Continued from Part 2 Here’s a clip from our Open Water Swim Success course, part of our Tri Swim Success membership. Learning to sight is one of the keys to success in the open water. Without this skill, you may waste a lot of time and energy, and even get lost on the course. Watch […]
Open Water Swim Success: The Skills You Need (Part 2/3)
Posted TrainingContinued from Part 1 Here’s a clip from our Open Water Swim Success course, available to members of our Tri Swim Success program. In it, I discuss how to level up your swim to take on open water swim competition. Even if you’re not racing for a while, it’s great to keep in mind the […]
Open Water Swim Success: Managing Your State (Part 1/3)
Posted TrainingThis is a clip from Part 1 of our Open Water Swim Success course, included in our Tri Swim Success membership. In it, Coach Chris Janzen goes over the principles of managing your state for open water swim success. Enjoy!
Perfecting Your Freestyle Catch
Posted TrainingTime for more of everyone’s favorite swimming topic, the catch! I know, I know, I talk about this WAY too much. But that is because it is one of the main parts of your freestyle that propels you through the water. It ups your efficiency, and helps you maintain your balance as you move through […]
The HVMN Ketone Triathlete project
Posted TrainingA few months ago, I wrote a blog reviewing the relatively new product, “HVMN Ketone,” which is a ketone ester drink. For those who did not read that post, I would read it now (I can wait–it’s ok). But I will give you a brief summary of it here: In the blog, “Is this the […]
What to focus on after a break
Posted TrainingIs it just me, or does today feel like January 53rd? First it was Thanksgiving in November and then Christmas in December. New Year’s seems to fall in some weird limbo land where time and space cease to exist. We exist in a fog for three or four days thinking it’s acceptable to live off […]
Don’t Think…FEEL
Posted TrainingOne of my favorite clips of any movie including Rocky IV (“I must break you”) and Mean Girls (“Is butter a carb?”) is Bruce Lee’s Enter the Dragon: https://youtu.be/sDW6vkuqGLg “We need emotional content…not anger….Don’t think. FEEL…It is like a finger pointing to the moon. **SLAP** Don’t concentrate on the finger or you will miss all […]
A Compare and Contrast of Improper and Proper Shoulder Movements
Posted TrainingIn this video we work on correcting shoulder movements with one of our swimmers. https://www.dropbox.com/s/msrridvkmkaxxsk/Avoid%20Pivoting%20Your%20Arm-1.mov?dl=0 Coach Lissa, Tri Swim Coach
Three ways to build motivation
Posted Articles, TrainingAs coaches, it can be hard to keep athletes motivated throughout a season. The beginning of the season might look great with everyone excited to get to the pool and get in. But by the middle and end of the season, it can be hard for team members to show up to practice at all let alone […]
Not All Training Should be Physical
Posted TrainingEver since I started competing, regardless of the sport, I’ve had massive trouble with the mental side of things. When I was growing up, I didn’t even know it was something I could work on. All my practices focused on the physical side of things. In college, we visualized before our big champs meet of […]
The Cross Body Connection
Posted TrainingA common misconception in swimming is that it’s made up of a ton of small pieces that don’t really connect. However that’s just not true. Each movement you make in the water is connected to another movement. And those movements rely on each other to be performed properly. So if one of them is done […]
Swimming When You Travel!
Posted Articles, TrainingIf you’ve been online ever, and you don’t live under a rock (although nowadays I’m sure you’d be able to find a way to surf the web from pretty much anywhere, so I doubt the rock would get in your way), I’m sure you’ve seen multiple blog posts about workouts you can do in your […]
Find your perfect drills
Posted TrainingDrills are tools and should be used with precision and purpose. Coaches should prescribe and athletes should select and perform drills depending on their individual and evolving needs as a swimmer. Done correctly, the drills that are suited to you now should not be as useful in 6 weeks because the drill fixed what was […]
A PSA from the Tri Swim Coach Crew
Posted TrainingThe following is a public service announcement brought to you by the coaches at Tri Swim Coach: Your training will not be a linear path! Yep, that’s right. Many training plans will try to convince you that every week you are going to get faster, fitter, stronger, and more efficient. Unfortunately that is simply not […]
Best dryland moves for swimmers
Posted TrainingGetting up early for swim practice when I was in high school meant my alarm went off at 3:45 am. If you think that sounds fun to a 16 year old girl, or anyone for that matter, you’d be wrong. And to make matters worse? The pool I had practice at kept their water at […]
What you need to know about the recovery phase
Posted Articles, TrainingWe received a question on our Facebook group the other day asking about what is the best arm position for the recovery phase of your swim stroke. Should you do a straight arm like these 50 m swimmers: https://youtu.be/bf4tc04ZhAA?t=4m37s Or a bent arm high elbow recovery like this: https://youtu.be/nIlHQWPdBec?t=3m45s As seen in these videos, both […]
A solution to your disappointing OWS time
Posted Articles, TrainingWith northern hemisphere’s race season officially underway, I have been seeing a lot of posts from triathletes on how they were surprised at how slow their swim split was in their first race. “I swam so much over the winter and only took 2 min off my time….” “I swim so fast in the pool […]
The Icing on your Training Cake
Posted Articles, TrainingWhen it comes to the final weeks before your pinnacle race, there is not much you can do physically to improve fitness or give yourself an edge over the other athletes. You have done all the physical work that you can do. Now it is time to allow yourself to recover properly so that your […]
Learning How to Take an Active Rest Day
Posted TrainingI don’t know about you guys, but it’s really hard for me to take a rest day lately. I’m not sure why, but every time I plan one, I end up getting in the pool or going for a run instead of just taking the entire day off. Because of this I’ve been learning how […]
3 essential actions to take before your first race
Posted Articles, TrainingRace season is just around the corner here in North America. So many triathletes are in the final few weeks of their training plans. However, just because you are well trained and fit for a race does not mean you are truly ready. Many training programs leave out three key essentials. Three actions that you […]
Relaxed Rigidity
Posted Articles, TrainingTo have an effective, smooth swim stroke, your whole body–from your extended fingertips down to your (hopefully) pointed toes–needs to move as one unit. If you look at videos of many beginner swimmers, their bodies are all over the place with their upper body moving one way and their lower body moving the other. They […]
Five ways to make sure you are ready for your long course triathlon
Posted Articles, TrainingMany of you are making the jump to long course triathlons this season. Going long can be intimidating and anxiety provoking. However, having coached numerous triathletes through their first long course tri, we at TSC know a few things about making sure our athletes are ready both physically and psychologically for race day. What’s our […]
Is Will Ferrell secretly a swimmer?!
Posted Articles, TrainingWho remembers Will Ferrell’s character from Anchorman when he first gets on camera and confusedly says, “I never know what to do with my hands…”? Well guess what Will, neither do I. When I was first learning how to swim, I learned the keyhole stroke. Then 10 years down the line, I find out I’m […]
How your “onlys” improve over time
Posted Articles, TrainingSwimmer’s Progress It’s very easy to get caught up in the minutiae of swimming. Dominic likes to say it’s a sport of centimeters, and I 100% agree with him. For example, the difference between proper and improper head position in freestyle is measured in inches. And you’ll be working on perfecting and maintaining this, probably […]
3 Myths About Triathlon Swimming
Posted Articles, TrainingLike any sport, there are many training myths on how to best train and improve. Just to name a few that I have seen this past week on some popular online blogs and forums… To make it to Kona, you need to train 18-25 hours a week. You should eat one gel every 15 min […]
I’m rebooted! #SwimReboot Lessons Learned
Posted Articles, Training, Vasa Swim(Continued from #SwimReboot 9: KISSing in the New Year) Almost 16 weeks ago, the Tri Swim Coach team and I launched project #swimreboot. The main purpose of the project was to provide you tips on how time-strapped athletes can improve your swim without spending hours and hours in the pool. We wanted to show you […]
The Bitcoins of the Tri World: 5 smart investments that you should make now
Posted Articles, TrainingIn the banking and finance world, everyone is (or should be) obsessed with “return on investment” (ROI). This looks at how much money do you get back for the money you put in. As investors, we want the biggest return for the smallest amount put down. If we get $50 back in 12 months by […]
Project #SwimReboot Week 9: KISSing in the New Year
Posted Articles, Training, Vasa Swim(continued from Week 8, on Youtube) Happy New Year everyone! Since the beginning of the new year is a good time to review, I decided to look over the blogs and my workouts of this project. I have come a long way since I began this project with so much more to come. My pace […]
Project #SwimReboot Week 6: When your motivation begins to wane
Posted Articles, Training, Vasa SwimContinued from Part 5: Fitting everything in First, a disclaimer: this week was supposed to be about strength training and how to incorporate weight lifting and specific core exercises to boost your swim performance. But we had some technical difficulties at headquarters (i.e. I deleted the video). So I will post that update at the end […]
Project #SwimReboot Week 5: Fitting everything in
Posted Articles, Training, Vasa SwimContinued from Part 4: Retesting One of the biggest issues (and I am sure you can all relate) I have faced in project #swimreboot is not the workouts themselves (although they have been challenging in a good way). It is trying to fit everything in. Over the past four weeks, I have found some good […]
Project #SwimReboot Week 3: Take a chill pill to get faster
Posted Articles, Training, Vasa Swim(Continued from Part 2 of the #SwimReboot series) This past week in project #swimreboot was a tough one. It was tough not because of the training was heavier or higher volume. But because of all of the other stress in life that come up in addition to training. I am sure everyone at some point […]
#SwimReboot Step 2: Turning on the lights
Posted Articles, Training, Vasa SwimWhatever your endeavor, your first 5k, a marathon PR, racing an Ironman, or in my case, rebooting my swim, it is critical to know where you are currently. You cannot move forward unless you accept the reality of where you are and where you need to focus. Especially in a form specific sport like swimming, […]
Week one of #SwimReboot: Busting off the Rust
Posted Articles, Training, Vasa Swim(from Coach Chris Hague) This is from the #SwimReboot series starting with Part One here. Have you ever taken a long break from running or biking or swimming or even training activity completely, and then come back to it? Those first workouts are definitely rude awakenings. You just feel rusty and crusty. Before, the workout […]
Welcome To Project #SwimReboot
Posted Articles, Training, Vasa Swim(From Coach Chris) Back in February, I fell out of love with swimming. I had no interest in getting in the pool, getting on the Vasa, or doing anything in the water–not even getting in the hot tub. I am not sure what triggered my disenchantment because I was coming off a series of breakthrough […]
Beware this common beginner triathlete trap
Posted Articles, TrainingWhen I first started triathlon training, I read all the latest articles, books, and social media posts for advice. Whenever I came across a good article or post with a specific workout or lifting routine guaranteed to make me faster, I would clip it out and put it in a giant folder organized by sport. […]
Staying a beginner triathlete to make you faster
Posted Articles, Newsletters, TrainingIn 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 […]
Swimming up stream in a pool
Posted Articles, TrainingOver the weekend, the world’s best competed in Chattanooga at the 70.3 world championships. From all reports, the course was definitely championship quality with a partially against current swim, plenty of climbing, and an undulating run. Athletes had their training cut out for them. The up river swim in particular got me thinking about how […]
How to Graduate from being a Beginner Triathlete
Posted TrainingSo you made it through your first or second full season in triathlon. You may have a one or two races underneath your fuel belt, and may have scheduled your races for 2018. But are you ready to take your triathlon training to the next level and graduate from being a “newbie”? Going from a […]
Sink or Swim in Your Next Triathlon
Posted Articles, TrainingTriathletes like to say that they swim, bike, and run during a race. But actually, they “swimbikerun”. What makes multisports unique is that the success of one leg depends on the previous stage. This is why swimming is so critical. Without a good swim leg the rest of the race can easily go wrong. […]
Training with a tempo trainer is ruining your stroke
Posted Articles, TrainingMany websites, swim coaches and programs recommend that beginner swimmers train with a tempo trainer (i.e. a “wetranome”) to help them find the ideal stroke rate. This little device goes underneath your swim cap and beeps every time you “should” take a stroke. In theory, this is supposed to help swimmers get their stroke rate/cadence […]
How To Get Faster in The Water on 3 Swims a Week
Posted TrainingWe’re down to the final post of the series on getting a faster freestyle! This is part 3 of 3. Part 1 – How to Kick Faster in Freestyle Part 2 – How to Pull Faster In Freestyle (for beginners and intermediates) Part 3 [You Are Here] – How To Get Faster In The Water […]
How to Pull Faster in Freestyle
Posted TrainingYou’re about to read the most important post in our “How To Get Faster In Freestyle” series. This is part 2 of 3 in our series: Part 1 – How to Kick Faster in Freestyle Part 2 [You Are Here] – How to Pull Faster In Freestyle (for beginners and intermediates) Part 3 – How […]
How to Kick Faster in Freestyle
Posted TrainingThis is part 1 of 3 in the series on how to get a faster, more efficient freestyle. Part 1 [You Are Here] – How to Kick Faster in Freestyle Part 2 – How to Pull Faster In Freestyle (for beginners and intermediates) Part 3 – How To Get Faster In The Water (On 3 […]