Gaarryy's Group now Closed for Business (Page 12)

what does that mean "hand in the water quicker"??  are you one of those people that has their arm out of the water forever ??    do you think you are a front quadrent type swimmer??

I can't remember if there were video's on here at one time or if the link was to youtube clips,, I"ve done a search on you tube before to see different drills, and how the top swimmers swim.  If you can get someone to video you from poolside that is good, if you can find some one that has an underwater video, even better.  Do you have any friends really into scuba??  or a scuba store close by with an announcment board?? someone there might be willing to do it for a 12 pack or as part of thier dive training..

if someone videos you from the poolside, have them get a head on shot of you swimming right at them,  the biggest mistake people make (since that's how they taught swimming years ago) is having their hands cross over mid line, which makes it very hard to get a good catch & pool.  A good drill for this is to swim with one hand extended out in front of you on a kickboard, with the kickboard positioned far enough over to the other side that your hand will hit it if you cross..  Your arm should really just go straight out in front, then straight back.  

if you get underwater filmed get that same head on shot with a side shot and a 45 deg angle on, so you can see the different parts of your stroke.

the big mistakes that people make that are very simple to fix are, 

not pointing toes,, if you are doing it right you feet will cramp up the first few time,
hands crossing mid line
the hand being closing to the surface than the elbow,(elbow dropping) which makes it very hard to get a vert forarm
leg sinking
picking the head too far out of the water to breath, one goggle should be in the water, one out while breathing is a good drill..

even when I am not doing drills,, just doing what ever part of the workout i'm on,, I'm still thinking about form..  the drills just reinforce how it should feel,,, I dont' think you meant it this way but even if your not doing drills, you should always be thinking about some part of your form,

I'll just think of one thing at a time since it literally messes me up to try to do too much at once
so on one length I might be concentrating on my right hand entry position (which is my usual problem) on the way back I'll focus on my left hand, the next lap it might be keeping my right hand in a good exit position, on the way back my left hand...
back when I was working as a hot shot hypnotist I used to joke that the conscious mind can only concentrate on apx 5 things at a time plu or minus 6..  meaning just do one thing at a time 

I always say the things that helped me most for tri's was booking sessions with a dietician and taking 3-4 private (1-1) lessons from a swim coach.  In the first session she changed just a couple of very basic things and poof it was instant speed.  I still have the laminated card that I made myself with the tips that I would forget.  but mostly it was keeping my arms wide, all the way through the stroke {think a beach ball between yourself and your arm}, point toes, not lifting the head to breath, and finish each stroke, {my hands would come out before my waist, so know I pretend to push to the back wall}

A local race called Pigman Long Course in Cedar Rapids, IA. 

Mine is mid-August.  23 weeks away right now.  Should be enough time to get my legs in order.

Plenty of time if you do it smart.  OBEY the 10% rule.  Doing the run/walk is perfectly acceptable.  We swim sets where we have built in rest intervals and we coast down hills on our bikes.  Likewise we talk 'walk' breaks when we run long.

 Enjoy the training.  In many ways it is the best part.

Is the 10% rule adding 10% to your total weekly volume, or adding 10% to your longest run?

Is the 10% rule adding 10% to your total weekly volume, or adding 10% to your longest run?

Weekly Volume

Wow, I've actually been trying to cut my drinking by 23%/week.  Odd.

I meant drinking as in booze.

booze has water in it.. I think,,,,    Hopefully all of this extra stuff that been consuming all my training time will stop.... I think this is the most non training days (aside from surgery last feb) i've had in a good 3-4 years...

I guess that would depend on what I drank.  I don't think there are any positive aspects of drinking sugar free redbull and vodka.  Guinness at least has iron in it.

I'm probably just going to cut way back on my consumption.  I have this issue where once I've started drinking I find it hard to stop.  If I remember to stop at 2 drinks I'm ok, but with the speed at which I drink by the time I hit 3-4 I forget to stop/count.  That doesn't go well.