Endless Pool Review Newsletter
Dear Friend,
Yesterday I had the pleasure of trying out an Endless Pool at the Triathica training center in Orange County, CA. An Endless Pool is basically a swimming treadmill.
The feeling is similar to swimming upstream in a river. You can set it for whatever pace you’d like. We taped my stroke from underwater and over water. It was a really cool experience! I can imagine putting on a SwiMP3 and getting a really nice workout in one of these. There’s also a mirror below so you can watch yourself swim (kind of strange but you can learn a lot and admire yourself at the same time!)
I’ll have more on this soon, including videos of my swim session and how you can get an evaluation as well. Stay tuned on the Tri Swim Coach Blog!
While I was there I also watched Ron (owner of Triathica)’s stroke. He’s a strong swimmer with a common problem! See below for what it is and what can be done about it.
“You will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honor.”
-Aristotle
Tip of the Month
On the freestyle recovery, you often hear from coaches (like me) to bend your elbows on recovery. Swimmers may wonder why bending elbows is recommended so often. While there are swimmers, like legendary World Record holder Janet Evans, who have perfected the straight arm or “windmill” recovery, this is not a technique that works for many swimmers, especially in the longer, open water distances. There is of course no “one size fits all”, as many swimmers will have different degrees of how high their elbows are on recovery. However, the high or bent elbow recovery will help most people get more out of their stroke in the long run.
Taken from the now defunct Zoomers.net website, “The very best arm stroke recovery is one which allows the hand to arrive in time to begin the next stroke but also allows the arm to slow almost to a complete stop just before the hand enters the water.”
Bending the elbow allows you to do this. If the hand and arm come forward and slam into the water, you lose momentum in the form of drag, and your arm fails to move you forward.
To get used to the bent or high elbow recovery, practice the Finger Tip Drag drill. Swim freestyle but drag your fingertips across the top of the water on each arm recovery out of the water.
Click here for more tips, drills, and The Triathlon Swimming Essentials!
For Your Listening Pleasure
Check out the new Tri Swim Coach podcast! This week I will be discussing another triathlon-related issue. To subscribe or listen to old shows, go to Tri Swim Coach Podcast.
Stay tuned for more in two weeks!
Laugh at the Water!
Kevin Koskella
Tri Swim Coach