find the DVD box set at USA Sports Training for $56.95 (Buy Here)