Swimming technique, if you do 1 thing wrong you will set the whole balance out. Swimming is a little different to the other disciplines.  To get faster you need to train faster but to go faster you need to nail the technique, to nail the technique you need to do drills and you need to do the drills slowly. Okay so it’s not much different. But not many athletes realise that.

I very often see people swimming as fast as they can, displacing water in all directions other than backwards. If your technique is poor then going faster can only be sustained for a short period. Efficiency is a key ingredient to swimming success.

If you think that swimming 1.5 – 2km per session 2-3 times per week is good enough to get you through the swim of an Olympic distance triathlon, then you would be right. But to improve you would quite literally need to double your efforts.

Another thing I see all too often are coaches who put good sets together for their squads, but provide little to no technique specific coaching. If you are already in a squad make sure that you ask your coach give you some technique correction. I cannot emphasize enough, the importance of developing good swimming habits.

If you’re not in a squad, find a coach. If your budget is tight, I would then suggest going for 4 lessons every alternate month for 4 months. Thereafter a once a month check-up would suffice. This is the bare minimum if swimming is not your strong point.

Make sure you understand how to do the drills correctly. Drills make for a great pre-speed set warm-up or as a good recovery session after a big race.

Below are several links which should help you gain a better understanding of why technique is so important, what makes a difference and how to go about it.

http://onceinspired.co.za/trainingracing/swimming-kick/

http://onceinspired.co.za/trainingracing/swimming-kick-secret-tip-legs-video-series/

http://onceinspired.co.za/trainingracing/using-a-pull-buoy-while-swimming/

http://onceinspired.co.za/trainingracing/swim-less-swim-faster/

http://onceinspired.co.za/trainingracing/swimming-technique-7-tips/

http://onceinspired.co.za/trainingracing/swimming-technique-understanding-it-all/

If you have any question regarding swimming I will be glad to assist. Keep an out for my open water swimming piece coming soon. Follow me on Twitter @NicMuhl or find me on Facebook – Nic Muhl & Once Inspired.

Happy Swimming

Nic

For those of you who don’t know, running is not my strong point, even though I used to win just about every race I entered at school up until I was about 15. What happened after that? Shoulders and chest happened. Anyway, I am wanting to run like used to so I am paying quite a lot of attention on my running. I came across this video and thought it was pretty good. I find this to be working well for me. Just replace the Brookes he speaks of with the Saucony Kinvara.

Kicking is quite a debatable issue and sometimes a sore point amongst coaches and swimmers alike. Some swimmers simply cannot kick and trying to get a swimmer to kick as a coach is not often as easy as one may think. There are a number of reasons why some swimmers have a strong kick and why others simply don’t move when doing kicking drills.

In triathlon there is quite a debate regarding how necessary the kick really is. Many believe that using a kick simply as a means of balance and having a short fast arm stroke is the answer. Whilst this is true in some cases, this is not applicable to every athlete.

The amount of thrust generated by swimmers depends mostly on the range of motion of the foot. The greater the plantar flexion the greater thrust produced by the kick. Thrust or propulsion is generated when the legs are drawn back together as opposed to when they are separated. From the point of separation the foot at the surface is drawn down whilst the deeper foot is drawn up. Emphasis should be placed on the down kick.

Foot range of motion can be increased through stretching. For plantar flexion, stretch the foot and toes down and back, increasing the angle between top of the foot and front of the leg.

Now that we have spoken of the importance of the feet during kicking let’s talk about the knee.

Knee bend once again depends entirely on the individual. Ideally the less knee bend the better, however runners and cyclists traditionally have very poor plantar flexion and some knee bend is required in order to achieve the correct foot angel relative to the water.

I am willing to bet that many of you that have a poor kick have tried to kick with a straight leg and it made absolutely no difference. When you bend your knees you may even tend to move slightly faster but not nearly fast enough. The reason why the bend in the knee helps is because it corrects the angle of the foot relative to the water. By bending the knee the foot is more perpendicular to water thus creating more resistance and generating thrust. Ideally you want to kick with a straight leg which means that you require greater plantar flexion and stronger hip flexors. Here are some exercises and drills to get you moving.

Vertical Kicking

Go to the deep end of the pool. It should be deep enough to allow you to kick vertically without touching the bottom. Point your toes and keep your chin above the water. You should feel your quads and hips. You can use fins but ensure that you warm up properly first and do some plantar flexion stretches beforehand.

Push offs

Go underwater and push off the bottom in a streamline position. Try and keep you body out the water for as long as possible by kicking vertically. Do not use fins for this.

Use Fins
Fins help with ankle flexibility. However make sure that you aren’t using something too long. Something around the length of Zoomers are ideal. Just please don’t use your fins for the entire session. Dedicate some sets to using fins. A nice way to incorporate using fins and better your all round performance is to introduce butterfly drills to your warm up set using fins.

Sit on Your Feet
Sitting on your feet (kneeling) can greatly improve your ankle flexibility. The “Child’s Pose” is perfect.

Just Stretch
In a seated position point one leg out infront of you. Extend your feet and push your toes toward the ground. Hold for 20 seconds.

Use a smaller kick board

By using a smaller kick board you are forced to stabilize more. When is comes to the turn try doing a tumble turn whilst keeping both hands on the board. This isn’t easy, but practice makes perfect.

Kick on your back

Kicking on your back simply helps work some other muscles aiding stability.

So as you can see the kick is quite a serious issue. Kick differs from person to person but if you can master the kick there is absolutely no reason why you shouldn’t use it.

Now that we (in the Southern Hemisphere) are currently in our off-season phase it is good to know what to do and how to go about it. Most people think of off-season as gym time. Make me strong… but here’s some useful advice.

Much has been said about weight and strength training for triathletes, yet there are no conclusive studies which could confirm any schools of thought regarding this matter.

Strength is obviously important in any sport, but a big muscle is not necessarily a strong muscle. In endurance, efficiency is key and one of the best ways to develop efficiency is by developing the correct technique and maintaining that technique during fatigue and exhaustion. Once again, some say that there is a correct technique which should be employed by anyone wanting to achieve better results, whilst there are others that say technique differs fairly extensively from individual to individual and there is no one specific technique to be employed.

The only way to find out for yourself is to test the various theories. This is what off season training should be used for. Developing the correct technique by conditioning the correct muscles to perform the required movement is key. Often with a change of technique comes pain. But this is not a bad thing. Pain is there to teach us. (Sounds a bit like something that would be said in a depression session) The reason for the pain could simply be a result some muscle, ligament and/or tendon doing something it has never done before. It is therefore advisable that you target that specific area and develop the muscles involved in the movement as may be required.

Certainly during this technique development phase, or technique perfection phase for the more seasoned athletes, exertion is not advisable. Remember you are performing a movement which you have not done in the past. Even if it is something minor there will still be smaller muscles getting in on the act. Off season is for technique and developing strength in the areas that need it most.

Now I’m not saying that you must ignore your strength training, but as it has been said before (most recognisably by Pirelli Tyres), “power is nothing without control”. Develop your power whilst ensuring that you maintain the correct technique. BUILD SLOWLY. The longer it takes to acquire something, the longer it takes to lose it. Be patient. Avoid injury.

Ensure that you can maintain your perfect technique when you are tired as well as when you are at full throttle. Yes Iroman athletes, speed work is a must for you too; well that is if you want to go faster.

So in summary: use your off season to develop your technique and strength. The two go hand in hand. If you feel pain, stop. Think about what caused it and fix it. It could be poor technique or a weakness in an area which is required to perform whilst employing the correct technique.

Either way technique is vital to the endurance athlete.

Many triathletes think that it’s better if they don’t kick while they swim in order to save their legs for the bike and run. But surely if kicking makes you a more efficient swimmer then it would be better? Well if you didn’t believe it here are some videos as to why you should kick, courtesy of The Race Club

Propulsion

Lift

Stabilizing Force

Inertia

Pull buoys are useful tools in helping you improve your swimming. Every swimmer should use one. It’s just that simple. Please see below a nice piece on using pull buoys taken from http://www.goswim.tv/.

You take a piece of foam, hold it between your thighs, and go swim. Could it get any simpler? Well, yes. Here are some pull-buoy dos and don’ts that will help you EXCEL on your next pull set. And for triathletes: Learn how to use your pull buoy to simulate wetsuit swimming in the pool.

Why Do It:
Some swimmers and coaches have banned pull buoys from their tool kit, arguing that they give you a false sense of balance, that they inhibit core rotation, and that they’re more like a binky than a pool tool. But when used correctly and in moderation, pull buoys have many benefits.

Pull Buoy Dos:
1. Use a pull buoy that’s the right size and buoyancy for you. Young swimmers will find it difficult to manage a large pull buoy, and really young swimmers — under age 10 — probably shouldn’t use them at all. Young swimmers and lighter swimmers will do best with a small pull buoy, like one shown at the right. If you are a larger swimmer, or if your legs are dense and heavy, you might find it helpful to use TWO pull buoys for extra buoyancy.

2. Use a pull buoy that feels comfortable to you. They come in all shapes and sizes. If you have a two-piece buoy, experiment with the cord adjustment until it works for you.

3. Wear the pull buoy as high as possible. The lower it is, the harder it is to hold.

4. Keep your front end LOW in the water. The idea is to minimize resistance. So…look DOWN and just slightly forward… and press in on your sternum. This is a key focal point for triathletes. When you wear a wetsuit, the extra buoyancy tends to make your head and torso ride higher in the water. Also, when you’re swimming in open water, there’s a tendency to look forward rather than down. The result is that you often swim “uphill” in a wetsuit triathlon. Wearing a pull buoy simulates this “uphill” position…and gives you an opportunity to learn how to correct it. So the idea is to look down and press in on your chest when you wear a pull buoy. Learn what this feels like in the pool, so you can get the same feeling when you’re wearing a wetsuit.

5. Point your toes! This reduces drag and let’s you rotate a bit more freely. It also lets you get maximum power from your pull. If you feel like you are the slowest person in the pool during a pull set, try pointing your toes and see what happens. It can make a HUGE difference.

6. Engage your abs.  AKA suck in your gut…pull in your stomach. This gives you a longer, straighter bodyline, and can help you swim a bit faster with less effort.

7. Breathe less often than normal. Using a pull buoy takes a huge burden off your leg muscles — some of the largest muscles in the body. This gives you an aerobic cushion and you should DO something with it, rather than swim as if you were on an oxygen tank. Use the extra air as an opportunity to extend your breathing pattern by one or two strokes. You might be surprised at how good this makes your stroke feel, and how easy it is to do. It might feel so good that you decide to try it all the time! (Just one of the benefits of using a pull buoy.)

8. Focus on your pull. This seems obvious, but lots of swimmers simply zone out when they put on a pull buoy. The point of a pool tool is that it helps you focus on a particular aspect of your stroke. So when you’re pulling, pick one part of the pull — hand entry, catch, elbow, release point, etc. — and pay attention to it.

9. Focus on your pushoffs, streamlines, and breakouts. The pull buoy gives you a boost for doing all these things a little better, stronger, and longer. Go with it.

Pull Buoy Don’ts:
1. Try not to kick.  It gives you an unfair advantage over other swimmers in your lane who are not kicking, and who are trying to focus on the pull. It’s OK for your feet to shift a little for balance, but don’t make whitewater.

2. Don’t always do flip turns.  Wearing a pull buoy can help you improve your open turns for breast and fly (and free). The pull buoy forces you to keep your legs together and to tuck efficiently. It also increases your awareness of your foot/toe position during the tuck. Try to keep the toes pointed (and even overlap your feet) during the tuck.

A great article from www.runnersworld.com by Amy Burfoot, 2004

As a teenager, I loved to run barefoot on the Connecticut beaches, splashing through the waves. A few years later, I often ran without shoes while training for the college cross-country season, completing workouts that were the hardest, fastest, most puke-able, and yet most enjoyable of my life.

Those are strange bedfellows: extreme effort and high pleasure. I have wondered if someone was spiking my Kool-Aid, a popular sports drink of the time. Then I close my eyes and recall how my friends and I snuck onto Shennecossett Golf Course as dusk descended. How we giddily removed our shoes, and felt the fairway underfoot. How we ran an undulating six-mile fartlek loop, sprinting and jogging, sprinting and jogging, the summer sweat cascading off our bodies. How we finished, not another gasp of oxygen in our lungs, and flopped onto the 14th green. The kinesthetic memories are fullblown, from the slight chill of the grass on my feet to the heaving chest and the lightheaded dizziness of the effort. Was it the barefoot running that made the memory so vivid?

Famous runners had gone barefoot before us, of course. In 1960 Ethiopia’s Abebe Bikila, the greatest Olympic marathoner of all time, won the first of his consecutive gold medals sans shoes in a world record 2:15:17. My high school coach, “Young John” J. Kelley, was the leading American finisher (19th, 2:24:58) in that 1960 Rome Olympic Marathon, and his descriptions of the torchlit race have always entranced me. Except the part about the stones.

“On the ancient Appian Way, we had to run on huge, rounded cobblestones that were completely unyielding,” Kelley says. “They had no ‘give’ at all. I remember that I was afraid of slamming down too hard on them, and I still can’t imagine how Bikila did it.”

While Bikila was making Olympic history, England’s Bruce Tulloh was running European record times from 1955 to 1967, almost always in bare feet. He ran 13:12 for three miles on grass, and 27:23 for six miles on cinders. Later, Tulloh taught in Africa, coached, wrote books, and ran solo across America (2,876 miles, albeit in shoes). At 68, his mind is as sharp as ever, and he is ever eager for a good barefoot jaunt. “I’ll be running on the beach at Devon this weekend,” he said in early summer. “The only reason that more people don’t run barefoot is that they’re afraid to be unconventional.”

That wouldn’t apply to either Charlie “Doc” Robbins or Zola Budd, both important contributors to barefoot running. Robbins, winner of two USA National Marathon Championships in the late 1940s, completed 50 straight Thanksgiving Day Road Races in Manchester, Connecticut, before calling it quits two years ago. Most Thanksgivings, Robbins went shoeless, though he would resort to a pair of socks if the temperature dipped below 20 degrees.

Budd set a track world record in January 1984 when, just 16, she ran 5000 meters in South Africa in 15:01.83, more than six seconds under Mary Decker’s existing record. (Too bad Budd is better known for her fateful collision with Decker in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic 3000 race. Decker was thrown horribly off-balance, and twisted and fell to the infield grass.)

Interest in barefoot running seemed to wane until 2001, when Michael Warburton, an Aussie physical therapist and 2:42 marathoner, published an online paper titled, simply, “Barefoot Running.” (You can view the paper at the sports science web site sportsci.org.) In his section on running economy, Warburton points out that the extra weight of shoes on your feet is much worse than a pound or two around your middle. Weight on your feet is subject to constant acceleration and deceleration (runners call these movements “strides”), which have a high energy cost. According to Warburton, research has shown that 100 grams of extra weight on your feet decreases your running economy by one percent. Simple math says that two 10-ounce shoes will make you more than five percent less efficient. That’s a big deal. When you add five percent to Paul Tergat’s marathon world record 2:04:55, he’s a 2:11 guy, which doesn’t net him enough for a warm bowl of ugali in the Kenyan highlands.

But we don’t think much about running economy when we buy a pair of new running shoes. First we want protection from harmful objects. And then we expect cushioning and/or motion control–the stuff of injury prevention. But this is where things get strange, because scientific studies have had a hard time proving that shoes represent a big step forward from the naked foot.

To learn what’s going on inside the body, which, after all, is where we runners develop all our stress fractures, Achilles strains, and so forth, a medical team needs to take measurements from–ouch!–inside the body. I’ve actually seen this take place in a biomechanics lab, and it’s a blood sport. The combatants typically include a mad Ph.D. scientist and several grad students (a.k.a. the “volunteers”) desperate to finish their degree work. (“Sure, I’ll be happy to let you drill a metal accelerometer into my shin bone before my next treadmill run,” says a grad student.) The results of several of these intrusive experiments have shown little change in shock absorption or motion-control in shod versus unclad feet. This apparent difference seems hard to believe. All that foam padding and all those posts, bridges, and dual-density midsoles have to be doing something, right?

Of course they are; they’re deceiving the body. Here’s an explanation, based on your body’s proprioceptive abilities–that is, the way it can communicate up and down all pathways. When you run barefoot, your body precisely engages your vision, your brain, the soles of your feet, and all the muscles, bones, tendons, and supporting structures of your feet and legs. They leap to red alert, and give you a high degree of protection from the varied pressures and forces of running.

On the other hand, when you run in socks, shoes, inserts, midsoles and outsoles, your body’s proprioceptive system loses a lot of input. “This has been called ‘the perceptual illusion’ of running shoes,” says Warburton. “With shoes, your body switches off to a degree, and your reaction time decreases.”
The way I see it, there’s a simple explanation for the high IQ of barefoot running: We descended from the trees to walk and run this planet’s surfaces six million years ago, and we’ve had time to get really, really good at it, from the soles of the feet to the top of the brain.

By now, you might be worried about your Reebok stock or your friends who work at the local running store. I wouldn’t sweat it too much, at least not to judge from the number of bare feet I saw at my last big road race (zero). Even though a guy named Ken Saxton is running a marathon a month this year (barefootrunning.org), I doubt his preference will take off the way instant messaging, low-carb diets, and The Apprentice have.

Besides, many podiatrists think it’s dangerous. “Most of my patients aren’t worldclass runners,” says foot doctor Stephen Pribut, DPM. “It wouldn’t make sense for them to risk getting twigs and glass in their feet. And I think some soft surfaces increase plantar fascia and Achilles problems. Of course, what doesn’t kill you might make you stronger.”

This a-little-medicine-is-good-for-you perspective is shared by a number of other podiatrists, physical therapists, and coaches. Their theory: Modern man does spend too much time in shoes, and this weakens many of the foot and leg structures. To correct this, you can walk barefoot around the house, do simple foot strengthening exercises, or run a few barefoot miles a week on safe, secure surfaces.

And then put your shoes back on before you hit the pavement. Even Abebe Bikila gave up his barefoot ways. Four years after winning in Rome, he wore Pumas in the Tokyo Olympic Marathon. He won again, despite having had an appendectomy 40 days earlier, and set a new world record, 2:12:11.2. Apparently, the shoes didn’t bother him at all.

If you ever wanted to see exactly how the pros set their bikes up this is the video to do that. Perfect

There’s no doubt that your first triathlon brings many questions. My first advice to you would be to relax and have fun. There’s really no point in making your first triathlon a stressful affair.

For beginners, triathlon training should be targeted to a shorter distance race – almost always a sprint triathlon. I would recommend that you enter as early as possible. This will give you enough time to work towards your goal and maybe even recruit some friends to join in. Most short races allow you to enter on the day, but early entries often involve discount and something free – like a t-shirt.

Come up with a training plan. Either contact a triathlon coach or go online and look for a beginner triathlon training program.

For most beginners, the swim is the problem. Find a pool, find a coach and off you go. Make sure your coach focuses on your technique. I am currently coaching some triathletes who swam for 6 months in a squad. I had to work solely on their technique for an additional 6-8 months before I could get them to go any faster. Also, make sure you get some open water time.

Training distances should be reasonable. If you’re already a strong athlete don’t be tempted to overtrain. Pay attention to your transitions and get some brick sessions in (i.e. When you complete a bike session go for a short run before you call it a day).

When it comes to racing make sure you find something comfortable to wear, something that you can wear for the entire race. If you swim without a shirt, you will need to put a top on for the rest of the race.

Listen to the pre-race instructions carefully and ask questions if you have them. Everyone was a triathlon beginner once and even professionals have to ask questions. This is not a tennis court, every race is different. If you’re unsure I guarantee that there are at least another 10-20% that haven’t a clue either.

If you have mechanical issues or find yourself not swimming, cycling or running like you usually do, then just remember that this is only your first race. You’re just learning the ropes so go with it. If you enter your first triathlon to win, you won’t enjoy it.

Another important aspect of racing is nutrition. Although a sprint event is short it still helps if you know what you going to drink. A little added confidence goes a long way. Make sure you train like you race at least twice before your first race.

My final recommendation would be to read as much as you can. Understanding what to do, how to do it and why can be a huge motivating factor. If you have any questions you can contact me at nic@onceinspired.co.za.

Good luck and enjoy your first race.