How to swim with less effort

Posted on March 15, 2012 by Fiona

Jumping into the pool to swim with a group of triathletes some five or so years ago I knew the learning curve was going to be pretty steep. But I had no concept of just how steep it would prove to be. But since that first swim session – some months after which the coach revealed “you looked like clothes in a washing pool as you thrashed and splashed your way up the pool” – I have progressed.

Slowly but surely I have discovered the complicated art of swimming through the water and not against it. I have learned about the importance of the “catch” in freestyle, body positioning, core strength, leg kick, head rotation, and so much more.

The key to swimming in a triathlon is that you use as little effort as possible, so that after the swim section you still have enough energy to complete the bike and run sections of the race. Of course, you still want to complete the swim in as fast a time as possible, but it is still important to balance effort and speed.

A guide to swimming with less effort

What’s the temperature? A swimming pool that is too warm can be over-bearing and exhausting. A pool that is to cool will inhibit your muscle range and movement. According to the National Oceanographic Data Centre most people feel comfortable in water that’s between 70 and 78F. If the water is a little cooler when you jump in try treading water or jumping up and down to warm up your muscles.

Lift weights: Adding a session or two of strengthening work to your weekly exercise timetable will help to improve your swimming ability. Core muscles are key to keeping your balance so that you can swim in a straight line and go as efficiently as possible through the water. An alternative to weights would be yoga or Pilates.

Rhythm of your breath: Breath too little and you’ll end up dizzy. Breathe too often and you’ll upset the rhythm of your stroke. The aim when swimming is to breathe every third stroke, and on alternating sides. Breathe by lifting one side of your face out of the water rather than picking up your whole head.

Minimise the drag: To swim effortlessly through the water you might want to consider becoming a dolphin! If you think about how streamlined these creatures are, you’ll realise that the reason they can swim so fast and efficiently is because they create very little drag in the water. The more your body creates drag in the water the slower it will be when swimming. So make sure you are swimming as smoothly through the water as possible. Join a coached session or ask a friend to video you while swimming. You will see all sorts of problems, such as a hand or arm that isn’t propelling you smoothly enough, a bent back or a raised head. Now you can work on correcting these small misdemeanours!

Different strokes: While freestyle (or the crawl) is the choice for most triathletes and competitive swimmers, breast-stroke or back stroke might suit you better. Try all of the strokes to work out which one you prefer. Remember that you still want to achieve some speed, but you also don’t want to burn up all your energy on your first lap.

Swimmer Aimee qualifies for Olympics

Posted on March 10, 2012 by Fiona

Almost three decades after her dad swam in the Olympics for Britain, teenager Aimee Willmot celebrated as she took her place as one of five qualifiers for the London Olympics.

Nineteen-year-old Aimee could not have looked more delighted as she swam home in second place, behind Hannah Miley, in the 400 metres individual medley at the new Olympic Aquatic Centre recently.

Aimee, of Middlesbrough, also pulled of a personal best, with a very impressive time of 4min 37.48sec.

Swimming history repeats itself

It was 28 years ago that dad Stuart finished 15^th in the men’s 400 medley in the Los Angeles Olympics. After qualifying, Aimee laughed and said: “Hopefully I can do better than him.”

Aimee is currently taking a year away from her education to focus on swimming and it’s clear her efforts have paid off with her Olympic place.

She is reported as saying: “’I stayed at home and was just training all the time. I have been in the gym in the middle of the day and just stepped everything up. I knew I could do it. It was just whether I could get in and do it on the day.”

In the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, Aimee took fifth place in the 400m individual medley, which was won by Scotland’s super swimmer Hannah.

Why filming will boost swim technique

Posted on March 2, 2012 by Fiona

Frustrated by your swimming speed? Unsure what it is – exactly – that you are doing wrong in the pool? Trying to improve you kick, or pull, or catch, or body position or any one of the numerous parts of the swimming technique that you need to master to become faster?

Many swimmers now swear by underwater videoing. For most it’s not a case of knowing what to do to improve their swim technique, it’s more that they can’t see exactly what they are doing wrong. And even the smallest adjustment of leg position, head and catch action can make a huge difference to overall speed and efficiency.

For amateur triathlete Jo it wasn’t until she actually saw her swimming technique on video that she could begin to understand the myriad adjustments to be made to improve her swimming speed.

She says: “I had been attending coaching sessions for about six months and I had listened and learned a great deal. My swimming was really improving but I still couldn’t grasp exactly what I was suppose to be doing with my leg kick and my arm catch.

“I really thought I was doing all that the coach said but I wasn’t. Seeing my swim technique on video highlighted some of the areas in which I thought I was good but in fact I was lacking.

“For example, I had no idea that my left hand was entering the water with the fingers pointing upwards instead of down. I could also see that my arm catch was falling way short of where I thought it was. And I wasn’t pushing through to the end of the stroke at the side of my body so you could actually see bubbles in the water where I was creating drag. And, as swimmers all know, drag is not good!”

Rise and rise of swim filming

Swimming film sessions are becoming more popular at swimming and triathlon clubs across the country. The decreasing cost of an underwater video camera makes it possible for more clubs to invest in the technology.

Many of these high-resolution video cameras combines an underwater lens and an above the surface camera to monitor it.

Out of the water, the camera is linked up to a computer or TV screen to give coaches and swimmers instant feedback in helping to refine swimming technique.

The benefits of viewing a swimmer underwater, rather than above the water, are as clear as the pool water itself.

As one coach said: “It’s one thing for me to tell a swimmer how to do their stroke, it’s another to actually see what they are doing. They may think they are doing the right thing, and then they see, ‘Oh I’m not doing that at all.’ ”

Do you suffer with foot cramp during swimming training?

Posted on February 28, 2012 by Emma

After a sharp freestyle turn, quite often us swimmers suffer with muscle spasms and pain in the sole of the foot. Even after a good stretch it still feels impossible to continue. This isn’t just relevant for pool swimmers, but often open water swimmers suffer too. Here we take a look at the reasons why we get foot cramp when swimming and have some handy suggestions to help prevent it.

Why do we get cramp?

The main muscles which are used in the foot when you are in that excellent streamlined position which you have been practising are the plantar fascia. These muscles cramp up and cause us pain for a number of different reasons:

You become tired
Your muscles are over-worked
You are dehydrated
You have an electrolyte deficiency

How can it be prevented? happy-feet-200

The first thing we suggest is ensuring you stay hydrated. This doesn’t mean just drinking normal water, it means using drinks that contain electrolytes so you replace the components that are lost when you sweat. Common drinks that contain electrolytes are Lucozade sports drinks.

One tip a swimming coach once suggested to me, was to add a pinch of salt to your drink. This doesn’t sound too pleasant I know! But salts are also lost a lot when you sweat and you really can’t taste a small pinch.

Eat the right things before and after you train, an hour or two either side of your training session. These meals should be made up of foods which are high in protein and carbohydrates.

Stretching is a very important part of maintaining your muscle flexibility so should be included in warm ups, cool downs and also any land based training you do. We often forget how important it is that our muscles stay flexible as we often put our body into positions that no other athletes do.

The benefits of cold water swimming

Posted on February 23, 2012 by Fiona

Middle of winter. Time for a dip in the local lake? Er, we think not! Indeed, swimming in an ice cold lake doesn’t seem like a particularly safe option, unless you are going with a group of experienced people and your heart is in good health.

However, according to research – and a few hardy individuals – cold water swimming is exactly what the doctor should be ordering.

People have been cold water swimming in eastern Europe and the Netherlands for thousands of years. And many people believe that taking a dip in an ice cold pool is good for pain relief.

In fact, research reveals that taking a plunge in cold water increases norepinephrine, which is a natural painkiller. And, over time, this can stimulate the immune system.

Which is why cold water swimming – or a cold water plunge pool – is recommended for people with arthritis or injuries.

The research reports: “People experience sometimes two or three days of feeling better after just two or three minutes in the cold plunge.”

Plunging several times a week can also strengthen your immune system. But it’s recommended that people build it up. The feeling of such extreme cold can be overwhelming (and is definitely not for those with health problems.)

But one fan of cold water swimming says the endorphin rush is like nothing else. He describes the feeling: “It’s one heck of a shock. My skin just comes alive. I’m beaming inside.”

Make your own cold water plunge pool

Not everyone has access to a cold plunge pool or the ability to go for a swim in the safe environment of a cold water lake. Instead, you could try this at home:

Fill your bath with ice and water. Then get into the water and try to sit in it for at least a minute… building up with repeated cold water bathings to three minutes. Three to four times a week is apparently the required number of times for effective pain relief and an immune system boost.

The benefits of swimming legsuits

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Fiona

It seems so obvious when you think about it, but women’s swimming costumes with combined shorts/legs have been a long time becoming mainstream. No doubt you’ll have seen these swimsuits with legs being worn by triathletes. Many male swimmers also sport tight-fitting swimming shorts but it’s not until recently that legsuit costumes for women have been more frequently seen in the pool.

The genius of swimming costume legsuits

The strange thing is that many women love the concept but still haven’t braved the look. Maybe it’s a traditional thing. Swimming costumes for women have traditionally been styled with higher legs. But many women really do not like that area of their body at the top of their thighs!

The average swimming costume does little to hide this area and lays bare the upper thigh to the general public.

Rising popularity of swimming legsuits

Ah, but at long last, the swimming legsuit is becoming more popular. Swimming costume legsuits are great for all kinds of swimming sessions and for pool-based activities such as aqua aerobics. There are shorter and longer-legged versions and the designs are as different and as funky as any other swimming costume or bikini. Many swimming legsuits are designed to make you more streamlined in the pool, as well as for comfort and boosted self-confidence.

How to get more women back in the swimming pool

We’ve been been thinking that this kind of swimming costume would be the perfect way to encourage more girls and women back into the swimming pool. You do see more women employing their own upper leg hiding techniques, such as wearing shorts over their swimming costumes or keeping the towel wrapped around them until they dive into the pool. But with a swimming costume legsuit you can walk the poolside or beach with confidence and swim like a fish.

Oh, and without wanting to get too personal, there is another advantage of the legsuit swimming costume. If you’re in a hurry or you simply can’t be bothered, these suits are perfect for those times when you might not have shaved your bikini line! We’re just saying!

So if you’re keen on swimming, or thinking about getting back into the pool, and you want a swimming costume that is practical and comfortable and also looks flattering we recommend a swimming costume legsuit. They’re genius!

The benefits of swimming for your blood pressure

Posted on January 4, 2012 by Fiona

First, let’s take a look at the scientific background to swimming and reduced blood pressure. Sports experts have widely revealed the cardiovascular benefits of well-developed muscles. As muscles grow and become stronger, the heart must pump more blood to them. To do this the heart muscle grows stronger and so it sends out a larger volume of blood when demanded.

Remember that swimming is an excellent way to develop a wide range of body muscles.

In tandem, the body’s vascular system adjusts to the larger volume of blood by dilating more with the beats and contracting less in the rests between beats. And so blood pressure is effectively reduced.

Research that reveals swimming good for lowering blood pressure

Medical researchers in America have found that swimming for exercise can be as effective as some blood pressure medicines at lowering blood pressure. A study detailed in the Journal of Hypertension gave account of 10-week trial of people with mild hypertension. While six of the 18 participants didn’t exercise, 12 swam for 45 minutes each day.

By the end of the trial the pulse – and therefore the heart rate – had decreased on average from 81 to 71 beats per minute among the swimmers. And their average systolic blood pressure dropped of 11mmHg. The non-exercisers saw no change to their pulse rate or blood pressure.

Another study in Taiwan saw seven adults with mild hypertension and 16 with normal blood pressure. Both groups swam daily and by the end of the trial

The hypertensive group’s systolic blood pressure dropped an average of 17mmHg. The normal blood pressure group had a slight increase. (This is actually normal as people normal blood pressure have less to correct in their vascular system, so diet and exercise have less blood pressure effects).

So swimming is god for building strong muscles, burning calories and lowering your blood pressure.

Swimming Teaching Tips

Posted on November 13, 2011 by Emma

I like to think that I’m a pretty good swimming instructor – I give the children the attention they need, I have plenty of swimming knowledge and understand what it’s like learning to swim (competitively or not). But some lessons I walk in dreading how certain kids will behave or ruin the class for others. I would come out afterwards with steam coming out of my ears ready to complain to myself in the car journey home.

One training session I had a group of about 15 children aged 11-12 and there was just one troublesome child that would always play up. He just loved all my attention all the time and it used to infuriate me that I was being forced to spend more time with him than the other children, I never wanted it to be unfair on anyone.

The main thing that concerned me about all this was what was the reason behind the misbehaviour – was it because I was a bad teacher or was he generally just misbehaving and attention seeking?

So one evening I decided rather than making this 12 year old boy wait for my attention and cause total chaos amongst the other swimmers, I would try things a little differently. If it was because I could improve my swimming teaching then I would definitely do anything to improve.

I decided I would get rid of as much standing time as possible and make the most of the pool time I had available. Children need to move constantly especially the boys and giving them those extra few minutes here and there could add up to a lot of metres and massively improved swimming.

I started to check more often that they children were understanding the training sets exactly and was always asking for feedback from them too not just me doing all the talking. The more they felt involved the more their swimming performance was improving.

Every time something great happened in my swimming lesson I would high-five them (which the swimmers honestly loved and got so excited about) and get underwater applauses going for anything that stood out. I also started to give them scores out of 10 based on their behaviour, attitude and swimming training at the end of each lesson so they would want to out-do their swimming next time. The children always wanted to be seen as the swimmer doing the best in practice so they always were striving to be the best swimmer in the lane, getting the most high-fives and highest scores!

So for you swimming teachers out there, I totally understand that there is nothing more frustrating than your swimming class not listening to what you say and misbehaving! But just think…

Can I minimise down time and standing time?
Do my swimming class feel involved in the lesson?
Do they always understand the sets or could I check that a little more?
Do I always give constructive feedback?
Do I praise the swimmers enough?

By asking these questions regularly, it’s a small analysis of your teaching skills that could massively improve the atmosphere in your swimming lessons.

But on another note it could just be a naughty child!

With thanks to CTD 2005 for the banner image.

Goal Setting

Posted on October 12, 2011 by Emma

Every swimmer wants to get better and better right? And at times we struggle to improve and wonder why! So this swim blog is all about goal setting, target setting and helping you to achieve the very best results possible.

So what is it that you actually want to achieve? Is it to be the best swimmer at backstroke in your swimming club? To be able to swim 800m front crawl without stopping? It doesn’t matter what your target or goal is or what ability of swimming you are at, what matters is you achieve them and get to feel that sense of accomplishment and satisfaction!

achieve-200 Goal setting is a great way of helping you to achieve whatever it is you’re aiming for. So make your goal simple – to swim 400m, to swim 200m in under 2 minutes, to lose 2 stone. For competitive swimmers, give yourself a deadline to reach your goal, for example swim 200m front crawl in under 2 minutes by January 1st. This way you can monitor your progress and make sure it happens by a certain date. For casual swimmers who are just looking to see an improvement leave it open ended. By not setting yourself a deadline your goal is there to be achieved for as long as you need it, whether it takes you a month or a year!

Take responsibility for reaching your goal. Only you can make this goal happen and there is no one that can stand in your way and stop you from getting there. One you realise this you know it’s totally down to you and you can take total credit for it when you have done it.

Ask yourself a few questions about your swimming goal. Why is it you want to reach this goal? To qualify for a big competition or improve your health? Write it down and don’t forget it. When you start finding reaching your goal tough you can use it to motivate you and spur you on. Why would you not want to achieve your goal? Now this question often surprises people, it seems counteractive and you’ll straight away think ‘why wouldn’t I want this?!’ But seriously think about it. The coaches will expect a little more from you, you may have to miss social events, do you want extra pressure? At this point you become aware that achieving your goals is going to mean sacrificing some other points in your life, it prepares you for some of the mental challenges coming your way. So the main purpose for asking these questions is to find what you really want and to help you get rid of some of the outside things that could end up standing in your way.

Then after you’ve done these things you goal is in place, you know why you want it and you understand what obstacles might come up.

help-200 Set small targets for the short, mid and long term to help you achieve your overall goal. If your stroke needs a bit of work to make you swim faster then begin working on that now. If you’re looking to achieve a certain distance when swimming without stopping then add a length or two to your usual distance every time you swim.

Ask someone for help if you need it! There are always going to be people around you that want to support you in reaching your goals.

So now, all you’ve got to do is do it!! Good Luck!

With thanks to lululemon athletica for the banner image, Dimitri N and billsoPHOTO for other images.

The Motivational Playlist

Posted on October 10, 2011 by Emma

When I used to compete, the best way to get me in the zone and pumped up for a race was by listening to some seriously motivational music. There is something for everyone on this list, with so many genres of music to get you ready to win!

Walking On Sunshine, Katrina and The Waves – This is a brilliant song to listen to when you’re on your way to a swimming competition! It makes you want to get up, dance like a lunatic and really does make you feel so good. The tiger-200 perfect feeling before a big day.

Eye of the Tiger – For any motivational playlist, this is a must have! It’s a classic, one of the best motivational songs ever and makes you think of all the Rocky workout scenes where he trains for the next big fight.

Lose Yourself, Eminem – If you’ve got a massive race coming up and need one song to put you in that feisty mood then this is one for you. This song is about a man who’s competing in a different way and is the one to get you in the zone and pump you up!

Touch The Sky, Kanye West – This song is so upbeat, a really summery song that gives you a really fantastic feeling. If you want to be the swimmer to achieve so much you can literally touch the sky then this is the one for you.

Defying Gravity, Wicked – This is probably more of a girls choice of song for preparing for a big race but the message is so right for all of us – ‘I think I’ll try defying gravity, and you can’t pull me down’ how great is that?! It’s all about being unafraid of achieving what you want.

It’s My Life, Bon Jovi – Bon Jovi is one of the biggest influences in music and this song is perfect for influencing you to get in the right mental place. About standing your ground, standing tall when people try to hold you down and not chariots-250 being a face in the crowd – what you want when preparing for your big race!

Chariots of Fire, Vangelis – From a classic sports film that is all about overcoming obstacles and going for glory. Every time I hear the song I see images of people running in slow motion! But it gives such a strong feeling of strength inside and winning. This is a great song choice for winding down after a race as it’s not as upbeat but has an incredibly strong message to keep you in the right frame of mind.

So these songs were collated for a fantastic motivational playlist, but really isn’t this just a great playlist for life?

With thanks to craigCloutier for the banner image.

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