February 2008 Swim Training Chat

author : Tri Swim Coach

comments : 0

Discussions on a sinking swimmer, fear of water, going from 1:30 to 1:15, are fins helpful or hurtful, open water swimming tips and breathing and efficiency.

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[Tri Swim Coach]  I want to hear your #1 and #2 challenges in swimming!

[trixie]  I'm afraid of the water...and I can't tread water.

[Tri Swim Coach]  Fear of water: believe it or not, most people have this.

[trixie]  I can swim pretty decent in a pool that I can touch.
 

[Tri Swim Coach] There are a few ways to get over it.

[rkreuser]  Trix has been at the swimming thing 3 years, and not made appreciable progress.
 

[Tri Swim Coach]  Treading water: you need to start off by holding on to the wall and practicing the egg beater kick. With your hands you need to move them back and forth.  It's on my DVD, harder to explain without visuals.
 

[trixie]  I have the hands down, it's the beating thing I can't do well.
 

[Tri Swim Coach]  Rick- how is that possible??? 

[trixie]  Ask him....if I take a deep breathe, the average person will rise outta the water a bit....I sink.

[rkreuser]  It just is. Seriously. I'm a good swimmer, know most, can teach it all, but it defies logic.

[Tri Swim Coach]  Trixie, have you taken lessons or followed along with some of the Tri Swim Coach drills?

[trixie] I followed some TI drills long ago.
 

[Tri Swim Coach]  Ok, those are good trixie!  So trixie now you just need to go back to practicing drills- full time!

[rkreuser]  At this point, she's had me, a collegiate swimmer, and numerous others try...between the mental stuff and the sinking, it's not gone well. Here's a Q. Is there a camp or program that would help?
 

[Tri Swim Coach]  Do that for a few weeks. Then back off and make drills 75% of your workout, then 50%, etc. The drills I recommend will help, TI camps are good...I also heard about this program that is designed for adults to get over fear of the water.  http://conquerfear.com/

[rkreuser] Allright, I've actually got a slightly different swim Q, I'm a 1:30/100m guy. With training, or without...doesn't really matter. I think the form is good, I'm long in the water, with decent balance. What's lacking to get that down to 1:15?

[Tri Swim Coach] How about shooting for 1:25 first?  Practice the "free golf" sets.  Free golf= do a set of 50's, count your strokes on each one and check your time. Try to lower your "score", which is strokes + time, on each 50.

[rkreuser]  Yeah, I do that. I'm at 72.

[rkreuser] Do fins really help? I basically swim without kicking right now.

[Tri Swim Coach]  Fins ARE good, but mainly for drill sets and occasionally kicking sets.  I don't recommend them on swimming sets. A video stroke analysis may help you. Underwater video can uncover the darndest things in your stroke that can really help you improve!

[rkreuser]  Allright...what are the couple biggest differences between OWS and the pool swim, and how should we deal with 'em?

[Tri Swim Coach]   1) no walls in open water, means you have to practice long swims in the pool and build endurance.  2) sighting- you will need to do this in OW w/no black line to follow. Practice this in the pool- every 4 or 6 strokes at first. Peak up in front with your goggles just above the water line, and rotate to take a breath in the same stroke.

[rkreuser]  Yeah, what do you do in really high surf? Like 2ft waves? How do you adjust?

[Tri Swim Coach] Shorten your strokes a bit in the chop.

[rkreuser]  High arm recovery, shorten the stroke, anything else?
 

[Tri Swim Coach]  I always mix those up.  Alternate your breathing- every 3 strokes.

[trixie] I usually breathe every 4 strokes, someone recently has said do it every two to help you stay relaxed and stretch out the strokes....good advice?

[Tri Swim Coach]  Ideally, you will want to breathe every 3. HOWEVER, this is difficult for many people, as they have a weak side for breathing (like I do). So, mix in breathing every 3 on warm ups and warm downs for now. But otherwise, every 2 or 4. Slowly get used to breathing every 3.
 

[rkreuser]  When you breathe, does it impose a penalty on your efficiency?

[Tri Swim Coach]  If you breathe all the time on one side it can lead to an unbalanced stroke as well as shoulder problems.  You also want to work on breathing to the side, and avoid looking UP to breathe.

[rkreuser]  But I will say... in a tri, I tend to breathe on the 2, and have an unbalanced stroke. And I noticed that most of the elites do too. And the cadence is not even, it's right-left...pause,...right-left.

[Tri Swim Coach]  Yes, most people do not have even cadence.

[Tri Swim Coach]  Have a good evening! See you next month, from Sydney Australia....stay tuned at www.triswimcoach.com!

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date: February 18, 2008