Eriq's Mentor Group - CLOSED (Page 5)

Easy answer for exhaling while underwater. Nose, mouth, both, doesn't really matter. What is important is that you are exhaling. As soon as your face is back in the water, being exhaling. This will relax your body and make your stroke more fluid. But what is more important is that your lungs are ready to accept air once you turn your head to breathe.

PREPARE FOR EXTREME GEEKY-NESS!!! (i'm a big time nerd/geek/dork, even beyond triathlon)

When you fully exhale, your diaphragm is relaxing. The only thing it can do after that is the opposite... contract. This contraction essentially creates a vaccum in your lungs and a reduction in air pressure. So when you turn your head and open your mouth, the atmospheric pressure pushes the air into your lungs. It's physics!!!

So really the key to breathing while swimming is not gasping for air every time you turn your head. You need only to fully exhale and then just open your mouth.

As far as how far to turn your head, the rule of thumb is to keep one goggle in the water to reduce drag. Don't lift your head as this will result in your hips and legs sinking, causing more drag, just like Maureen mentioned.

I crash into the lane lines all the time. But it's good practice.

The best bike is the one that fits you and your budget. You do not need a fancy bike to get to the finish line.

For bike trainers, I have a Kinetic something or other. I always direct people to dcrainmaker.com for great product reviews.

I have a 910xt and love it. it isn't perfect in the pool but it's pretty darn close if you understand how it works to count laps and use it correctly. i cant keep track of laps in my head to save my life so it is a lifesaver and great for not having to hit a lap button every time. plus my pool doesnt have a pace clock so i'd need a watch anyways. as far as all the additional data, i dont really use it. i say use caution when using swolf data as a way to measure improved swimming...

Just wanted to reply to Sandtiger's question about spin classes.  I have to say that I LOVE them.  I do agree that it is best to train on your own bike; however, the flip side is that it is very motivational to get out and workout in a group setting (especially for someone like me who needs all the motivation I can get).  I find the instructors push me way harder than I could ever push myself.  I do more "hills" and intervals in a spin class than I would do on my trainer.  It is also nice to being doing different workout, with different music each week (as I would just do the same thing every week).  I'd give the spin classes a try and see if you like them.  Just get a good mix of spin classes and trainer workouts.

As for trainers (which I think I saw another poster ask about), I have the Cycleops Fluid.  I like it, but I have nothing to compare it with.

Take care everyone and happy training this weekend.

another good thing to practice OWS in the pool and if you have friends that swim, squeeze into a lane together. it's a good way to practice drafting and just swimming in close proximity to other people. be careful on turns though. =P

at the start of last season i put on a new conti gator skin on the back and rode it a ton on the trainer and on the road. when i ride on the trainer though, it put the PSI much lower than regular riding conditions. i couldnt tell you what psi exactly, but the tire is a little squishy. i dont have all the rubber pieces all over the place. you want to set the tension appropriately so that it isnt squeezing the tire too much, but you also dont want the tire slipping. that slipping can cause a lot of excess wear. i have the kinetic road machine with the pro flywheel. for me, a little squishy tire and 2 full turns after it touches the wheel does the trick.

oh, i have yet to replace that tire.

SandTiger - like your schedule, but I would suggest that you have at least one full day of rest somewhere in your weekly training schedule, especially at this early part of the year...that is unless your first race is coming up fairly soon.  Going hard for 6 days makes sense, but 7 days might be too much. I would be concerned about increasing the risk of injury.   

And in terms of practicing OWS, I like Eriq's idea of closing your eyes too.  Sort of like Luke Skywalker practicing with his light sabre while wearing his blast shield in the first Star Wars film....maybe that's where Eriq got it from.

Real quick - just got back from my workout, and I did 100m blind in the pool.  

Thanks, Eriq - that was truly awesome.  I could feel EVERYTHING I was doing (right and wrong).  But do it in a middle lane.  Crashing into a wall hurts.  On the bright side, my reach and catch feel wonderful.  Really, it felt fantastic.  Can't wait to try it again. 

Oh, another hint.  Don't forget to count your strokes or you will bang your hand at end of pool - ouch).

Goodnight!

Mrs. Claus (Allie) got me the 910xt this year and I love it.  Just got done with a 1,000 yard work out.  The data is helpful as I forget laps sometimes and it doesn't let me cheat on distance or time.  Todays summary:

10 strokes per length today (was 9 two days ago)

Avg time per 100 1:45 and as I look at the online report I started with a 400 at 1:50 pace and finished with 100s at 1:30.  Some people have been pushing negative splits with me.

Off to ski with the kids - have a great day!!!

great reference. Use the force. This actually applies to a very good training/racing topic.

With all the tech we use these days, it's easy to get caught up in and rely on all the data and numbers. Sometimes, you need to leave your devices at home, turn them off, and train and race by feel.

Starting this year, there were times when my coach would have me do my long runs and leave my GPS watch in my Fuel Belt so I could learn how to run by perceived effort. When using my watch, I would think keeping a certain pace was tough because it was much faster than what I was comfortable running at a season before. Turns out, I would run faster and perceive the effort to be less. Go figure!

So yes, Brian and the rest of the group, sometimes it is best to train like Luke Skywalker and use the force.

PS. Just don't get your hand cut off like he did, that'd be bad...

i subscribe to triathlete and lava. i'll pick up a free issue of competitor every now and then. if you're starting off, i think the articles in triathlete are pretty helpful.

Jana, i agree with Brian that you dont want to go too hard, too soon. the biggest risk of injury is usually related to taking on too much running. due to the minimal impact on the body and with all the work you've already been doing, i dont think a swim would hurt. i looked at your workout log and back in nov up until the mid of dec, you were putting in 7+ hrs/week.

i'd keep the friday open to an optional swim day depending on how you're feeling. maybe try it out on alternating weeks, see how you feel, then make a call.

hahaha awesome about the tire changing thing. =P

Hope you all had a good week and weekend. Did you get your workouts in? Do you have your plan setup for the week to come? Second week of the year, time to build that habit. It's been written that it takes 21 days to build a habit, let's keep it going!

As for me, I rode on my training on Sat and did some hills sprints today, Sunday. For the week, I put in 7.75 hrs. Kind of a light week in terms of volume, but believe me, the intensity was way up there.

I'm just reading over my post on swimming so stay tuned for that.

Today was my rest day so I just walked and did my PT exercises, but I had a good gym day yesterday.  My plan this week is to repeat what I did this past week, basically, unless I get the clearance to try a few runs from my PT - then I will get to do a little more.   

Fingers crossed!

There is a ton to be written about swimming so I will do my best to keep this sho… who am I kidding?! This will probably be long.

First things first. A few of you are starting off and trying to swim more than a length/lap without having to stop at the wall and take a break. I’m not sure how to help you with this. Honestly, I think it comes down to getting comfortable in the water and overcoming whatever fears you may have about swimming. You need to embrace it. I used to tell myself “You love this, you’re like a fish.” I actually still use this mantra when I get in open water. So if you’re having trouble getting past a certain distance without stopping; the next time you approach the end of the pool, don’t reach for the wall and just keep swimming. You are probably not as tired as you think you are and you can swim one more length/lap if you just try. And if you need to, just go slow! The goal isn’t time right now, it’s about getting to the other side of the pool. You can do it, you just have to let yourself do it.

One more thing, don’t kick like crazy. You are not sprinting! Your legs, especially your quads, will consume a ton of oxygen and could be a cause of why you’re so out of breath. On the same note, don’t stroke like crazy. You are not sprinting! If you tire out a bit, instead of hanging onto the wall, roll onto your back. Backstroke or just kick lightly while on your back and take a few breaths. When you’re ready, roll back onto your stomach and keep going. It’s what you would do in a race in the middle of the open water.

I want to share some thoughts and experience about workouts. 

In 4 years, I really didn’t improve. My swim would be a short warm-up and lots of drills, then swim sets like 400s, 500s, and 600s at the same pace with minimal breaks. I’d just add a little volume week to week. I could swim longer but never faster. This year my workouts changed by adding one more swim day a week, more structure, cut out pretty much all the drills, added some speed, and chopped up main sets. Here are some highlights.

• You need to have a good aerobic base. It doesn’t matter how good your form is if you can’t maintain it. So if your time is a premium, work on your base instead of doing drills. Drills make you a good at doing drills, doesn’t necessarily make you a good swimmer. I now think drills are overrated but if you do them, keep it to a minimum.
• Swim a longer main set, even if that means cutting down your warm up and cool down. But chop it up. If you’re going to swim a main set of 1500, instead of 3x500, swim 15x100, 30x50, or 10x25 and 25x50, or 20x25, 10x50, and 5x100. These shorter sets will help you help you maintain that good form because of the breaks. Not saying you shouldn't swim just 25s and 50s, but for those of you just starting, just 25s and 50s might be appropriate. 
• Use a good push off, whether its a flip turn or an open turn. Yes we don’t push off in the open water, but come out strong and in a good streamline and you can put in some quality strokes using that momentum coming off the wall and a get a feel for swimming fast.
• Change it up. Include some faster but shorter sections like sprint 25s or hard 50/75/100s. Also switch up the rest intervals. You might be doing 100 on 2:30 this week, next week do 100 on 2:20. These faster paces or shorter breaks will provide stimuli to help you adapt to better/faster swimming.
  • If you’re not familiar with swim lingo, I guess I should explain this. When you see, for example, 100 on 2:30, those are send off times. So you start swimming at 0:00 and do your 100. No matter what time you clock in that 100, you start the next 100 on 2:30. So the faster you finish, the longer rest you have. Hope that makes sense…
• Swim more. Add a 3^rd swim day if possible. Being in the water will help you improve. Not only in the swim, but you’ll save energy for the bike and run.

There’s a ton more that I want to write but I’ll stop here. There’s a ton of swimming resources out there. Some good, some bad. What I’ve provided below, I think, are some of the best. And coincidentally, they preach a lot of the same things.

swimsmooth.com and feelforthewater.com - same people

Tower26 Blog

9 swim videos by Gerry Rodrigues of Tower 26

Joel Filliol's 20 rules for faster swimming

Study on stroke rate by SwimSmooth

Thanks for the links on swimming, Eriq. It was eye opening -  One thing I noticed straightaway is that there are a lot of opposing philosophies out there.  Two of the links you gave are diametrically opposed - the swimsmooth.com video shows a straight arm/bent wrist pull, and one of the Tower 26 videos I watched showed straight wrist/bent elbow technique for the pool (I learned the first way as a kid but have been coached for the past few years in the bent elbow method.  It is supposed to save the shoulders from blowing out, and to bring the forearm more into the pull, and it is supposed to be faster and more streamlined).  Also, the swimsmooth site video has the swimmer breathing when the arm is lifted out of the water.  The Tower 26 recommends a shorter breathe taken right before the arm comes out.  When the arm comes out, the face goes back in.  

Also, what Eriq says about drills not being as important as base is another philosophy I've heard quite often, but I hear the opposite philosophy just as much ("Do the swim drills because with proper form you'll exert less energy and be in better shape for the bike and run," he says).  I've heard/read that shorter pool sessions are better, and then I was reading an article just two nights ago that showed a professional triathlete that spends 9 training hours a week in the pool (7 hrs running, and 5 on the bike.  Then a couple hours a week she is in the gym doing weights - another controversial thing... many say triathletes don't need to lift weights, others argue it's essential).  Some say to be a successful triathlete, you need to train 25+ hours a week, and other times I've read that the training never need go over 16 or 17 hours.

In the beginning, it used to frustrate me, but then it didn't.  It's not a one size fits all sport, so why would the training be or even the stroke be?  I guess it comes down to figuring out what really works for you, what feels good to your body, what makes you perform better, and what fits in with your life, and I suppose there is "more than one way to skin a cat" (an expression I have always hated, as I love cats and why would anyone ever skin one in the first place???).  

Ok, I'm to the pool for 1000m and to mull it over a little!  Thanks!

Swim smooth, Paul Newsome, actually promotes a high elbow. If you read through some of the material on catch and preventing injury, they talk about keeping a high/bent elbow. It may not seem like it in the little mr smooth animation, but they do talk about the importance of having that high elbow. and agree that it prevents from shoulder injuries. just think about lifting a weight away from you with a straight arm. now try lifting the same weight but now bring the weight closer to your body by bending your elbows. less load, same principle.

the with breathing i think timing is individual. the important aspects are dont lift your head and dont over rotate.

but yes, they do have opposing views on the wrist.

as for rotating in the pool, it is common practice to use two lanes and have everyone swim in a circle. for me, when i push off the wall, i just aim myself towards the adjacent lane. that's why you don't follow too closely as to give the person ahead of you ample time to slide over during the turns. you just get used to it.

Ok, let's see if this works.  Mounted my aero bars and did a quick work out and felt like they were in a good position.  Albeit standing still in the garage as it was 30 degrees outside.

Eriq,

What do you think?

Ok, having trouble inserting a picture of new aero bars.

Image size to big and I can't shrink.

Eriq - will try to send via PM.

Jeff

Ok, two images are now in my profile gallery.

Can you see them there?

J