One of the biggest issues that middle and back of the pack swimmers have is syncing up what their upper and lower body is doing. In other words, they struggle with connecting the upper and lower body so that they are swimming as one unit. If you look at a beginner, their upper body is […]
A 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 […]
Shoulder injuries in swimmers are like Starbucks. They’re everywhere you turn. I can’t even start to count the times I had to sit out of practice because of my shoulder issues. Back when I was competing, I thought shoulder injuries were just par for the course for swimmers. Everyone I knew seemed to have some […]
When I say the word “timing”, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Probably the most notable would be the overuse of it as an excuse for relationships not working out on TV sitcoms. But that’s not what I want to talk about. I want to talk about the importance of timing in terms […]
If anyone who is not a realtor knows anything about real estate, it is what they say are the top three most important things. Come on, I know you know this one. Location. Location. Location. And they are right (says the wife of a swim coach who likes to think she has knowledge about everything). […]
We 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 […]
Before we jump into today’s topic, I wanted to take a second to address my last post about the importance of sleep. I had a lot of feedback about different kinds of sleep, amounts of sleep for people of different ages, how the modern day has changed the way we think about sleep, etc. Everyone […]
Who 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 […]
Lissa Henderson here. During my swim practices growing up, there was nothing that I dreaded more than a giant set full of freestyle drills. Well, except maybe an entire workout made up of butterfly sets. Those were the worst. 4000-6000 yards made up of 80% butterfly? No thank you. Those dreaded drill sets just bored me […]
Many 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 […]
For those who come from a running and cycling background, the common thinking is that the higher the cadence the better. If you are able to move your feet or pedals faster than you speed up. Thus, when you throw yourself into the pool the same principle should also apply right? WRONG! One of the […]
This issue includes an article on freestyle stroke technique (mechanics). It talks about Bill Boomer, who invented many of the techniques you may hear about or see these days, including the Total Immersion method. I think this is very applicable to swimming in a triathlon. By the way, I will soon be putting back issues […]
When kicking for freestyle, it is important to have some kind of kick to help you rotate from side to side as you swim, and to give you a small bit of propulsion. However, 90-95% of your propulsion in swimming will come from your upper body and how much you can rotate to slide through […]
Welcome to the first issue of the Tri Swim Coach newsletter! Every 2 weeks you will receive a new article, stroke tips and other tidbits to help you improve your triathlon swimming. Feel free to reply with any suggestions or questions. Let us know about your successes and failures in the water! Why Count Strokes? […]