My Top 3 Swimming Tools For the Beginner and Struggling Swimmer.

There are a number or swimming accessories available to help you improve your swimming technique, speed and efficiency. But not all swim gear is created equal and not every swimmer will benefit the same from all of the products. Not to mention, it can be less than enjoyable packing like you're going on an adventure race to swim laps for hour at your local pool. Having worked extensively with adult triathletes and beginning swimmers who didn't benefit from learning proper stroke mechanics as a kid, there tends to be common areas that need to be focused on to improve the fundamentals of their swimming form. So that brings us to the short list of three critical items that will help all swimmers struggling with their swim mechanics, and a great starter tool bag for intermediate swimmers looking to make the next leap in their swimming performance.

Triathlon is already a fairly expensive sport, so I've written this list in order of importance. So if you can only get one item at a time, I suggest purchasing in this order.

Number 1: Swimming Fins

Not all fins are created equal, so if you happen to run across a pair at a yard sale or Craigslist, be sure they are the right style. And notice I said "swimming" fins. Believe it or not there are several styles of fins, but the type that works best for beginners (and triathletes in general) is what's called a Zoomer Fin. This style of fins has a very short, slightly wide blade. The advantage of this style of fin is that it is large enough to help you get a lot more propulsion from your kick, but it's not so large that you don't still need to use your arms to swim efficiently and thus won't overpower your arm stroke. So the idea is to use a fin that helps your stoke, not propel you across the pool in spite of it. I suggest using the fins more if you can't keep your feet up and body line horizontal (ask someone to watch or video you), if your kick is extremely weak, and if you have difficulty maintaining forward moment when taking a breath. As you improve in these areas, alternate swimming sets with and without the fins to help improve your feel for correct body line and speed while breathing.

Number 2: Swimming Snorkel

The most common issue beginning to intermediate level swimmers have with their swim stroke is a breakdown of their form when they take a breathe. So if that's the case, why not make the snorkel the number 1 item on the list? Good question! It's not more important than the fins, because just having the snorkel alone won't improve your body position in the water and the most common form breakdown while breathing is not creating enough forward momentum. The key advantage of the snorkel is the removal of the biggest fear and cause of tension while swimming: The Need To Breathe! Having your face submerged in water can cause you to hold your breathe (instead of exhaling) giving you less time to inhale when you do take a breathe and consequently you slow down to give yourself enough time to do both when you mouth finally reaches the surface. This slowing down almost always results in a break down of your form. The snorkel removes this anxiety (since air is readily available) and the form breaks, allowing you to focus on your stroke mechanics and letting you improving the synchronicity of breathing and your stroke.

 

Number 3: Swimming Metronome

A metronome is a small digital piece of equipment placed under your swim cap or attached to your goggles that provides an audible beep to guide the timing of your swim stroke. This last item is that final piece of the puzzle when you're looking to make those key improvements in your basic stroke technique. Not unlike beginning runners, who train at the same speed no matter what distance they run, swimmers can benefit drastically by changing the intensity and pacing of their workouts. Additionally, finding the optimal stroke rate that result in your fastest and most efficient stroke will rapidly improve your race results and not leave you feeling completely exhausted after the first leg of your triathlon. And not all swimmers are created equal. Just as some cyclist are more effective at a higher cadence (or pedal stroke rate), others perform better at a lower one. The same goes for swimmers. Your body type, muscular strength, and natural stroke type all contribute to determine what stroke rate is optimal for you. Of course you can spend hours and hours trying to modify your stroke style, but that is an uphill battle that won't benefit the beginning to intermediate level swimmer. Using the metronome to test your optimal stroke rate and well as challenge you beyond your comfort zone, it one of the fastest ways to build your swim fitness and improve your stroke efficiency.

HAPPY SWIMMING !!!

IT'S ALL IN THE HIPS...

"It's all in the hips" Those wise words from Chubbs, weren't just true for Happy Gilmore. So much of what we do as athletes depends on strong and flexible hips. From IT-band syndrome to lower back pain to an asynchronous freestyle swim stroke, the hips are the key. So often athletes are told to improve their core strength, yet most people don't realize the "hips" (gluteus medius and maximus, illopsoas, pectineus, and others  ) can be far more relevant than the more commonly associated abdominal musculature.

Hip strength is most often apparent to us when we have running problems like IT band syndrome. Take a look at some of your old race photos in a running race or the run portion of your triathlons, preferably head-on. If you look like my good buddy below, you have an injury problem "potentially" waiting to happen or just as bad, an inefficiency in your running form. Hip Drop is the dreaded biomechanical break down of your running stride when you allow your hip to drop vertically and knee to rotate inward, more and longer than necessary. Just Google "running" and "hip drop" if you don't believe me.

It's not difficult to revamp your stride to begin to eliminate this inefficiency, but it doesn't take work. First and foremost run with a higher cadence. You are less likely to sink into the hip dip if you spend less time collapsing your body down into the ground and more time moving quickly from foot to foot. Second, imagine you have the legs of Oscar Pistorius. If you don't know about Oscar (see below) he is a gold medal para-olympian track athlete and he has stiff and springy carbon fiber legs. When you plant your foot into the ground maintaining the firmness of the knee and hip joint allow you to fully maximize the stored energy within the elastic elements of your legs, providing a quick recoil and return of energy.  All of which improves your efficiency.

So next time you see a picture of yourself, maybe you can look better than Lance?

What Race Week Is Not About

Race Day Here I Come
So many people become overly anxious as their race approaches, never more than during the week leading to race day. As we all know, in reality, we've done pretty much all you can by that point as far as physical training goes. And of course there are many resources, techniques and practices athletes participate in for mental readiness. But even if you don't have a greater mental skill tool bag, there is a far great calamity awaiting you if you're not careful.

Swimming Basics: Using a Pull Buoy

Let me start by confessing I've never been the biggest fan of using a pull buoy, that is once my swimming technique became relatively efficient. I mean we're not all Michael Phelps, right? So yes, I must confess that like most new swimmers (especially with a kick so awful it would cause me to go backwards) I was addicted to the buoy, at its worst "swimming" up to a continuous 2,000 meters with one. Ugh! It's miserable to even think about now. But upon the thoughtful decision to take triathlon more seriously and put my best efforts forward, I finally conceded to give up my crutch and I began to (pardon the pun) "kick" the habit. Further bolstered by comments from the likes of top USAT coaches like Ian Murray, that the pull buoy disconnects the natural rhythm of the swim stroke, I became a full fledged Buoy-Basher.