Best bang for your buck as an aspiring triathlete

If you say so but I would still go with a nice set of carbon water-bottle cages first!  Think of the weight savings!

I have my first coached session in 1 hour and can't wait.

Harold Todman

Have fun.  It will be well worth it.

DP

As someone who has coached many triathletes trying to improve their swim technique, you are correct. Except, that more swimming alone rarely helps with significant technique improvements even "eventually".

If you just swim a lot with bad technique, what happens is that you get a lot fitter, and you get a lot better at pushing water around, but you don't get the big speed improvements that become possible when you learn to swim efficiently.

Yes and no.  I grew up in the water and I am pretty efficient.  Always top 1/4 usually.  I could hire a coach, and get a bit faster, but what does that really mean?  I'm 3 minutes faster in an Oly?  Out of 2.5 hours?

Even in an IM.  I'm out in 70 now.  I can get out in 60 minutes?  Even 55?  Save 10-15 minutes in a 12-15 hour race.

I would argue that you are no longer an aspiring triathlete...but lets imagine that you are...then I would suggest that since you bring swimming skills to the table then this may not apply to you.  However, the majority of the people that I meet who are starting out do not have a strong swimming background.  I would even suggest that there are a large number of people who have been swimming recreationally who would gain from a lesson or two.  There are a few tips and tricks that an instructor can provide which will help almost everyone be faster/more comfortable.  I have, like most of us, tracked my race results and there are few races that I have entered where a few minutes wouldn't have made at least a place or two difference in the standings.  I'm pretty sure that carbon water bottle cages won't get me a place or two in the standings

That's why I said "yes and no" to lead off. 

I'm no faster in the water now than I was the first day of tri when I was an aspiring triathlete.  There is no universal truth/law. 

Maybe, maybe not, but they would make your ride look SWEET!

Even if you are still riding that old rusty mountain bike.

If I were to really answer the question.  TRAINING is the best bang for your buck.  Understanding training, consistancy, having a plan.  That's all FREE.

You can dump as much/little money into lessons, gear, books, videos, whatever.  But understanding what quality training is, and nutrition, and rest, etc.  Is priceless, and also free.

If you are talking about something you buy?  Then I would still say a Heart Rate Monitor.  They are around 100 bucks for a one time purchase.  If you understand HR training, do your LT tests, and follow a plan based on that, it will also get you over the entire course MUCH faster than swim lessons.

Overall I think you are correct....but in this day and age, the idea that you can't teach yourself is not necessarily true.  I'm not a swimmer.....but I can get out of the water at nearly any triathlon in the top 1/4. I'm the same guy was was swimming 2:20 100's two years ago.  I took :40 per 100 off of that simply by watching videos and watching people who swam well and doing nothing but drills after drills for an entire winter. I still swim at least 1/2 drills even when I'm "just swimming laps" for a long swim.  Catch up drills, fist drills, zipper drills, one arm drills were/are all gold to me as I learn to feel the water better.  I'll consider myself done when I can swim 1:30's for 1500....but it's surely a work in progress. 

For me, there is no better satisfaction than teaching/learning myself. 

If I wanted to swim at a meet I'd get lessons.....but I run triathlons....virtually NOBODY can swim.

Great post!

Not if you drown first...

Edit to add:  I agree that a HR monitor is a great addition to someones tool box.   It is invaluable as you progress in your training to allow you a better understanding of how your body works.  However I would still maintain that swimming lessons are a better bang for your buck for aspiring triathletes.  There are way to many people who spend way too much energy for 400 yards.  There are exceptions, if you swam competitively then sure, swim lessons won't help you, but the majority of people were not competitive swimmers and to discount the value of swim lessons for these people is unfair.

Granted you could learn it on your own and if that's your thing then go right ahead.  You will learn faster with an instructor.  Also, learning on your own has it's own pitfalls.  There are many poeple who learn poor habits on their own.  Some just make it harder, others actually injure you.

Taking swim lessons can be helpful. Not all swim coaches mesh with all athletes. Investigate your potential swim coach to find someone who has experience working with swimmers similar to you. Y coaches that work with kids may or may not be the best choice to teach an adult how to swim. Y swim coaches that I have seen teach adults to swim is down right scary.

Some of us just struggle with swimming. I have had 4 or 5 swim coaches and taken probably 30+ private swim lessons, some group lessons and continue to be frustrated with lack of swim improvements.

I've given a lot of swim technique instruction to triathletes and I also have considerable experience teaching complex motor skills to adults. Over the decades, I've also received instruction from many different swim coaches and I've also observed many swim coaches.

From all of this, I've learned a few key things. For a technique instructor, I'd likely avoid swimmers that have swum fast since early childhood. Because the big thing for you is not to just find a super fast swimmer as a coach. Yes, you should find someone who can swim fast and who also really knows triathlon, but what you really need is someone who (here's the kicker) can teach you how to swim faster. And, believe me, this is not so easy to do. Sure, many very fast swimmers who have been training since youth swim great, but they simply don't know how to observe and troubleshoot your technique and then tell you how to correct it. Because they've never been down that path themselves.

I have noticed that some fast swimmers who started out as slower swimmers (so they were not trained competitive youth swimmers), but then learned piece-by-piece how to swim very fast end up being the best teachers. Because they know exactly what it took for them to "get" the fundamentals of better technique and better body position. And they'll most likely to be able to help you in a way that you can rapidly comprehend, understand, and execute.

Talking to people at your local masters group might be a good way to find someone like that. Another way is to ask every fast triathlete you know or meet. Ask every lifeguard you run into. Ask every swim or tri coach you meet. Rinse. Repeat.

I hope this helps.

As far as spending money goes I have to agree.  Not much you can buy that will help your running, just run more, mostly easy ......Pretty much the same for the bike, ride lots, mostly hard........and you will get faster.

Heck, I'm usually in the top 10% out of the water but I feel my swim still sucks, probably because I participate in swim meets where I'm MOP/BOP .....

My fitness club has an underwater swim analysis deal for $45 that includes the following:

  * 30 minute swimming consultation describing your results

  * A CD with your swim and instructor voice-over performance feedback

  * A swim stroke analysis print out, including suggested drills to fix problem areas

I already do swim with a masters group and get a few pointers here and there but I can't pass this deal up.  What I will most likely do is try the recommended drills and see how much improvement is made.  If I don't see improvements I may opt. for the coaching.

I would like to second this.  I've taking swimming lessons twice and both times, the 'instructor' looked at my stroke and said 'you swim fine, I don't know what to tell you'.  REALLY?  2:00/100y is not fine!  But now it's happened to me twice, so until I can find the right person to really give me useful feedback, I'm saving my money and working on my own.

That is a crazy experience. But that's why I offer students a '100% satisfaction guarantee':

No useful, actionable, and evidence-based feedback?

Then the session is free.

I agree with what you have said. I guess I have yet to find someone that can teach me how to swim better.  I don't hold out much hope that there is someone that can. If it came easily to me or was an easy fix, someone would have pointed it out to me.

I've been doing tris since 2004. I have talked to many folks including local tri coaches, local tri shop managers, tri teams, friends, and more about who is the best swim coach and followed up on many leads and spent more money than I care to admit trying to improve my swim stroke. 

l am struggling finding someone who can make me faster, so this hits home pretty well.  Not an easy task to find someone effective.

Before you hire a swim coach or buy a carbon tri-bike or a heart rate monitor

buy a book on positive thinking. 

Seriously...

If you go to the pool to meet with the finest swim coach on the planet and you're thinking to yourself "this is going to be b-a-d..." it's going to be bad. 

Start with a positive attitude. 

I'm an avowedly ex-newb terrible swimmer, and I think that once you've got that basic 2:00ish/100 form down, you've gotta swim a lot, and hard, to improve from there. If I actually want to improve my true PR, I've gotta throw down a minimum of 12k/week, and I'm not even fast. 

Getting back up to where I was in swimming is very short - I took nearly a year completely off swimming, and within 3 weeks was near what I was swimming at max speed before the time off.

Unfortunately, getting my true times down has proven much more challenging - though the swimming hard/more definitely is working. 

I was stuck at 2:00/100 for half a year, looking for technique tricks that so many experienced folks at BT said would magically drop me to 1:45. I now swim 1:40ish for T-pace for 20 mins continuously - a pretty huge jump from 2:00/100, and I would credit pretty much all of it to painful fatiguing swimming in the pool (while holding as good form as possible). My form has improved just by doing the yardage, but I'm convinced it's all power/endurance related - there is no way I can do my 1:40 catch/pull with 2:00/100 fitness. 

I do think those with swimming background have superior 'feel' (whatever that means) allowing them to swim faster than me on less effort, but I've concluded that there are no magic drills that will suddenly drop seconds off my time anymore. Except maybe flip turns and kicking.