Beginner Triathlete Swim Training Newsletter
Dear friend,
I’m often asked who my site and information is geared towards: the pure beginner swimmer, or the triathlete with a few races under their belt that wants to slash their race times?
The answer is of course both!
If you are just starting out, the 5 lessons you get by signing up for the Tri Swim Coach newsletter should allow you to take off your training wheels. Then, the DVD + book package can allow you to go from frustration in your race to enjoyment, and the ability to compete!
If you are already competing and want to start dropping lots of time off of your triathlon, the materials can help you accomplish that too.
Obviously, sitting down and watching a DVD or checking out a book on swimming is not enough, you must practice in a pool! Live coaching can really help with this as well, and you can find a few coaches (sorry mostly U.S.-based!) at the Find a Coach page.
If you are one of these intermediate or advanced beginner types, a good analogy would be bowling (yes we play golf in the pool, now we’re discussing bowling!).
When you start out in bowling, you likely just roll the ball down the middle of the lane, hoping to knock down as many pins as possible. You practice this method, and even get pretty good at it! But there’s a limit. You have a flaw in your game that needs to be fixed in order for you to break through this wall.
You bowl straight, when you need a curve.
When you begin to implement the curve, your average score drops. You used to bowl 180, now you’re looking at 150 at best. But as you improve your curve, your score slowly gets better. Soon, you’ve surpassed your old average and are now cruising in the 220’s!
In swimming, the biggest problem for beginners is being to flat in the water. As you develop your new stroke, it will feel slower at first, but soon enough, you’ll be the envy of all your friends and leaving your old triathlon times in the dust.
Keep reading for this month’s tip!
Enjoy,
Kevin
“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.”
-Victor Frankl
Tip of the Month
For some, making your workouts count may mean “go hard or go home”, or “no pain, no gain”, or some other silly expression. Making your workouts count really should mean setting weekly goals and following through. You may want to decrease your average stroke count per length, decrease your interval, or increase the amount of yards/meters you do.
When you set out these mini-goals and start making your workouts count, you may find that you actually want to get back in the pool for your next session!
Freestyle Golf is a good way to measure your progress. If you haven’t checked it out yet, go to our Facebook contest to find out about a new way to improve your stroke without using a lot of time!
