You know what they say: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. But not always. I’m here to tell you that you really can improve your freestyle while swimming fewer miles. There are three tools that you can use toward this end: swimming slower, watching other swimmers and visualisation.

Swimming Slower
Vince Lombardi said it best: “Practice does not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect.” In swimming, the effort to go fast often results in imperfect practice. You’re so focused on getting to the other side of the pool as quickly as possible that you can’t think about the elements of good technique and your form gets sloppy.

Before you go fast in the water, you must learn how to correctly swim slowly.

Stroke technique can shine if speed is taken out of the picture. With practice, your muscles will memorise each new movement so you can eventually recreate it without thinking as you swim faster and faster.

Use your practice at the pool to focus on one aspect of freestyle at a time. Do not look at the clock when you are improving technique. Instead, feel the water moving and watch the lines on the bottom of the pool to judge if you are going faster. Drill sets should not be performed on timed intervals. Instead, use a specific amount of rest between sets.

Some technique flaws are only visible when athletes swim slowly. If Sally always swims as fast as possible, using a six-beat kick and a quick stroke cadence, it may appear that her body position is correct, with her hips and legs at the surface. But her velocity and flailing arms may disguise a tendency for her legs to sink. If Sally cannot keep her body in horizontal alignment when she is swimming slowly, a major technique flaw has been discovered. In this case, Sally should work on floating (or swimming so slowly she doesn’t move at all!), improving her core strength and relaxing in the water. Eventually she will be able to swim at her familiar fast pace with much less energy expenditure.

Watching Other Swimmers
Why do all the swimming yourself? Let others do some for you! Go underwater at your local pool, buy a DVD, surf the Web or watch a swim session. How do you know that you finally understand the basics of freestyle technique? When you start making mental notes and correcting other swimmers’ technique. If you can see flaws in others’ strokes and know how to make corrections, you are becoming aware of how to move through the water.

Pay attention to both the correct and incorrect techniques you see in other swimmers.

For example, when you watch Athlete A swim, you might notice he has a very relaxed arm recovery with high elbows. In your next swim, visualise his arm movement and try to mimic it. Let’s say you also noticed that Athlete B’s hands crossed the center line of her torso (a no-no). Keep this image in mind when you are swimming and think about where your hands are during the pull.

Visualisation
You can use visualisation to practice correct technique when you’re not even in the water. You can have swim practice right where you are sitting. Click your watch over to stopwatch mode and close your eyes. Start the watch and mentally swim 100 metres of freestyle. Think about every stroke, breath, turn and kick. Stop the watch when you are finished. Try to mentally swim your average race pace.

Becoming a better swimmer takes time and practice, but swimming more is not the only way, and often not the best way, to improve. By bringing your mind into the quest to become a better swimmer—specifically through slow, mindful swimming, paying attention to other swimmers and using visualisation techniques—you can make faster progress with less time in the pool.

Written By Sara McLarty

Sara McLarty coaches swimming at the National Training Center in Clermont, Fla. Do you have a swim question you would like to have answered in this column? Send it to swim@competitorgroup.com.

Taken from http://triathlete-europe.competitor.com

For athletes, sports persons and fitness enthusiasts alike, the key to improving physically often lies in finding the perfect fuel to build muscles quicker, and the perfect rest / recovery for muscles after training. This week we have heard about the lengths two groups go to to speed up muscle recovery. Both Tour de France cyclists and professional tennis players cite using ice baths to aid muscle recovery after intense training sessions.

Andy Murray is once again in the limelight at Wimbledon, with all of Great Britain wishing him victory. Few people realise the torture he puts himself though off court to ensure that he has the best chance of winning.

Ice Baths After Sports Training

Ice baths have been shown to increase recovery speed of muscles, tendons and bones after training. During workouts, muscles experience tiny tears, which are then repaired again, and made stronger. A 5 minute ice bath helps to speed recovery. The cold causes blood vessels to contract first, almost stopping blood flowing to the limbs. However, as soon as you leave the ice bath, blood flows back to your limbs quickly, bringing fresh supplies of oxygen which quickens recovery.

Ice Baths for Runners

However, the process is torturous at first. Only the lower half of the body is treated, so they really only help athletes that do a lot of leg work. Runners, such as Paula Radcliffe, have also been known to take ice baths. Some say that just taking one ice bath a week is enough to improve performance.

Ice baths are certainly not for the feint hearted though. If you plan to start taking ice baths to aid muscle recovery, we strongly recommend that you do not do it alone. Ask a partner to provide moral support and be prepared to provide assistance too.

Source: http://www.motleyhealth.com/fitness/faster-muscle-recovery-with-ice-baths#ixzz10uhWGdby

Another great piece of advice from one of my favorite websites:
One of the most effective ways to improve your running technique is through form drills that accentuate specific aspects of good form and train your body to repeat those specific movements while you are running, according to Boulder-based triathlon coach and running form guru Bobby McGee.

“By being able to critically evaluate your own mechanics and then being able to habituate effective alterations through form drills,” McGee says, “you will solve a large piece of the puzzle that is great running in triathlon.”

Most drills take one or more aspects of good form—a compact arm swing, soft level footstrikes under your center of mass, quick leg turnover, an upright posture with a slight forward lean at the ankles—and accentuate them through repetitive motion that trains the body to be comfortable with that movement when inserted into your typical running mechanics.

Taking an extra five to 15 minutes several times a week to do the five form drills detailed here can help you become more fluid, more efficient and faster for both short and long distances. That’s a pretty good return on your investment, one you’ll appreciate most in the last half of a race when you’re suffering from all-encompassing fatigue.

1) Ankling
Why: This drill teaches correct footstrike mechanics and increases stride rate.
How: Using a quick and very short stride, strike the ground at the forefoot and fold the foot down to the surface from toe to heel, with the heel reclining to the ground momentarily before popping up to start a new stride. Take small steps with minimal knee lift and minimal time spent on the ground, as if the surface below you is very hot.

2) Ankle Springs
Why: Ankle springs improve footstrike mechanics and create a bouncier stride.
How: Using a short stride, jog forward with a lightly bouncy movement that emphasizes landing near the ball of the foot with a level footstrike. Make sure you’re leaning forward slightly from the ankles and that your feet are striking the ground underneath your center of mass. Your short steps should create a light springing effect, not a forceful pushing sensation, and that momentum will carry you forward.

3) Arm Pull-Backs
Why: Arm pull-backs develop a compact arm swing and help create the tempo and rhythm of a high running cadence.
How: With a level head, level shoulders and a straight and slightly forward-leaning posture, jog forward while alternately pushing your arms backward as they are held at 90 degrees (or less). Concentrate on pulling your upper arm backward by contracting the muscles around the shoulder blades. Keep your arms swinging in a plane parallel to your torso and do not rotate your body to assist the movement.

4) High Knees
Why: This drill teaches powerful and efficient forward leg drive and a bouncier footstrike.
How: With a slight forward lean from the ankles, alternate pushing off the ground with one leg and thrusting the knee of the other leg upward and forward until your lifted thigh is parallel to the ground. Be sure to focus on soft, flat footstrikes near the ball of your foot while using your core to lower your leg down slowly instead of letting it crash to the ground.

5) Butt Kicks
Why: Butt kicks accentuate the recovery portion of the running gait phase and improve leg turnover cadence.
How: Run in place with your thighs more or less locked in a neutral position and try to kick yourself in the glute with your heel on each stride. If you’re not making contact, you need to improve your dynamic range of motion.

Taken from www.triathlete-europe.competitor.com. Written by Brian Brian Metzler (Running coach, age-group triathlete and senior editor at Running Times)

Lois Marquart won silver in her age group at Xterra Triathlon Worlds last October. She’s 61 years old. She attributes her success in part to strength training: “If it weren’t for a periodised strength training schedule, I could not perform Xterra triathlons,” she says. “It works. And do I look 61?”

A growing amount of research supports Marquart’s view. While pumping iron won’t increase VO2max, studies involving endurance runners, cyclists and triathletes show improved time-trial performance, increased maximal power output, enhanced movement economy and decreased fatigue when the training routine is periodically changed up.

“Thinking that the best way to get faster is to swim, bike and run more will only take you so far,” says sports physical therapist and triathlon coach Mick Larrabee. He recommends having a professional assessment to check for biomechanical inefficiencies and imbalances, such as flat feet or over-pronation, before starting a strength program. “Deficiencies must be identified and addressed first,” he says. “Once you have good biomechanics, then get into strength training.”

The performance benefits of strength training twice a week for 30 to 45 minutes can be greater than spending that time doing aerobic activity. In a study led by Leena Paavolainen of the University of Jyväskylä, elite distance runners substituted 32 per cent of their endurance training with explosive strength exercises and significantly improved their 5K times after nine weeks.

As for the fear of “bulking up,” studies show strength training won’t cause significant weight gain via hypertrophy, or muscle growth, even if 20 per cent of endurance training is replaced with strength work. The goal in a tri-specific strength plan is to enhance neuromuscular adaptations, meaning the brain-muscle relationship improves, allowing you to recruit the muscles you need to maintain the speed and power for longer durations. This is different from training to increase muscle mass.

Putting it into Practice
Here are some basic guidelines for incorporating strength training into your training program.

1. Substitute. Instead of adding strength training to the endurance training you’re already doing, replace a portion of your endurance training with strength work. “A good time to do this is during the non-competitive phase,” Larrabe e says. “As you get closer to base training and competition preparation, focus more on the three disciplines.”

2. Keep ’em separated. It’s best to separate endurance and strength sessions, and it’s especially important to avoid strength training right after heavy endurance exercise because hormonal responses from long-distance aerobic work may inhibit strength gains—that is, you could be wasting your time.

3. Go heavy. For weight exercises, doing tons of repetitions until fatigue won’t translate into better endurance. “High reps are not good use of your time,” Larrabee says. Do three sets of 10-15 reps with weight that has you feeling “maxed out” on the last rep. For plyometric exercises, repetitions can be higher. In one session, choose exercises that result in 80 to 140 “contacts,” meaning four sets of 20 box jumps (80 total), four sets of 30 squat jumps (120 reps), etc.

4. Be specific. Blindly jumping on a weight machine is not wise. Exercises must be specific to the sport with motions that mimic the activity, as in the examples below. This could involve everything from back squats to weight resisted sprints to box jumps. In one session, combine eight to 12 exercises that focus on different muscles. Start with the hard exercises and end with the easiest.

Lower-body exercises:
Explosive plyometrics: Box jumps, horizontal jumps, depth jumps, single-leg jumps, running with a weighted vest, scissor jumps and box step-up/step-down. Heavy resistance exercises: back squats, hamstring curls, leg presses, knee extension/flexion, calf raises and lunges.

Upper-body exercises: Rotator cuff exercises, such as lateral/front arm raises, external/internal rotations with dumbbells or tubing, pull-ups, tricep pushdowns, pressups, back extensions, lat pulldowns, seated and/or bent-over row and shoulder presses. Explosive plyos: medicine ball throws from different angles such as overhead, side-to-side, single-arm throw and power drop.

Core: Isometric plank, trunk rotation with or without weight, split-leg sit-ups, bicycle sit-ups and supine leg lifts.

Written by Tawnee Prazak. Ccertified coach, personal trainer, kinesiology graduate student and triathlete based in Orange County, Calif.

(Taken from http://triathlete-europe.competitor.com)

When you’re really hungry and you don’t have a lot of money, you go for the value meal. Whether it’s a sandwich, a side salad and a drink or whatever, the value meal usually gives you the most calories for the least amount of money.

An oddly similar phenomenon happens during swim training as well: You are hungry for improvement in your swimming yet have a limited budget of time and knowledge to spend on it. It’s a sad reality, but most triathletes just don’t have the time or money to invest in a good swim coach to watch and correct their strokes. Sometimes the closest thing to a coach available is a spouse, training partner or lane-mate who may share a piece of advice during practice. Athletes training solo can glance over at the faster swimmers and try to mimic their smooth strokes or, as a last resort, one can utilize swim tips from a world-class swimmer in a triathlon magazine.

The challenge for the uncoached swimmer is that there are so many nuances of the freestyle swim stroke to copy and so many tips for technique improvement to choose from that finding the most integral aspects can seem daunting. Which facets should you work on first? Which tips will result in the most improvement? See where I’m going with this?

Here are what I consider to be the most seven important aspects of freestyle to focus on. My “value meal” of swim tips applies to everyone: fast and slow, beginner and advanced, pure swimmer and triathlete.

1) Don’t hold your breath. The feeling of being out of breath is caused by carbon-dioxide buildup in the lungs. A steady and constant exhalation out your nose and mouth while your face is in the water will prevent this unpleasant phenomenon. Inhaling on every third stroke is a good breathing pattern to use because you will breathe on both sides of your body and get plenty of oxygen.

2) Relax, relax, relax! This advice seems so simple … until you start swimming! The best swimmers in the world look like they are gliding along the surface of the water. You cannot fight the water; it will always win. Instead, relax your whole body into the water and channel your power exclusively toward moving your body forward. Practice the simple art of floating facedown on the surface.

3) Align your spine. On dry land, stand up tall and look straight ahead. Notice how your neck is in alignment with your spine and your face is pointed forward. Take that position into the water. The waterline should cut the center of the top of your head and your face should be pointed at the bottom of the pool.

4) Remember to glide. The swim stroke differs from a cycling pedal stroke or a running stride because it is disconnected instead of continuous—or should be. In running there is no separation between each stride and the next, and in cycling the rotation of the cranks is continuous. In swimming, each stroke should be separated from the next with a brief glide. When your arm enters the water above your head, let it stay fully extended for a few moments before you start the catch phase. Don’t be a windmill.

5) Rotate, but don’t over-rotate. Body rotation is an art form. Those who get it perfectly are beautiful as their bodies cut through the water like a knife. The secret is they don’t over-rotate. If the bottom of the pool is 0 degrees and the side of the pool is 90 degrees, your torso should never go past 45 degrees on either side. Remember, your head and lower legs do not rotate with your torso and hips; keep your feet kicking straight up and down.

6) Never cross the forbidden centerline. Under no circumstances should either arm ever cross the centerline of your body. At the entry point of the stroke, drop your arm in the water directly in front your shoulder. Flare your arm out during the catch, sweep back and slightly in during the pull, and finish with your hand next to your thigh. The movement should look like a question mark. Keep your fingertips pointed at the bottom of the pool.

7) Kick from your hips. Relax your knees. Point your toes. Think about slapping the tops of your feet on the surface of the water; they should be making a small splash. If you feel tired and sore in your hip-flexor muscles, you’re doing it right!
*Written by Sara McLarty, Taken from http://triathlete-europe.competitor.com