As a swimmer, I would say that your more recent swim videos demonstrate an excellent understanding of swimming. Previously, I would have said your videos show a triathlete's understanding of swimming. There is a huge difference. This is great, and triathletes should definitely pay attention.
They also get up at 4am EVERY DAY, swim for 2 or more hours, then do gym sessions in the afternoon. And … I recall watching Thorpe kick with a kick board…faster than I could swim! 😞
The last one is the biggest key for shaking out stroke issues. While it is very unlikely an adult will suddenly become an Olympian, spending lots of hours on consecutive days in a pool is still key. When I coached I would purposefully tire the kids to the point where they got “lazy” in the water because their bad habits made it harder to swim. Fatigue relaxes you and forces efficiency. Also, if you skip days that “feel” for the water goes away. Yes, it is real. There is no substitute for swimming.
James, bravo... a thoroughly professional delivery on this episode and as relaxed as like no other episode before it. A real breakthrough has occurred and you properly deserve it. Keep it going, am loving the new Janes 2.0!
I’m not an expert swimmer but I always think how my coach may yell at me if my hand crossed my midline as yours sometimes do during the pull phase 😅. Again y’all are definitely more advanced than me just thought I’d mention it. For me the early vertical forearm and really lengthening out my arm before the catch has been the most important for speed increases.
Question for coaches corner: I notice when swimming with pull buoy & trying to be horizontal to do scull work, that my lower back arches a lot to an uncomfortable point. I try to engage my core more but it seems the pull buoy keeps lifting my legs & butt up too high. Any tips for dealing with this?
Just a couple of thoughts without having actually seen you in the water... 1) look down at the bottom. if you're looking forward, this can cause more arch. 2) keep your core engaged. while you may not be longitudinally rotating, you still want your core engaged for good "swimming posture". 3) swap the pull buoy for a light flutter kick-- just enough to keep the legs up. when any of my swimmers choose to pull butterfly or breaststroke, I tell them to leave the pull buoy on deck for exactly this reason-- it can cause greater strain on the lower back.
This might seem weird, but if you want to use a pull buoy, try putting it between your ankles. It really forces you to engage your core without that over arching
I’d recommend getting a snorkel. It’s waaaay easier to focus on technique. For the kick I like to call it a shoebox kick. The range of motion is so small that it could fit in a shoebox.
I have been a swimmer for years as a teenage breaststroker of reasonable standard. Now as I near 50 I am good swimmer by 50 year old Triathlete standards. The thing I notice too many triathletes do is too many drills, too much using pull buoys and toys and not enough actual swimming! Secondly, you don't mention swim cadence. I cycling and running we are obsessed with it, but it seems to be largely ignored in the pool. Top triathletes are turning their arms over at 90rpm and still catching the water. Look at your Garmin and check your own cadence (double the number on the watch). I bet in most cases it is barely 70rpm.
Hi GTN, I've started swimming and running more often and browsed your shop for some accessories. I'm just wondering if you or anybody in the GTN team would know when your Sky Blue swim cap is getting back in stock? Thanks for all the informative videos you do!
Yes…they put more force on your ankles so you should try to feel your feet flopping up and down as you move your legs from the hips (note - don’t kick from the knees as that bends your legs at the knee and causes drag). They also lift the rear of the body (due to tangential forces) so you get a better feel for good body position.
I wish I could do more than 50 meters. But I barely make that so it is really hard to focus on technic. My level of fitness is not bad so I think my technic just sucks and my kick especially. After 25 meter legs only I'm dead
