Effortless Swimming

USA Swimming’s “Pull” Presentation I posted a link to a presentation in online coaching program, I have posted that link and I have to say it’s one of the best presentations I’ve seen so check that out if you are a member. 00:05 – USA Swimming’s “Pull” Presentation 00:32 – Are You Training Too Hard? […]

USA Swimming’s “Pull” Presentation I posted a link to a presentation in Swimprove which USA swimming did on pulling through and the biomechanics of the pool. I’ve got to say it’s one of the best presentations I've seen on pool. It covers where you should be pulling through in each different part of the stroke and what are some of the common angles, some of the common positions of some of the top swimmers when they’re pulling through. So, in Swimprove, I have posted that link and I have to say it’s one of the best presentations I’ve seen so check that out if you are a Swimprove member. 00:05 - USA Swimming’s “Pull” Presentation 00:32 - Are You Training Too Hard? 00:51 - TEAM! 01:02 - Freestyle Catch 01:15 - Punch & Flow 01:45 - Listen to the Nutrition Podcast Are You Training Too Hard? This week, we covered, “Are You Training Too Hard” in your slow aerobic sessions. So when you’re meant to be going easy, are you going a little bit too fast in your training sessions to get the benefit of slow aerobic work. I found that doing slow aerobic means that you’ve got a better fitness based to work from in your races and in training. TEAM! We also looked at the team advantage of being part of a team and how much that can benefit you because you’re willing to push yourself harder for other people than you are yourself. Freestyle Catch The other video we talked about the initial catch in freestyle where we talked about some drills that will help you get the initial catch and that feel of the water at the front of the stroke which is so important, if you wanna be out to feel the water and pull through with power. Punch & Flow In triathlon news this week, we looked at punch and flow in your freestyle. So when you’re swimming in open water and it’s choppy, you might be better off using the technique which has a bit more punch and flow. So you’re entering the water with a little bit more force and you’re riding at your strokes. So one stroke is faster and the other stroke you glide a little bit longer and you kind of ride at that stroke, It’s more of a low-key technique that you see Michael Phelps swim with a bit. And what that means is you can be in control of your stroke rather than being pushed around by the chop and the waves. Listen to the Nutrition Podcast I also interviewed Steph Lowe who is a triathlete here in Melbourne. She’s also a Nutritionist.  I find some of the recipes at TheNaturalNutritionist.com.au and I’m hooked to some her ideas on eating and some of the changes that she’s recommended for diet.  So if you’re looking for food to increase your performance in triathlon and swimming, then check out the Natural Nutritionist and check out the podcast at swimmingpodcast.com. I think it’s one of the best interviews I’ve done for the podcast because Steph shares some really good stuff for changing your diet. So check out the podcast, I highly recommend it. That’s it for swimming news this week. I’ll see you next week.  

When you’re swimming in open water and it’s choppy, you might need to adjust your strokes so you’re swimming with more punch and flow. So what does that mean exactly? Swimming with more punch and flow means that you’re entering the water a little bit more forcefully. So you’re entering with a bit more force […]

When you’re swimming in open water and it’s choppy, you might need to adjust your strokes so you’re swimming with more punch and flow. So what does that mean exactly? Swimming with more punch and flow means that you’re entering the water a little bit more forcefully. So you’re entering with a bit more force […]

Steph Lowe is a Nutritionist, a tri-athlete training for the Hawaiian Half Ironman, she is about to complete her master’s degree in nutrition and she specialises in sports nutrition using natural food and ingredients. In this episode of The Effortless Swimming podcast, Steph will talk about high performance nutrition for swimmers. Brenton Ford:    Welcome to […]

Steph Lowe is a Nutritionist, a tri-athlete training for the Hawaiian Half Ironman, she is about to complete her master’s degree in nutrition and she specialises in sports nutrition using natural food and ingredients. In this episode of The Effortless ...

Steph Lowe is a Nutritionist, a tri-athlete training for the Hawaiian Half Ironman, she is about to complete her master’s degree in nutrition and she specialises in sports nutrition using natural food and ingredients. In this episode of The Effortless Swimming podcast, Steph will talk about high performance nutrition for swimmers. Brenton Ford:    Welcome to […]

On the weekend I was part of a team that did an Olympic distance triathlon. One of the main things that I got from this is that people will generally work harder for other people than they will themselves. For example in this team I did the swim leg and I worked my arse off because I didn’t want to let the other team members down. I wanted to do my best for them and I didn’t want to be embarrassed by a poor swim or by not pushing myself the whole way. 0:13 - Athletes Perform Better in Teams 0:28 - Can You Be Part of a Team 0:50 - Find Other People to Train with or Compete Against 0:58 - Perform Better with Swimprove.com How can you use the advantages of being a part of a team to help your training to help your races? Can you join a triathlon team? Can you join a swim team? Can you find friends of yours that will help push you and not let you get away with going to easy in race? If you can find other people to keep you accountable keep pushing you and keep training yourself harder with them, then it’s a good way to get more out of yourself. In Swimprove our members keep themselves accountable, they post their race successes they post about their training. If you are out there on your own training then Swimprove is a good way to go about keeping yourself accountable and seeing other members that you can push yourself along with. It is also a way to stay part of a community that will help you get that team spirit and team advantage. It doesn’t matter where you are in the world you can still get that team spirit and team advantage. I am Brenton Ford, this is Effortless Swimming, see you next week.

On the weekend I was part of a team that did an Olympic distance triathlon. One of the main things that I got from this is that people will generally work harder for other people than they will themselves. For example in this team I did the swim leg and I worked my arse off […]

On the weekend I was part of a team that did an Olympic distance triathlon. One of the main things that I got from this is that people will generally work harder for other people than they will themselves. For example in this team I did the swim leg and I worked my arse off […]

One of the biggest differences between swimmers in the fast lane and swimmers in the slow lane is the initial catch. Swimmers in the fast lane; in their freestyle they will enter and be going forward, then they will allow their hand to drop down while they keep their elbow high. Getting that initial catch and then they get that initial elbow bend. Generally most swimmers in the slow lane will enter and pull straight through. Therefore it is the difference between using one lever and two levers with your pull. 0:09 - Initial Catch 0:23 - Elbow Bend 0:55 - Long Dog Paddle Drill 1:24 - More Drills in The Mastering Freestyle Program The fast swimmers are using two levers; they are entering and then their forearm and hand acts as a lever and then the upper arm acts as the other lever. Generally slower swimmers are using one lever; they come in and pull straight through with that one lever. This doesn’t allow them to get as much catch as they could with their pull. If you look at the Mastering Freestyle Program the long dog paddle drill is very good for separating the levers so that you get a feel for pulling through with a bent elbow. Another drill that we did this morning with my squad is we would kick on the side and sculling out the front and getting used to bending your elbow. What you can do is kick on side, you have one arm by your side one arm out the front and you can just scull with your forearm and your hand and just get a little bit of an elbow bend; so you are getting used to separating those levers. You can also find a few more drills in the Mastering Freestyle Program that help you develop this elbow bend; the two levers and the initial catch. That’s it for news this week; I will see you next week.

One of the biggest differences between swimmers in the fast lane and swimmers in the slow lane is the initial catch. Swimmers in the fast lane; in their freestyle they will enter and be going forward, then they will allow their hand to drop down while they keep their elbow high. Getting that initial catch […]

One of the biggest differences between swimmers in the fast lane and swimmers in the slow lane is the initial catch. Swimmers in the fast lane; in their freestyle they will enter and be going forward, then they will allow their hand to drop down while they keep their elbow high. Getting that initial catch […]

One of the most important components of a training program is slow aerobic work. One of the mistakes that I have made before and I see a lot of athletes commonly making this mistake; is that they do their slow aerobic work at a pace which is a little too quick to work the right training zone. For example, if you are doing 5-6 sessions a week, 1 or 2 of those sessions should be slow aerobic pace work where you are keeping your heart rate fairly low and sustaining it for 30, 60, 90 minutes - for a sustained period of time. 0:09 - Slow Aerobic Training 0:19 - Are You Training Too Hard? 0:36 - Resist The Urge 0:52 - How to Build Your Aerobic Base 1:02 - Recovering from Hard Training Sessions 1:23 - Get Personal Recommendations at Swimprove.com There is always the urge to push that little bit harder if you are competitive and like to train hard it is so easy to slip into that habit of training your slow aerobic pace work at a pace which is too fast. Take a step back, take a look at what the purpose of the slow aerobic training is; it is to build up your aerobic base so you can draw on that fitness for your races and other training sessions. It allows you to recover from your higher intensity training sessions. You might have done a high intensity threshold session the night before and the next day a good way to recover from that and still get the most out of a training session the next day is to do a slow aerobic session where you are keeping your heart rate low for a sustained period of time. In Swimprove one of the things that we look at is your training program and all the different elements that bring it together. You will need some slow aerobic swimming, you will need some high intensity work and you will need some speed. There are a lot of different things that bring it together so we can take a look at what you’re doing and make suggestions as to what you might be missing so that you can get the most out of your training program and be as fit as you can be for the race that your training for. Swimprove members can login at Swimprove.com, that’s it for swimming news this week, see you next week.

One of the most important components of a training program is slow aerobic work. One of the mistakes that I have made before and I see a lot of athletes commonly making this mistake; is that they do their slow aerobic work at a pace which is a little too quick to work the right […]