Ohes Noes!!!! He's doing a title post... What does this mean?
Nothing really.
Today I want to talk about the "X" factor in age group swimming. As I start teaching lessons again this year I find my inner age group swimmer wanting to emerge and take over.
The FUN factor is so crucial to developing a healthy love and relationship with swimming as a sport. If you don't want to swim, and I don't mean you're just having a day where it's not your top priority, but rather it's an up-hill battle to find the motivation to get in the water because it just doesn't make you happy, it may be time to find drier accommodations. Or it could just be you forgot why you got into the sport in the first place. Just doing it for health or looking great in a swim suit can be a great starting point, but there's a reason you chose to do an activity that's not natural for our species.
For me, it was just the sheer enjoyment of doing something different and being abnormal.
If you're really at a loss for recapturing your lost love of the sport, just take a day out of your normal workout routine and play around in the water. You can still get a great workout doing dolphin dives, sculling and body awareness play under water, or just goofing around a little while swimming. I don't suggest sacraficing good technique, but safe fun is always awesome.
As for the age-group swimmers in your life, if you have them, the greatest bit of advice I received from a senior group swimmer while in middle school was, "The minute it stops being fun, just walk away from it. Don't waste your life doing something that's unenjoyable." My mom promptly looked at me and told me that if I ever stopped liking swimming I was more than able to stop. She and my father would never be disappointed in me for making a decision like that. I just couldn't quit swimming to play video games though.
That's the big point for the day.
Parents, please do not force your children to swim if they don't want to. If they aren't enjoying it, they will make sure no one else does as well.
What I'd like each of you to do this weekend. Head to the pool near you (that is appropriate for the season) and rediscover the fun that first got you into swimming. After you've done this, I'd like to her about your experiences, so please comment on the post to let me know.
Fast Swims!
Flash
Friday, March 5, 2010
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Critique of the Week: Terri Duncan, Freestyle
It’s time again for another rousing Critique of the Week.
The great thing about swimming is there’s always something to improve. Whether you’re a new comer to the sport or if you’re a veteran of many swim meets, you can always work on taking a facet of your stroke to the next level.
Today’s Critique is going to be of Terri Duncan’s Freestyle, a local swimmer at the pool where I work. She’s been coming in the mornings and putting some yardage in staying in shape and being active.
Well to break it down her stroke is fair, given she has no “professional” or intense instruction. The big points of the stroke that need to be addressed are her breathing (which we will discuss this next Technique Tuesday), her body rotation, and her arms in general.
The Breathing: I don’t want to give too much away and leave next Tuesday as a lame repeat post, but Terri has the habit of picking her head up out of the water as she breathes. Then, while face is still out of the water, looks forward and places her face in the water again. This breaks the body line, as we discussed in last week’s T.T. in regards to head position. The goal should be to turn your head to the side you wish to breath from, and then turn your face back into the water without changing your body alignment.
Body Rotation: While head position is by far the most important aspect to focus on, and yes your body does follow the general direction your head dictates, the Core zone is responsible for this part. Weak Core Body strength will keep you from efficiently rotating in the water. This is “all in the hips” as we discussed this T.T. If Terri is able to achieve a stable and efficient rotation with her body, it will allow her to grow her vessel (body) in the water and reach further, “eliminating” distance she has to power or swim through. It will also aide in simplifying and improving her ability to breathe correctly while swimming. Currently she swims flat along the surface of the water, teasing those watching by almost entering a rotation, but not quite.
Arms (Recovery and Timing): This portion will be explored in more detail in a future T.T., but in order for Terri to benefit from this post I have to give away some trade secrets now. Currently her stroke is a little short on the reach and the finish through. As addressed in the body rotation assessment, if she is able to rotate on to her side, her reach will extend about 2-3 inches on the conservative side. Depending on fatigue it may extend further than the respective length of not rotating.
Her follow through on her stroke ends just past her hips. While she has a very powerful front end to her stroke, the fact she sells the strokes short by not fully completing the pull, costs her about ¼ of a yard on each arm pull. A simple solution would be sure to tap her thigh on the completion of each pull, as far down her thigh as possible.
As for timing, this is perhaps THE most difficult part of the arms. When learning how to swim, whether it be self taught or by an instructor, most individuals will wind-mill their arms through water to go as fast as possible. Clearly the faster one powers their arms through the water and takes that next stroke the faster they’ll go…? Not necessarily true. It depends on where your arms are in the stroke. Terri’s timing is off just enough that she almost windmills like a little kid during a swim lesson. It’s not a bad thing, just something that can be tweaked with enough focus to improve the speed and efficiency of her Freestyle. She should instead drill a catch up stroke, by only starting her next pull with the out-stretched arm when her recovery hand is entering the water at the outstretched arm’s wrist.
All in all, Terri’s stroke is not bad. It just has some adjustments to be made for efficiency and ease of execution. The good thing for Terri is I see her on at least a weekly basis so I can give immediate feedback on the execution of her technique and offer one-on-one technical changes.
For those of you who read and want some feedback in writing like this, please remember I only offer a Critique of the Week to those who follow the blog. I do offer private lessons, so if you’re in the area and want more extensive feedback feel free to shoot me an e-mail. Anything that is gone over in a private lesson will only be used in a Critique of the Week if you want it in writing or give consent.
-Fast Swims!
Flash
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
The Weekly Workout
The Weekly Workout works like this, I post a work out. You guys give it a shot. As the weeks progress so do the workouts. If at anytime it starts to get too hard, feel free to go back to a previous week. Or if you don't feel like doing the same workout every day for a week, feel free to recycle in some workouts from previous weeks.
This week's workout is a request. I touched on my Progessive Low-Impact Water Aerobics program in the title post of that section, and it seemed to spark an interest in a few of the followers, so I'll start posting those workouts in The Weekly Workout section. Please remember this is a progressive program. It may start off difficult, begin to feel easy and possibly too easy, but remember to execute the exercises precisely and if you feel you're not having a high enough caloric burn, increase your speed while maintaining proper execution.
Phase: 1 Day:1 - AEROBIC BASE
200 yds Flutter Kick w/ Kick Board
100 yds Jog (arms in water, loose fists)
50 yds Grapevine
100 yds Heels Up to Your Butt
100 yds Knees Up High
100 yds Cross-Country Ski
100 yds Reverse Jog - Just Jog backwards
That's it for your first day of the program. Depending on requests, next week may be another water aerobics workout or it might be a swim workout. It all depends on you readers...
Have fun and Fast Swims
Flash
This week's workout is a request. I touched on my Progessive Low-Impact Water Aerobics program in the title post of that section, and it seemed to spark an interest in a few of the followers, so I'll start posting those workouts in The Weekly Workout section. Please remember this is a progressive program. It may start off difficult, begin to feel easy and possibly too easy, but remember to execute the exercises precisely and if you feel you're not having a high enough caloric burn, increase your speed while maintaining proper execution.
Phase: 1 Day:1 - AEROBIC BASE
200 yds Flutter Kick w/ Kick Board
100 yds Jog (arms in water, loose fists)
50 yds Grapevine
100 yds Heels Up to Your Butt
(keep your arms pinned at your side and handson your butt, palms out to kick your palms. do NOT lift your knees up, keep them pointing down all the time.)50 yds Grapevine
100 yds Knees Up High
(keep your upper arms pinned at your side and place your hands out in front of your body, palms facing down. make sure to keep your hands at no lower than waist height and parallel to the ground. raise your knee up to your palms and touch them before returning your foot to the ground.)50 yds Grapevine
100 yds Cross-Country Ski
(You will look like you're using a Nordic Track as you move down the pool.)50 yds Grapevine
100 yds Reverse Jog - Just Jog backwards
That's it for your first day of the program. Depending on requests, next week may be another water aerobics workout or it might be a swim workout. It all depends on you readers...
Have fun and Fast Swims
Flash
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Technique Tuesday: All in the Hips
Speed skating sensation Apollo Ohno went on "Dancing With the Stars" after his Olmpic debut years back and did wonderfully. In fact he started working an entire muscle set and aerobic base that he had not before. And instead of stopping this new exercise, he embraced it as a new and intense form of cross training. As a result he shed heavy muscle, leaned his image, and became vastly more athletic than before.
I do not recommend every one out there should go and begin competitive dancing in order to become a better swimmer. In fact, the reference to this form of training is more for the phrase, "It's all in the hips". This is both a true statement and falsehood when it comes to swimming. It's not "all" in any given location. More accurately it's everywhere.
When breaking down your stroke there are _____ major zones. You have the area from your shoulders up (Head Zone), the area between your belly button and your shoulders (Stomach Zone or Upper Torso), The area between your belly button and knees (Core, yes this includes your hips) and of course from the knees down to the tips of your toes (Leg Zone or Feet/Toes depending on what needs to be tweaked).
Coaches routinely fuss at swimmers to work their hips or use their core muscles. This zone is crucial for effective competitive swimming. A weak core will hinder proper rotation on your long-axis strokes and impede quality undulation with your short-axis strokes.
The question here is what does such a generic zone have to do with technique and how am I going to talk about it in a way to tweak your technique. Well here it is:
Just like last week's go out and play with head position I want you to try this out as well. Your hips dictate your direction in and out of the water. Stand flat footed, both feet pointing forward, just shy of shoulder width apart. Now set your head in neutral position while standing up as straight as you can. Next, while keeping your arms relaxed by your side I want you to turn right by leading with your shoulders, keeping your hips facing forward.
You're able to face right!!!! ...but only from the Upper Torso zone up.... If you were in the water think of how your body would be twisting here. Almost serpentine like. When swimming you want to eliminate any extraneous movement or direction, so you want your entire body to rotate to the right.
Now reset your position. This time, turn to the right while leading with your left hip, but try to remain facing forward. It's almost impossible on land and if you can do it, it's far from comfortable. Keep playing with this on land to get a feel for Core-Body connection. From here move to the water and try this out.
This connection is pivotal for next week's Technique Tuesday where we take a closer look at rotary breathing. Make sure to continue playing with your head position in the water and locating that neutral position. Remember when your head reaches that sweet spot for neutral position you should feel your body accelerate in the water.
Fast Swims!
Flash
I do not recommend every one out there should go and begin competitive dancing in order to become a better swimmer. In fact, the reference to this form of training is more for the phrase, "It's all in the hips". This is both a true statement and falsehood when it comes to swimming. It's not "all" in any given location. More accurately it's everywhere.
When breaking down your stroke there are _____ major zones. You have the area from your shoulders up (Head Zone), the area between your belly button and your shoulders (Stomach Zone or Upper Torso), The area between your belly button and knees (Core, yes this includes your hips) and of course from the knees down to the tips of your toes (Leg Zone or Feet/Toes depending on what needs to be tweaked).
Coaches routinely fuss at swimmers to work their hips or use their core muscles. This zone is crucial for effective competitive swimming. A weak core will hinder proper rotation on your long-axis strokes and impede quality undulation with your short-axis strokes.
The question here is what does such a generic zone have to do with technique and how am I going to talk about it in a way to tweak your technique. Well here it is:
Just like last week's go out and play with head position I want you to try this out as well. Your hips dictate your direction in and out of the water. Stand flat footed, both feet pointing forward, just shy of shoulder width apart. Now set your head in neutral position while standing up as straight as you can. Next, while keeping your arms relaxed by your side I want you to turn right by leading with your shoulders, keeping your hips facing forward.
You're able to face right!!!! ...but only from the Upper Torso zone up.... If you were in the water think of how your body would be twisting here. Almost serpentine like. When swimming you want to eliminate any extraneous movement or direction, so you want your entire body to rotate to the right.
Now reset your position. This time, turn to the right while leading with your left hip, but try to remain facing forward. It's almost impossible on land and if you can do it, it's far from comfortable. Keep playing with this on land to get a feel for Core-Body connection. From here move to the water and try this out.
This connection is pivotal for next week's Technique Tuesday where we take a closer look at rotary breathing. Make sure to continue playing with your head position in the water and locating that neutral position. Remember when your head reaches that sweet spot for neutral position you should feel your body accelerate in the water.
Fast Swims!
Flash
Monday, March 1, 2010
MILK! Does your body.... blah
Those of you who know me, know that I am anti-dairy. It's not that I hate it, I just can't have it. Having an allergy to something like dairy is a blessing. Biggest reason, weight loss. When I had to cut dairy out of my diet back in middle school, 1996-1999, I dropped 10-15 pounds in the course of 2 weeks. Furthermore, my skin cleared up significantly and my energy level increased.
I don't want to copy and paste just random excerpts off other sites and take statements "out of context", so I will do what Ed Begley Jr does. GO OUT AND RESEARCH IT FOR YOURSELF!
Look into what I've said and read it for yourself. And then go find the counter arguments and read them. Then make an INFORMED decision on the topic. This is how you make one. Research both sides and see where you stand.
I will point out this, do you see grown cows suckling on the udders of female cows? Do you hear of any other animal out there that continues to ingest dairy of any sort after infancy or toddler age? There has to be a reason for this. The body is not designed to process this stuff into your adult life.
An excerpt for a teaser: "Dairy products—including cheese, ice cream, milk, butter, and yogurt—contribute significant amounts of cholesterol and saturated fat to the diet.12 Diets high in fat and saturated fat can increase the risk of heart disease, among other serious health problems. A low-fat vegetarian diet that eliminates dairy products, in combination with exercise, smoking cessation, and stress management, can not only prevent heart disease, but may also reverse it.13,14 Non-fat dairy products are available; however, they pose other health risks as noted below."
Some resources for your consideration:
1.) http://www.pcrm.org/health/veginfo/dairy.html
2.) http://www.notmilk.com/deb/100498.html
3.) http://www.strongbones.org/
There are more out there, you just need to look for them. Again, read and research both sides of this argument. Getting informed is always a great thing!
Fast Swims!
Flash
I don't want to copy and paste just random excerpts off other sites and take statements "out of context", so I will do what Ed Begley Jr does. GO OUT AND RESEARCH IT FOR YOURSELF!
Look into what I've said and read it for yourself. And then go find the counter arguments and read them. Then make an INFORMED decision on the topic. This is how you make one. Research both sides and see where you stand.
I will point out this, do you see grown cows suckling on the udders of female cows? Do you hear of any other animal out there that continues to ingest dairy of any sort after infancy or toddler age? There has to be a reason for this. The body is not designed to process this stuff into your adult life.
An excerpt for a teaser: "Dairy products—including cheese, ice cream, milk, butter, and yogurt—contribute significant amounts of cholesterol and saturated fat to the diet.12 Diets high in fat and saturated fat can increase the risk of heart disease, among other serious health problems. A low-fat vegetarian diet that eliminates dairy products, in combination with exercise, smoking cessation, and stress management, can not only prevent heart disease, but may also reverse it.13,14 Non-fat dairy products are available; however, they pose other health risks as noted below."
Some resources for your consideration:
1.) http://www.pcrm.org/health/veginfo/dairy.html
2.) http://www.notmilk.com/deb/100498.html
3.) http://www.strongbones.org/
There are more out there, you just need to look for them. Again, read and research both sides of this argument. Getting informed is always a great thing!
Fast Swims!
Flash
Friday, February 26, 2010
The Water's Great! The Water's Fine! ... etc.
When tinkering around with this blog, I knew I wanted to talk about Age Group swimming and how big a role it can play in the development of quality athletes and athleticism as a whole in our youth. I just wasn't sure how or what exactly I was going to write about.
The "issue" is when you start to talk about children you either come across as too enthusiastic or too critical. How do you find that balance? And where do you put your emphasis? Especially with such a technical sport. This section is going to be more of an editorial on the sport compared to the other 4 days.
When looking at the importance of swimming and water safety in general, acclimation to the environment is paramount. "More than one in four fatal drowning victims are children 14 and younger.¹ For every child who dies from drowning, another four received emergency department care for nonfatal submersion injuries." (www.cdc.gov/ncipc/wisqars) Most Age Group swimmers are considered 12 y/o's and younger. It goes without saying that teaching proper water safety, both open and pool, as well as enforcing strong stroke mechanics to help them when they do end up in over their head.
If you're unsure of where you need to go for quality swim lessons, you can always check out your local Red Cross chapter or what I might recommend is inquire with a local club swim team, and see if they have a stroke school program. Your children can always attend swim lessons for the water safety aspect, but club team stroke schools have a tendency to establish better habits technically speaking.
Fast Swims!!!
Flash
The "issue" is when you start to talk about children you either come across as too enthusiastic or too critical. How do you find that balance? And where do you put your emphasis? Especially with such a technical sport. This section is going to be more of an editorial on the sport compared to the other 4 days.
When looking at the importance of swimming and water safety in general, acclimation to the environment is paramount. "More than one in four fatal drowning victims are children 14 and younger.¹ For every child who dies from drowning, another four received emergency department care for nonfatal submersion injuries." (www.cdc.gov/ncipc/wisqars) Most Age Group swimmers are considered 12 y/o's and younger. It goes without saying that teaching proper water safety, both open and pool, as well as enforcing strong stroke mechanics to help them when they do end up in over their head.
If you're unsure of where you need to go for quality swim lessons, you can always check out your local Red Cross chapter or what I might recommend is inquire with a local club swim team, and see if they have a stroke school program. Your children can always attend swim lessons for the water safety aspect, but club team stroke schools have a tendency to establish better habits technically speaking.
Fast Swims!!!
Flash
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Critique of the Week: 25 February 2010
I have not received any requests for critiques. In fact I have only 3 followers and of those 3 only 1 swims. Sadly though, he's not allowed anywhere near the pool at his school. That being said, Ponson if you want me to critique your stroke let me know what you want me to analyze and if you can get me any video to look over I'll be sure to review it and post my comments.
Fast Swims!
Flash
Fast Swims!
Flash
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
The Weekly Workout
The Weekly Workout works like this, I post a work out. You guys give it a shot. As the weeks progress so do the workouts. If at anytime it starts to get too hard, feel free to go back to a previous week. Or if you don't feel like doing the same workout every day for a week, feel free to recycle in some workouts from previous weeks.
This set is designed to start your development and balance in the water. The kick used in this set is a small straight leg flutter kick with feet flexed. Make sure to move the water with both your "up-kick" and "down-kick". There's no interval on this set so take as much rest as needed and be sure to execute the movements flawlessly. Comment below to let me know how the workout goes and what you thought of it.
200 Choice
8x25 Kick on Side
8x25 Kick on Back
8x25 Kick on Stomach
8x 25 Kick on Side
200 Warm Down
Fast Swims!
Flash
This set is designed to start your development and balance in the water. The kick used in this set is a small straight leg flutter kick with feet flexed. Make sure to move the water with both your "up-kick" and "down-kick". There's no interval on this set so take as much rest as needed and be sure to execute the movements flawlessly. Comment below to let me know how the workout goes and what you thought of it.
200 Choice
8x25 Kick on Side
8x25 Kick on Back
8x25 Kick on Stomach
8x 25 Kick on Side
200 Warm Down
Fast Swims!
Flash
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Technique Tuesday: The Head is Most Important
As with many sports there is considerable work done in all facets of athleticism to achieve the desired goal. It should be noted that in order to achieve the optimum result in technique, in particular, there must be a large portion of work done outside of the water as well.
The biggest challenge of swimming is maintaining proper posture/position/alignment/balance in the water. A common mistake, often instilled in younger swimmers and reinforced through tireless drilling, is improper head position. The mistake is allowing young and new swimmers to continue lifting their heads out of alignment and breaking the body line.
Your head dictates the direction your body moves through the water and is positioned in the water. When your body is placed in the water, the position your head directs will dictate how your body follows. If your body is laid face down, flat on the surface of the water, arms pinned at your side, and you tilt your chin to your chest as a force is applied to your body in the direction of your head you will begin to submerge.
The problem with a lot of coaching direction is generalized statements. "Lift your chin up", "Put your head back", "Put your chin down to your chest", and many others. The problem with these statements is a lack of clear distinct direction. Your head should never move your neck out of alignment with the rest of your spine. The best position you can maintain is trying to hold a straight line from the base of your skull where your spinal cord attaches, all the way down to the fused vertebrae (coccyx) in your pelvis. Now this task will be impossible because of the natural curvature of your spine, but by trying to maintain as long a line as possible here, you can extend your body vessel. The sensation will be to lead your body through the water by the top of your head. Your chin will not rest solely on your chest and you won't tilt your head back. Your head should be resting in a neutral position.
Head to your local water hole and try it out. Floating. Swimming. Drilling. It will feel vastly different from what you may be accustomed to. Make sure you try this with all 4 strokes. Remember this head position is key for all competitive strokes.
Fast Swims
Flash
The biggest challenge of swimming is maintaining proper posture/position/alignment/balance in the water. A common mistake, often instilled in younger swimmers and reinforced through tireless drilling, is improper head position. The mistake is allowing young and new swimmers to continue lifting their heads out of alignment and breaking the body line.
Your head dictates the direction your body moves through the water and is positioned in the water. When your body is placed in the water, the position your head directs will dictate how your body follows. If your body is laid face down, flat on the surface of the water, arms pinned at your side, and you tilt your chin to your chest as a force is applied to your body in the direction of your head you will begin to submerge.
The problem with a lot of coaching direction is generalized statements. "Lift your chin up", "Put your head back", "Put your chin down to your chest", and many others. The problem with these statements is a lack of clear distinct direction. Your head should never move your neck out of alignment with the rest of your spine. The best position you can maintain is trying to hold a straight line from the base of your skull where your spinal cord attaches, all the way down to the fused vertebrae (coccyx) in your pelvis. Now this task will be impossible because of the natural curvature of your spine, but by trying to maintain as long a line as possible here, you can extend your body vessel. The sensation will be to lead your body through the water by the top of your head. Your chin will not rest solely on your chest and you won't tilt your head back. Your head should be resting in a neutral position.
Head to your local water hole and try it out. Floating. Swimming. Drilling. It will feel vastly different from what you may be accustomed to. Make sure you try this with all 4 strokes. Remember this head position is key for all competitive strokes.
Fast Swims
Flash
Monday, February 22, 2010
Nutritional Coaching: Finding Your Burn
One of the toughest things to do, no matter what your lifestyle is, is eating right. The hardest part about your dietary needs is to evaluate (honestly do this) your lifestyle. Are you a physically active person? If so, how active?
If you're reading this blog, then more than likely you are an active living individual. In fact you're probably on the more active side of things.
Let's start by analyzing the different activity level groups. Please keep in mind these are MACRO SECTIONS. I am well aware that everyone is created differently and these are wide brush strokes. Even within each section there are more focused categories and sections. A swimmer's diet is grossly different from a wrestler's or figure skater's. There are also circumstances that may restrict an individual into a specific section, and I am aware and sensitive to those individuals. Again these are a generalization of the activity levels; low, medium and high.
Couch Potato: (CP) This group is characterized by a lack of physical activity. Hence the vegetable reference. As a result the caloric burn of this group is vastly less than their caloric intake. In fact the group's aerobic threshold is dangerously low. Significant weight gain, poor health, a decrease in energy levels and other symptoms may result from prolonged exposure to this lifestyle.
Moderately Active Society: (MAS) This group is characterized by the folks who have seen a really amazing international sporting event, like the Olympics, and have decided that they are inspired to "get in shape". They make the effort to show up to the pool, or gym, and get their heart rate elevated for no more than the recommended 30 minutes. This may or may not include socializing, warming up and most often times forgotten, the warm down (more on this facet later). The caloric in-take is about equal to the caloric burn and it may be a little more or a little less from day to day, so the ratio evens out to about 1:1. This group of people usually works out about once a day.
Active Athletic Lifestyle: (AAL) The final group are your most active group. The low end of this group may work out once a day, but they keep their heart rate elevated slightly more-so for an extended period of time. This group may eat relatively more calories than that of the MAS or CP groups, but their caloric burn is much higher as well.
These groups are generalizations at large.
As such, it should be noted that I went from an AAL to CP lifestyle and am now working on returning to the AAL. So that being said, it's going to be a long arduous process getting back in shape.
There will be more to come what to eat, when to eat it, and more... Stay tuned.
Fast Swims and Good Eats
Flash
If you're reading this blog, then more than likely you are an active living individual. In fact you're probably on the more active side of things.
Let's start by analyzing the different activity level groups. Please keep in mind these are MACRO SECTIONS. I am well aware that everyone is created differently and these are wide brush strokes. Even within each section there are more focused categories and sections. A swimmer's diet is grossly different from a wrestler's or figure skater's. There are also circumstances that may restrict an individual into a specific section, and I am aware and sensitive to those individuals. Again these are a generalization of the activity levels; low, medium and high.
Couch Potato: (CP) This group is characterized by a lack of physical activity. Hence the vegetable reference. As a result the caloric burn of this group is vastly less than their caloric intake. In fact the group's aerobic threshold is dangerously low. Significant weight gain, poor health, a decrease in energy levels and other symptoms may result from prolonged exposure to this lifestyle.
Moderately Active Society: (MAS) This group is characterized by the folks who have seen a really amazing international sporting event, like the Olympics, and have decided that they are inspired to "get in shape". They make the effort to show up to the pool, or gym, and get their heart rate elevated for no more than the recommended 30 minutes. This may or may not include socializing, warming up and most often times forgotten, the warm down (more on this facet later). The caloric in-take is about equal to the caloric burn and it may be a little more or a little less from day to day, so the ratio evens out to about 1:1. This group of people usually works out about once a day.
Active Athletic Lifestyle: (AAL) The final group are your most active group. The low end of this group may work out once a day, but they keep their heart rate elevated slightly more-so for an extended period of time. This group may eat relatively more calories than that of the MAS or CP groups, but their caloric burn is much higher as well.
These groups are generalizations at large.
As such, it should be noted that I went from an AAL to CP lifestyle and am now working on returning to the AAL. So that being said, it's going to be a long arduous process getting back in shape.
There will be more to come what to eat, when to eat it, and more... Stay tuned.
Fast Swims and Good Eats
Flash
Friday, February 19, 2010
An Apology
There are reasons and there are excuses. None of which are particularly good, aside from just being exhausted from work and passing out at a somewhat reasonable hour to make my work shift the next day. Part of the downtime with posts was I wanted to dump everything in my brain out on the internet all at once. I had no organization and not way to organize this information appropriately.
I have decided that in order to manage what I post about I will try to dedicate certain days of the week to specific topics. I look forward to creating a discussion about these topics and would love to have questions to discuss. Only through an open dialogue can ideas and philosophies grow to maturity. The layout of the postings will be as follows:
Monday – Nutritional Coaching
Tuesday – Technical Evaluation
Wednesday – Workouts to Try
Thursday – Critique of the Week
Friday – Sharks and Minnows: The Importance of Age Group Swimming
The categories should leave the forum open to discover and traverse the broad range of aquatic activities. A lot of the things discussed in one posting may be applicable to another activity, so be sure to read everything you can.
I look forward to getting back into the swim of things.
Fast Times!
Flash
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Into the Deep Blue
Well the question would be, where to begin in this section?
The obvious answer would be, the beginning. That's too far back. Let's jump in at the meat and potatoes portion.
I've been swimming for a good while now, and have been instructing and/or coaching swimming for a slightly shorter time frame. My competitive career began back in elementary/grade school, while living in MD. I was never one for football, baseball, or basketball. My eye-hand coordination wasn't all that great and my sense of balance on land could have used some work to say the least. In the water, I couldn't fall over and I didn't have to worry about catching or throwing. All I had to do was beat the guy next to me. Easy. Simple. And tons of fun.
As I got a little older, it got harder to beat the guys next to me since I aged up and was having to train with older middle schoolers and highschoolers instead of my age group for a challenge. When I went to middle school I tried out football. Failed miserably at it, and returned back to swimming. This time however, I joined a year round competitive team, Curl-Burke Swim Club. The site I trained at was in Middletown, MD and it was awesome. I still love my coach, Holly, dearly and am thankful for all of her insight and hard work.
The next year, is when I officially began the cycle of giving back to the sport. In 7th grade I was made an instructor for my site's CuBu Stroke School. As of writing this, I have been teaching swimming now for 12 years.
Upon moving states entering High School, I joined the local club team here Raleigh Swimming Association (RSA). The Head Coach at the time was none other than renowned swim coach, current Head Coach of the Marlins of Raleigh (MOR), Paul Silver. While swimming for RSA, I worked under Matt Schade, Paul Silver, Jozsef Nagy (multiple time Hungarian Olympic Head Coach, developer of the wave breaststroke, and Mike Barrowman's coach), and Dan Flack. I also began work for the City of Raleigh and taught swim lessons for them, as well as coached the Pullen Aquatic Center's summer swim league as both an assistant for one summer and the head coach for the next two seasons.
After High School I returned to the metropolitan D.C. area for university. There I studied a vast many things, including a lot about life. During my time there, I had the distinct pleasure of training under Head Coach Mark Davin, a couple different assistant couches, and one Beth O'Conner Baker. It was under the coaching styles of Davin and Beth, that I came to appreciate what slowing down and executing the stroke mechanics correctly can do for your over all performance.
Since this time I have changed my approach to teaching and training. I now focus more on the development of execution first, building a solid foundation on the ability to execute the range of motion correctly and then go from there. This is to reduce injury and prevent a distaste for any form of training.
I'd like to continue to instill a sense of enjoyment in training, as I saw and experienced during my time at Hargrave Military Academy working with the cadets. It's exciting for a coach to see the suggestions and technical changes made in training result in a significant change in the performance of an athlete during coaching. Especially an athlete at an elite level, helping a swimmer go from a mid :48 100 Freestyle to a :47 mid-high. It was during these opportunities I discovered, this is what I want to do with my life right now and possibly forever. This is where I want to be. On the pool deck. Making the distinction in a sport that is often dominated with the idea that power is needed more than finesse, and create functional training methods that develop a focus on movement not muscles.
Fast Swims!
Flash
The obvious answer would be, the beginning. That's too far back. Let's jump in at the meat and potatoes portion.
I've been swimming for a good while now, and have been instructing and/or coaching swimming for a slightly shorter time frame. My competitive career began back in elementary/grade school, while living in MD. I was never one for football, baseball, or basketball. My eye-hand coordination wasn't all that great and my sense of balance on land could have used some work to say the least. In the water, I couldn't fall over and I didn't have to worry about catching or throwing. All I had to do was beat the guy next to me. Easy. Simple. And tons of fun.
As I got a little older, it got harder to beat the guys next to me since I aged up and was having to train with older middle schoolers and highschoolers instead of my age group for a challenge. When I went to middle school I tried out football. Failed miserably at it, and returned back to swimming. This time however, I joined a year round competitive team, Curl-Burke Swim Club. The site I trained at was in Middletown, MD and it was awesome. I still love my coach, Holly, dearly and am thankful for all of her insight and hard work.
The next year, is when I officially began the cycle of giving back to the sport. In 7th grade I was made an instructor for my site's CuBu Stroke School. As of writing this, I have been teaching swimming now for 12 years.
Upon moving states entering High School, I joined the local club team here Raleigh Swimming Association (RSA). The Head Coach at the time was none other than renowned swim coach, current Head Coach of the Marlins of Raleigh (MOR), Paul Silver. While swimming for RSA, I worked under Matt Schade, Paul Silver, Jozsef Nagy (multiple time Hungarian Olympic Head Coach, developer of the wave breaststroke, and Mike Barrowman's coach), and Dan Flack. I also began work for the City of Raleigh and taught swim lessons for them, as well as coached the Pullen Aquatic Center's summer swim league as both an assistant for one summer and the head coach for the next two seasons.
After High School I returned to the metropolitan D.C. area for university. There I studied a vast many things, including a lot about life. During my time there, I had the distinct pleasure of training under Head Coach Mark Davin, a couple different assistant couches, and one Beth O'Conner Baker. It was under the coaching styles of Davin and Beth, that I came to appreciate what slowing down and executing the stroke mechanics correctly can do for your over all performance.
Since this time I have changed my approach to teaching and training. I now focus more on the development of execution first, building a solid foundation on the ability to execute the range of motion correctly and then go from there. This is to reduce injury and prevent a distaste for any form of training.
I'd like to continue to instill a sense of enjoyment in training, as I saw and experienced during my time at Hargrave Military Academy working with the cadets. It's exciting for a coach to see the suggestions and technical changes made in training result in a significant change in the performance of an athlete during coaching. Especially an athlete at an elite level, helping a swimmer go from a mid :48 100 Freestyle to a :47 mid-high. It was during these opportunities I discovered, this is what I want to do with my life right now and possibly forever. This is where I want to be. On the pool deck. Making the distinction in a sport that is often dominated with the idea that power is needed more than finesse, and create functional training methods that develop a focus on movement not muscles.
Fast Swims!
Flash
The Professor
It's another exciting day in the state of North Carolina. The other night I decided to tell my dad, G.M., about the blog. His interest was immediately piqued and he was rather curious what I was doing with it. After the posting what is currently up, I would inform him they were up and running and as such he'd give a read.
Then it dawned on me...
Here's this guy with really great in-sight into what I'm looking to do. He has some great ideas on the stuff. AND he has access to the internet pretty much all day long. Why not just give him a spot in the coaching staff? Why not right?
So I have.
I look forward to his wonderful and genius insight into the technical development and conditioning. He can also act as a de facto mediator of the programs as well as keeping a realistic approach to what can be achieved, when I get in the water. He brings the old school with a fair bit of the new to the table and has been a great sounding board. His genius spans from: advance physiology to chemistry to weight training, and that's just the relevant stuff for this forum. It is my hope he posts an introduction of himself giving an idea of his philosophy and what he may hope to give and gain from this endeavor.
Then it dawned on me...
Here's this guy with really great in-sight into what I'm looking to do. He has some great ideas on the stuff. AND he has access to the internet pretty much all day long. Why not just give him a spot in the coaching staff? Why not right?
So I have.
I look forward to his wonderful and genius insight into the technical development and conditioning. He can also act as a de facto mediator of the programs as well as keeping a realistic approach to what can be achieved, when I get in the water. He brings the old school with a fair bit of the new to the table and has been a great sounding board. His genius spans from: advance physiology to chemistry to weight training, and that's just the relevant stuff for this forum. It is my hope he posts an introduction of himself giving an idea of his philosophy and what he may hope to give and gain from this endeavor.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Water Aerobics: A Progressive Low Impact Workout Program
At my last job I was in charge of lifeguarding a group of sweet and very energetic ladies, who wanted nothing more than round arms and smaller waists. Not that any of them particularly needed either, they still set goals and wanted to work for them. Their insistence that I aid them in overhauling their work out program aided in inspiring this program. While in the introduction I mentioned swimming predominately, water aerobics are a viable and quite intense form of exercise in the pool.
The great thing about water aerobics is that it's low impact. While you do need load bearing exercise on a daily basis in order to promote good health, if you have certain joint or limb restrictions preventing you from exercising to your fullest, this sport is perfect for you.
It should be stated here, I have no formal training in water aerobics instruction. Everything I offer here are exercises that were already in use by the ladies and tweaked for full range of motion and more resistance training in order to promote a symmetrical muscle development. In designing the program I looked to Gym Jones for inspiration. The program in place was a static system allowing the ladies an opportunity to converse more so than work towards the goals they had set. Further more the idea that if you offer an exercise or workout you should be part of the process.
That being said, I devised a progressive system that was broken down into phase training. This is to create a dynamic system that was easy to remember for the ladies and possible to work for an hour a day. The exercises remained the same with the occasional inclusion of a new exercises thought of by myself and or the ladies. On more than one occasion I tried the program myself and found it incredibly difficult when the exercises are executed precisely.
The phases are devised to build upon each other. At the time of leaving the pool, I have only developed three phases and was working on a fourth. The breakdown is as follows:
Phase 1 - Athletic Base. This phase is paramount to the entire program. If a participant is unable to maintain a base athleticism they will not be able to sufficiently complete or participate in the following phases. It is crucial for all participants to establish proper muscle memory during the exercises in order to prevent injury and stimulate proper muscle growth. Failure to maintain excellent form in the execution of exercises can result in under development and preparation for later phases.
Phase 2 - Aerobic Threshold and Increase in Resistance Training. This phase is specifically designed to take the aerobic movement and resistance exercises drilled in the first phase, and expound on them. The aerobic movement is increased in distance and speed. The resistance exercises are changed from a purely repetition based approach to a mixture of repetition and interval work. In this phase we begin to track the number of repetitions during interval training on a schedule. This phase has proven to be the most difficult phase yet. Being able to maintain proper execution of range of motion while increasing performance is crucial. At the start of this phase, the interval training should be small repeating intervals, such as, three rounds of _______ for one minute. As the phase progresses and the athletes are able to perform the intervals with less trouble the interval becomes longer.
Phase 3 - Aerobic Threshold and Resistance Work to Lactic Acid Development. This phase is a natural evolution of Phase 2. As the athletes develop their abilities and performance in the workouts, the sessions begin to develop more and more into longer intervals or increased speed in a set number of repetitions. The goal in this phase is to continue the aerobic base and threshold work at the beginning of the sessions, but introduce resistance training in these portions. Making sure the athletes continue proper range of motion and correct execution in order to prevent injury. Furthermore, the interval work is extended even longer. It is not uncommon for sessions in this phase to extend beyond just an hour.
As with any exercise program, flexibility is key. One of the biggest points I made sure to emphasize with the group was maintaining full range of motion. It became rather common for me to remind the group that it was alright to sacrifice the number of repetitions in order to complete a full range repetition.
-Fast Swims and Safe Times
Flash
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Welcome to the Pool Jones Deck
My father and I have been discussing for years the different styles and philosophies regarding training regimens and routines. There are lots of things we have come to agree on, and a few that we differ on, only to sit down and talk them out to understand the dynamics behind the other viewpoint. One of the biggest things we have come to agree on is the sheer awesomeness of an institution that has taken dynamic fitness by storm. Anyone in the fitness community has undoubtedly heard of the athletic and workout phenom Gym Jones
Well my father and I both checked out their public domain, they have a membership domain where there is more detailed information on their process, and we studied their approach. Albeit a very glossed over idea of what they do. This way of life they have created is almost tailored for each individual, much like many athletic training programs need to be. So we sat down one night and decided to talk shop, and this is what came to be. As inspired by Gym Jones' institution, Pool Jones looks to develop an honest approach to how swimming should fuse with the life of the athlete. As such the foundations set forth by Gym more than apply to the lifestyle of a swimmer:
1) The mind is primary
2) Outcome-based training (train for an objective)
3) Functional training (high degree of transferability)
4) Movements not muscles (transferable training does not isolate muscles)
5) Power-to-weight ratio (you must carry the engine)
6) Train all energy systems (emphasize the important but not at the expense of others)
7) Training is preparation for the real thing (train FOR something)
8) The mind is primary II (confidence, chemicals, carriage)
9) Nutrition is the foundation (eat for an objective)
10) Recovery is more than 50% of the process
This is how it works. You want to work, you earn your keep. You show up, you bring an attitude to learn and accept change. As you develop your foundation you will be required to supply to the knowledge base. That's how we grow. You add something that will benefit everyone.
Fast swims!
-Flash
Well my father and I both checked out their public domain, they have a membership domain where there is more detailed information on their process, and we studied their approach. Albeit a very glossed over idea of what they do. This way of life they have created is almost tailored for each individual, much like many athletic training programs need to be. So we sat down one night and decided to talk shop, and this is what came to be. As inspired by Gym Jones' institution, Pool Jones looks to develop an honest approach to how swimming should fuse with the life of the athlete. As such the foundations set forth by Gym more than apply to the lifestyle of a swimmer:
1) The mind is primary
2) Outcome-based training (train for an objective)
3) Functional training (high degree of transferability)
4) Movements not muscles (transferable training does not isolate muscles)
5) Power-to-weight ratio (you must carry the engine)
6) Train all energy systems (emphasize the important but not at the expense of others)
7) Training is preparation for the real thing (train FOR something)
8) The mind is primary II (confidence, chemicals, carriage)
9) Nutrition is the foundation (eat for an objective)
10) Recovery is more than 50% of the process
This is how it works. You want to work, you earn your keep. You show up, you bring an attitude to learn and accept change. As you develop your foundation you will be required to supply to the knowledge base. That's how we grow. You add something that will benefit everyone.
Fast swims!
-Flash
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
