Topics specifically related to open-water swimming
As a swim coach it pains me to say: No triathlon was ever won in the swim leg. But a triathlon can be ruined by a bad swim. If you feel like your swim mechanics are a performance limiter, start working on your swimming mechanics now rather than in the spring. …
The Balance-Streamline-Propel (BSP) Pyramid is about as a close to a unifying icon that the Total Immersion school of swim coaching has in its repertoire. Terry Laughlin, the founder of Total Immersion Swimming, referred to the elements of the pyramid for over 30 years. When he created the icon several…
Whether you’re training for a triathlon, Half IRONMAN or IRONMAN or want to improve your open water swimming skills, we’re gearing up for another season of open water swim training and practice in Lake Michigan. This course is ideal for adults looking for a structured open water practice and those…
Last night, I helped coach the last of Lifetime Fitness’ free open water swim clinics for the Chicago Triathlon coming up this weekend. The water temperature in the lake, in the 70s last week, has dropped into the low 60s. Many of the swimmers I led into a sprint distance rehearsal…
I was doing one of the long distance swim training practices that I’ve been writing for my triathletes yesterday, and the main set called for a 1,500 yard aerobic swim. It was a recovery week, so I thought a longer swim would help work out the kinks and help to…
I was checking out my company’s Facebook page this morning and saw that my office manager had posted an article entitled “3 Reasons You Should Be Doing More Kick.” To preempt any comments such as “I’m a triathlete. I thought that I wasn’t supposed to kick.”, I thought I would put…
I’ve had some conversations with some of my swimmers recently about swimming “effortlessly.” When we use the term “effortless” we are using it in the sense of the Taoist term, wu wei. Wu wei is an complicated philosophical concept debated for around 2,500 years, so I will apologize up…
Many of you ask questions about integrating the kick into the timing of the stroke. Click the image to the left to read an article written by a Total Immersion colleague of mine, Stuart McDougall. It’s a great introduction to the issues related to timing the kicks with the strokes…
I was going through my stack of swimming rags yesterday, and I came across an interesting analysis of the straight-arm recovery in freestyle in Swimming World’s December, 2014 issue (“Freestyle Straight-Arm Recovery” by Rod Havriluk). The article’s main intent is to put to the test the conventional wisdom that a…
A few months ago, I was asked at a talk how to use a Tempo Trainer effectively in a swim practice. For those not familiar with Tempo Trainers, they are little plastic discs that can clip to your goggles or go under your cap when you swim. You can set…
