Staying a beginner triathlete to make you faster

Posted admin Articles, Newsletters, Training

In a previous blog post, I gave you some quality tips on how you can graduate from being a beginner triathlete to an intermediate or advanced triathlete. If you have not read it yet, check it out. If you feel stuck, you will find ways to change your training to take your game to the […]

Read More →

Fall in love with swimming to get faster

Posted admin Articles, Newsletters

Triathlon coaches hear this all the time: “I just want to survive the swim” “Once I get on the bike, I will be fine” “I suck at swimming” “I have a love-hate relationship with the water. I love it because it makes me a triathlete; but I hate it because it’s swimming” “Thank goodness the […]

Read More →

The coaching world has a HUGE PROBLEM

Posted Chris Articles, Newsletters

The coaching world has a HUGE PROBLEM. It happens in swimming, triathlon, running, cycling, weight training, fitness….. almost every sport. It ruins athletes, breaks down their motivation, and destroys seasons. The problem is that coaches design programs around them not you, the athlete. Even if you are self coached, you are not immune. Many coaches design […]

Read More →

Testing Not Guessing

Posted Chris Articles, Newsletters

What can be measured can be improved, as the old adage goes, and that is certainly true for the swim. Testing allows you to track progress, look for limiters, and sharpen your mental game. Since not all tests are created equal nor complimentary to your goals as an athlete, I am giving you three different […]

Read More →

The “Inbetween Zone”

Posted Chris Articles, Newsletters

In between Christmas and New Years might be the oddest fitness week of the year. Many people are coming out of a stressful holiday run up full of work parties, last minute shopping, travel, family gatherings, tantrums (from kids and adults alike), and an endless supply of sweets, alcohol, and rich, dense foods. However, the […]

Read More →

Winter Training Pitfalls

Posted Chris Articles, Newsletters

Many beginner triathletes have the great goal of improving their swim over the winter, but when spring comes they are usually disappointed with their improvements especially in the open water. Why? I have picked apart several training plans and traditional, typical programs to find the most common mistakes that are slowing your swim gains during […]

Read More →

Joci Goggle Review

Posted Chris Articles, Newsletters

There is a glut of goggles on the market all claiming to be different and special. From the wide scuba like masks that claim 140 degree vision to the minimalist, old school socket rockets, whatever your preference/goal is there is a goggle for it. Since everyone has different facial structures it is hard to rate […]

Read More →

Are Drills Overated?

Posted Chris Articles, Newsletters

Drills are actually a pretty controversial topic among swimming and triathlon coaches. Some, like Brett Sutton and Matt Dixon, both of whom have coached numerous Olympiads and Ironman Champions between see drills as unimportant for becoming a better swimmer in fact it is better to spend your time with intensity. Matt Dixon goes as far […]

Read More →

Sinking Legs revisted

Posted Chris Articles, Newsletters

One of the biggest sources of frustration for beginner swimmers and coincidentally the most common form error next to crossing over is sinking legs. It has been a while since we have addressed this and since we have received so many questions like “why do i sink when i swim”, “why my legs sink when […]

Read More →

Fixing Imbalances

Posted Chris Articles, Newsletters

If you look at many age group athletes’ stroke, you might notice that it is slightly imbalanced as if they were limping through the water. One arm might extend a little further, pull a little quicker, or recover across the water faster. Moreover, many of these same athletes get out of the water complaining that […]

Read More →

Power in Swimming

Posted admin Articles, Newsletters

Although power meters were first introduced in 1989, over the past 10 years, they have crept into cycling and triathlon training and become the gold standard of metrics. Training with power has the power to transform your training and set new PRs in endurances races. Monitoring watts and training in specific zones prevents burn out, […]

Read More →

New Year, New Swimmer?

Posted admin Articles, Newsletters

Chances are that you or one of your friends has made a resolution for the new year, and chances are that that resolutions either involves health (nutrition, weight loss, six pack abs) and/or swimming. Honestly, it is great that you have made that resolution. It shows that you recognize something is missing or lacking in […]

Read More →

Winter is coming

Posted admin Articles, Newsletters

John Snow was right: winter is coming. And with it, shorter days, colder temps, and less weekly training volume. Usually, this would mean a loss of fitness. This winter though, I challenge you to actually emerge from the off season lighter, stronger and potentially faster without having to the do summer, in-season volume. The key […]

Read More →

So you want to do an Ironman?

Posted admin Articles, Newsletters

Many athletes get into triathlon after watching the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii. For many triathletes, after watching this epic race, they want to bump up their race distance and do a full triathlon. Both these reactions are completely justified; Kona is one of the most amazing spectacles of human perseverance, determination, and fitness. […]

Read More →

Late Season Adjustments

Posted admin Articles, Newsletters

September and October mark the end of the northern hemisphere’s racing season. By this time, many triathletes are both physically and mentally ready to throw in the towel and begin their offseason especially those who have been racing since the end of March and April. These final races can still be personal bests though with […]

Read More →

Finding Purpose

Posted admin Articles, Newsletters

You hear it from almost every single coach: workouts need to have a purpose. At TSC, we agree. Getting into the pool without a set purpose or intention is wasting time. Each workout should have some focus that addresses a need or skill with which you can structure your sets and type of sets around. […]

Read More →

Using your Paddle

Posted admin Articles, Newsletters

One of the cool attachments you can get with the Vasa Swim Erg is the “forearm cuffs.” Instead of using the power paddles, you attach these forearm sleeves to the cables, forcing you to pull not with your hands but with your whole forearms, like you are supposed to in the water. When pulling in […]

Read More →

Winter triathlon training

Posted admin Articles, Newsletters

Winter Triathlon Training With American Thanksgiving on Thursday and the build up to Christmas immediately after the last of the turkey has been eaten, the holiday season is upon us. This time of year is packed with office parties, traveling to see family and friends, shopping, and enough sugary treats and temptations to give an […]

Read More →

Tri Swim Coach’s 6 Go To Resources for Triathletes

Posted admin Articles, Newsletters

The internet is a giant mess of raw information, complex scientific studies, outlandish claims, anecdotal evidence, personal blogs, and businesses that claim “to know” the answer–the one thing that your training and life is missing and can turn you from an out-of-shape athlete into the next up-and-coming age grouper. Through some very clever marketing and […]

Read More →