References:

Video on CrossFit:

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Rivers- The center of the river moves the fastest. Watch for eddies near the shore. Back eddies will flow the opposite direction of the river, and the water is moving backwards.

Lakes- Can also have a current flow. Wind will affect movement. Keep in mind that the fresh water will feel slightly colder than ocean salt water at the same temperature. A 60 degree lake may feel more like 55 feels in the ocean.

Oceans- Tides, currents, and winds all affect an ocean swim. Learn to read tide charts and practice swims in the waves. Marine life is also out there. Even though everybody’s biggest fear is sharks, rarely is there an attack on a swimmer. In fact, to my knowledge there has never been a shark attack on a swimmer during any major open water competition or triathlon. Swimming in groups scares the sharks away. Jellyfish can be near the surface on sunny days. They are purple and white in color and their stings will leave a welt. In the 70′s, jellyfish were commonplace, but their population has declined more recently. The best way to deal with them is to adjust your stroke and avoid if you spot one.

A solid warm down after a workout or race is essential to continuing success in the swim. This will keep your energy up for your next workout, reduce the lactic acid in your bloodstream, and help to keep you injury-free. Typically, 200 yards or so will be enough, but the key here is listening to your body!

This is a major challenge to open water swimming (and even swimming in a pool with lane lines!), and the key lies in one of our other fun challenges in swimming: breathing!

Here’s a quick guide to swimming straight:

1. Simply doing alternate (or bi-lateral) breathing would go a long way towards making you swim in a straight. If you are comfortable with this, breathe every 3 strokes and you will be much more in line with where you want to go.

2. If you cannot get enough oxygen while breathing bilaterally, this can be a big problem on a distance swim. Practice swimming and breathing 2 strokes on the left, 2 on the right, then go to 3 breaths left, 3 right. Then try 2 on the left, 1 on the right, 3-1, etc. Find what works for in keeping you in line and stick with that plan in your race.

3. Practice sighting less often, as this will disrupt your stroke rhythm and balance.

4. Keep your strokes long and extend that arm out in front on each stroke and drive it forward.

5. Practice the One Arm Drill (in the Complete Guide), and pay attention to your arm pull, making sure you are not crossing in with your hand.

6. Practice open water swimming. Just being used to the environment will get you more comfortable, and you will intuitively pick up on
swimming straight out there.

Too many times I have heard swimmers ask me, “should I do the ‘S’ Curve when I pull?”

The “S” Curve has been a method, created by the Red Cross, of teaching a swimmer how to do the “proper” pull in freestyle. However, this is not exactly correct. First, there are many things you need to concentrate on and learn in freestyle before you tackle the pull. Making an S in the water as you pull can actually be disruptive to the rest of your stroke. Learn first to swim on your side by practicing balance drills. Once you have that down, you can then focus on pulling:

As you slice your hand in the water and move it forward, keep moving it forward until it is straight. Bend your elbow and pull back as you rotate your hips and the other arm comes foward. As you catch the water, curve your hand back inward toward your belly button, then out again by your hip as your hand exits the water. The end of the pull should be pushing the water towards your feet by straightening out your arm with your hand next to your hip.

Avoid “crossing over”, or reaching past the middle of your body as you rotate or breathe. Think of keeping your pull to the outside.

If you are a true beginner swimmer, you will need at least a couple of months to get yourself up to speed, assuming you are doing a sprint or short-distance triathlon.

But don’t let not knowing how to swim stop you from training for a triathlon! You will simply have to take a different mental approach to your training. Swimming will be about maximizing your time in the water, getting a good instructor, and practicing swimming drills as often as possible. You will need to focus on swimming above all other training for the most part. And, you will have to have a lot of patience! So if you are someone who would like to do a triathlon, but do not know how to swim, here are some action steps:

1. Find an qualified instructor. I have several listed on my find a coach page. Or you can check with your local master swim team which often will have a good coach that may do lessons.

2. Find a pool where you can practice. Somewhere that has a monthly lap swimming plan is perfect. Look for 25 yard, 25 meter, or 50 meter pools.

3. Watch swimming videos (like the Essential Triathlon Swimming DVD) to get an idea of proper swimming, as well as what you should be doing.

4. Practice swimming drills as often as possible. Once you have ironed out most of the kinks in your stroke, you can progress to adding more yardage to your swim sessions.

5. Don’t put pressure on your first race. Think of it as a learning experience! If you do this, you will have fun and likely enter many more races after that.

6. If someone touches your feet when you are swimming, let them pass by staying to
the right, or stopping at the next wall and moving to the right side of the lane. Try not to
take any offense to getting passed, this happens all the time.

7. At the beginning of the workout, find the time to introduce yourself to whoever is in
your lane. Knowing the people you swim with will make your workout a pleasant
experience, and don’t forget part of masters swimming is the social aspect!

8. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Learn how to read the clock and the order of the
lanes within your first week.

9. Make sure to get enough rest. If you can’t make the interval in your lane, move to a
slower lane.

10. Bring a positive attitude and a sense of humor to every workout!

Keep these tips in mind, join a masters team, and get ready to add more fun into your
workout routine!

The reality is that 80% of swimmers on masters teams are there for fitness. The other
20% consist of triathletes, competitive masters, and open water swimmers.

If you are a beginner triathlete new to the idea of swimming with a masters team, or an
experienced triathlete who has always trained swimming on your own and shunned
masters, here are 10 things you should know about masters swimming:

1. The stated goal of masters swim programs, according to the US Masters website,
usms.org is: “All USMS programs are designed to help swimmers improve fitness
and/or train for specific goals, and offer active support for a healthy lifestyle through
friendship, and camaraderie.”

2. Accept that most of the other swimmers will realize that you are a beginner. Most
masters swimmers love having new swimmers and will be more than happy to help you
out.

3. Not all masters teams are the same. Talk to the coach about what level you’re on and
your goals, and see if there is a fit. Most coaches will work with you at any level, but if
not, there may be another option close by in your city.

4. Be on time. It makes life easier for the coach, and for your fellow lane-mates.

5. Learn to swim “circle pattern”. There is a line on the bottom of most pools, right in the
middle of each lane. Stay to the right of the line when you are swimming. Circle pattern
allows more than 2 swimmers per lane.

To be continued….

Most triathletes tend to get caught up in how fast they are going.

“My 400 time is too slow!”
“My base interval is too much!”
“I’m the slowest in my group! Old ladies are passing me up!”

Being obsessed with any of the above can lead to discouragement in swimming. Also, these are the wrong things to be focused on if you really want to progress quickly in the water.

So what should you concentrate on to get faster if not getting faster itself?

It’s the small things that count. Think more in terms of drills and stroke technique, especially if you are not from a swimming background:

1. How balanced are you in the water? Simply logging pool time and practicing the kicking drills will lead to noticeable improvements within just a few sessions.

2. Is your kick moving you forward or are your feet acting like anchors? To test this, do some kicking on your back. If you are not moving forward, it’s time to start stretching out your ankles and drilling with Zoomers!

3. How many strokes does it take you to get from one side of the pool to the other? This is a little more advanced, but it’s a good gauge of your progress. Look for small improvements here. If your range is typically 25-27 strokes per length, shoot for 23-25 as an average. Notice how you are achieving a lower stroke count, by extending, gliding, and rotating your hips.

For 20% off Zoomers Z2′s, check out www.finisinc.com and use code ‘aggies20′!

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Notes from show:

Get Zoomers Z2 fins at 20% off from www.swimyourbest.com, use code ‘aggies’ at checkout.

Music: The Crystal Method, “The Bones Theme”

Transcript: http://triswimcoachonline.com/tri/transcripts-tsc02-kicking-in-freestyle/

I am currently consulting with some top personal trainers to develop the ideal program that will help triathletes gain strength for swimming, with the ability to just spend 20-30 minutes a couple of times a week, targeting mostly improvement of core strength.

I’m looking for ideas from the general swimming and triathlon community on this topic. What has worked for you in the past? What would you like to see in a video on strength training for swimming and tri’s?

I want to make sure I’m covering all bases and offering a fantastic product that will really help triathletes, especially for swimming.