Swim Coaching Brain » Swimming Science

Flying into Fly: Five Tips for Swimming Brilliant Butterfly.

Wayne Goldsmith — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 03:14:43 +0000

: Dolphins from Crestock Stock Photography

Is there anything better in swimming than swimming great fly?

When you get it right, everything seems to flow, arms and legs working in rhythm – no wonder they call it FLY – it feels like you are flying through the water: not swimming – but actually flying.

But like anything that looks easy and feels that good, it takes a lot of hard work to turn the basics of the stroke into the fundamentals of flight!

Five Fantastic Fly Facts:

Everyone’s fly will be different: everyone is unique. However, there are five consistent factors in all fast fly:

Long arms / fast legs: keep your arms, long, loose and relaxed and your legs moving with power, speed and strength;
Kick in both directions with power and rhythm: make sure your legs keep working in both directions with power flowing – Hips, Thighs, Knees, Shins, Feet;
Power on / power off: a fly fundamental – power on when your hands and arms are in the water, power off when they are out of the water recovering forward;
Breathe early, breathe low: keep up and down head movements to a minimum – push your chin forward to breath and keep it low and close to the water;
Slow to feel, accelerate through pull: keep your hands soft and relaxed and feel the water, then apply pressure and accelerate your hands all the way through your pull.

Now you have the fabulous fly fundamentals, let’s turn them into fast flying:

Five Fabulous Fast Fly Sets:

Fly Flyers:

Swim 6 strokes of fly (from a push start) at top speed without breathing. The aim is to go as far as you can on each stroke: Long and Strong. Have a team mate put a marker, (your pull buoy is a good marker) along the side of the pool to indicate how far you got in six strokes.

Now go back to the start and aim to get to the Six Stroke marker in only Five Strokes. When you achieve the “Six in Five” target, aim for Six in Four– i.e. the distance you went in six strokes achieved in only four.

Then……….Double Up.

Swim 12 strokes of fly at maximum speed from a push start and once again ask a team mate to mark the distance. Can you swim 12 in 11, then 12 in 10?

All repeats are done at maximum speed with legal underwater kick distance and with a push start.

Flyer Scorers:

Give yourself a Starting Fly Score of 15 for short course and 30 for long course.

Each Stroke is worth one point.

Each Breath is worth one point.

The aim is to get your Fly Score down as low as you can, for example:

Short course: Starting score = 15 – which could be 10 strokes and 5 breaths. You decide how your starting score is broken down.

Then aim for 14 – either by taking one less stroke or one less breath.

All Fly Scorer repeats are done at maximum speed with legal underwater kick distance and from a push start.

To make it really challenging, decrease the value of strokes and breaths, e.g. each stroke is only worth ½ a point so you have work harder to reduce your score.

Fly Kickers:

Kick a lap of fly (hands in long streamline, breathing as you need). Record the time. This is called your Fly Kick Base Time.

Now kick another lap of fly, this time with your hands by your side. Record the time.

Next lap is kicking on your left side. The following lap is kicking on your right side.

The final lap of the series is kick with your arms folded above your head and your hands holding their opposite elbows.

The aim of each lap of kicking is to get as close as you can to your Fly Kick Base Time.

All Fly Kickers are done at maximum speed with legal underwater kicking distance.

Fly Lappers:

Swim a lap of fly at maximum speed. Record the time. Double it.

Swim two laps of fly at maximum speed. Record the time.

What was the difference between the two times?

5 seconds or more – hey – were you asleep when you did this?
4 seconds – ok but could be better.
3 second – good 0 but keep working.
2 seconds – great.
1 second – fantastic.
Less than one second – Superstar!

Swimming fast is great: learning to maintain top speed for longer is sensational. Aim to keep your 2 lap time as close as possible to your 2 x one lap time.

Fly in / Fly out or FIFO Sets:

FIFO is a great way to improve fly, underwater fly kick, fly turns and even the starts and turns of your freestyle and backstroke!

The basic set is:

5 x 200 on 4:15 Freestyle with FIFO (i.e. Fly in from the flags / fly out from the flags).

So each 200 starts with a fast underwater fly kick (as always to legal distance), then steady freestyle to the flags. When you hit the flags it’s fly (no breathing) to the wall (aiming to get there is no more than 2-3 strokes), a fly turn, fast underwater fly kick back out to legal distance and then back into freestyle. Each 200 finishes with fly – again no more than two or three strokes from the flags at maximum speed and no breaths.

Variations:

Longer or shorter repeats (longer works better though);
More repeats;
Less rest;
Faster speed.

So in summary: Find five fun fabulous fantastic fast fly fitness factors…. and work on them every day!

Wayne Goldsmith

Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Twenty Tips for a Tip Top Taper!

Wayne Goldsmith — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 03:14:42 +0000

: Ladder in the sky from Crestock Stock Images

Tapering is fun, it’s fantastic and above all its about feeling fast fast fast.

It is the time when you feel light, loose and long in the water as your body regenerates and recharges after weeks of hard work.

And above all tapering is one thing – one simple thing that everyone already has in their possession but it is one thing most people use very often….common sense.

Think about it this way.

Imagine you were telling someone – someone who knew nothing about swimming, “I have been training for months and months for a big Meet coming up in two weeks”.

And then you told them, “And for the next two weeks I am going to change lots of things, get little or no rest, stress out a lot and worry about things that may not even happen, eat strange foods that I have never eaten before, buy some different swimsuits to wear on the day without trialling them and I will not spend anytime practicing exactly what I want to do at the Meet”.

They would probably tell you, “Well good luck with all that and here’s the number of a good psychiatrist!”

So how do you have a tip top taper?

Here’s twenty tips to turn tapering into triumph:

Try it before you use it! It is really tempting to buy a new suit or a new pair of goggles or some new sporting supplements to give you a special something extra for the big Meet. But time and time again, swimmers who have worked hard and trained hard for a Meet blow it all by reaching for a miracle over the counter super swimming supplement. Find out what works for you and keep doing it;
Don’t add anything new. Another taper trap is to add more work in the belief that if some training is good, then more will work even better. Taper is the time for the four Rs – Rest, Regenerate, Recover and Race - not the four Ms – More – More – More – More;
Work fast, work smart. Tip three is an important one. Taper is the time for speed: training fast to race fast. Once you start tapering the golden rules are: Decrease training volume but maintain training frequency and training intensity or if you like train fast, train often but train less;
No sleep-ins. Lots of swimmers (and their parents) fall for this one. Swimmers will often try to scam a few mornings off during taper by telling their coach they need the rest to swim at their best. Some swimmers – you know who you are – will even get their parents to push the coach for some morning sleep ins. Again the golden rules are….train fast, train often, train less;
New suit – old suit. It feels great to race in a nice new, fast suit but a new suit only works if you have done all you can do in training to make it go fast. A slow driver in a Ferrari is still a slow driver;
It’s all mental. Racing is 90% mental. So practice “mental tapering” as well as physical tapering. During your taper take time to relax, to do things you enjoy, get plenty of sleep, read a book, watch some TV and taper your mind as well as your body;
Dives and starts. During taper – more than any other time – every dive is a race dive – every start is a race start…..every dive is a race dive – every start is a race start……..;
Turns. And you guessed it…every turn is a race turn;
Underwater practice. To go fast above the water, practice going fast under the water. Practice the three big kicks of underwater speed at every opportunity during taper: Kicking fast under water in streamline, kicking fast to the surface and kicking explosively to the surface for the breakout stroke;
Easy speed. A feature of a great taper is easy speed – being able to move fast with little effort. ”Easy-speed” comes as your body recovers and regenerates as the training load decreases. Enjoy this feeling – it is what all the training is about;
Practice several warm ups. Practice your ideal pre race warm up several times during the taper. Be very comfortable with it – know it backwards and try to rehearse it in conditions which are as close as possible to actual race conditions. And practice a few “what-if” warm ups. “What if we get to the practice pool late and I only get five minutes to warm up” or “What if for some reason I can’t do a pool warm up and have to warm up on dry land?”: plans and back-up plans and back-up plans for back-up plans;
Practice several swim downs. And again….”what if they change the race schedule at the last minute and I don’t get a chance to do a full swim down?”. Don’t make the mistake of practicing for a perfect day – be prepared to deal with whatever can (and will) go wrong;
Fast Fuel. Eat “fast” foods – no, not the kind you usually eat. Plenty of fresh fruit, salads, vegetables and quality, nutritious, healthy food. You can’t put low performance fuel in a high performance machine and hope it will race fast;
Swimming bag check list. Make a check list of everything you will need on race day – goggles, cap, suit and back up suit, food, drink, something to read, two towels….write it down, tick it off as you pack your bag and leave nothing to chance;
Spares of everything. Ever had a pair goggles break on race day? Ever lost a suit? Your swim bag should be like Noah’s Arc…everything in two by two;
Don’t do anything dumb…Taper is not the time to take up bungee jumping, sky-diving or professional stunt work;
Relax. Take it easy. You’ve worked hard. You deserve to relax;
Recover. Help your body to help you by committing to a daily recovery schedule. Eat good foods. Drink plenty of water. Do some light stretching and most importantly……….;
Sleep. Sleep is the most under-rated but most important recovery tool at your disposal. And..an extra hour of sleep each night means an extra night’s sleep each week. If you have a three week taper, then by going to bed an hour earlier each night, you get three extra nights sleep to recover and be ready to race like you have never raced before;
Practise everything that can be practised. Perfect practice = perfect performance. As the Meet gets closer, make every aspect of your practice as perfect as the performance you want on race day.

It’s all mental – it really is.

Believe. Believe. Believe. It all starts with what you believe. Think fast, train hard, taper smart, race brilliantly!

The performance equation…..looks something like this:

A great training season plus a consistently professional attitude in and out of the pool plus a well designed and executed taper = Success.

It all adds up!

Wayne Goldsmith

Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Five Breaststroke Essentials for all Swimmers and Coaches

Wayne Goldsmith — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 03:14:41 +0000

: Boys in Goggles from Crestock Stock Images

1. If you want to swim breaststroke – you have to swim breaststroke

We have all been there – sitting behind a breaststroker, trying to overtake them, trying to get around their wide kicks and slow speed. Frustrating!!!

However, to get good at breaststroke – you have to swim breaststroke! That is to say, if you want to swim fast breaststroke in competition you have to train to swim fast breaststroke.

Many swimmers wonder why their breaststroke does not improve. Often the reason is simple…they don’t swim it enough in training.

How often do you do a full session of breaststroke? That’s breaststroke warm up, breaststroke kick, breaststroke pull, breaststroke drills, breaststroke main set, breaststroke starts / turns / finishes.

Many breaststrokers find themselves doing a few breaststroke drills in warm up, a few 50’s of breaststroke kick and then freestyle or medley main sets. Now often this is because of crowded lanes and the need to get the work done – particularly during main sets – but there is an old saying, “train the way you want to race”.

Allocate two to three sessions per week of nothing but breaststroke, breaststroke specific sessions, and especially timed breaststroke main sets. Then, watch how much you improve!

2. Think shape not stroke:

There are as many views and opinions on what constitutes perfect breaststroke technique as there are swimmers who swim it and coaches who coach it!

Don’t think too much about the stroke. The basics you learn in stroke school or in your junior squad program will take you a long way.

Instead think Shape.

There are three key shapes in breaststroke:

Torpedo Shape – At the end of recovery with hands and arms stretched forward, legs squeezed together, toes pointed and everything is tight. Although this shape is only held for a fraction of a second, it is important to extend yourself to be in this shape after every single stroke.

Cobra Shape – After the torpedo shape, you move into the cobra shape. This is when your legs are still long behind you, your arms are pulling in towards your chest at maximum strength position and your head is up looking directly ahead at the end of the pool (and you are taking an in breath).

Frog Shape – Directly following the cobra shape comes the frog shape. This is a shape that you would be familiar with when learning the breaststroke kick. Your feet are close to your backside and turned outwards with your toes pointing towards the sides of the pool. Your hands are under your chin/chest, about to push forward to regain that torpedo shape while your chest, hips and knees are making a long slightly outwards curved shape (hips are extended, not flexed).

3. Don’t over think or over coach breaststroke.

In keeping with the Shape not Stroke concept – don’t over think (or over coach) breaststroke. Learn the basics well, learn to do them consistently in training and learn to maintain them at high speed and under pressure in competition.

Too many swimmers (and coaches) catch the PBA disease: Paralysis by Analysis. That means that they spend too much time and energy getting breaststroke “just right” and are constantly tweaking, fiddling and adjusting timing, rating, pull width, kick depth, head position etc etc.

Once you get a good basic breaststroke – Leave it Alone.

Keep it simple. Think Shape.

4. Long and strong / long and strong / long and strong.

Once you have a good concept of Shape, focus on long powerful kicks and strong powerful arms: or long and strong for short.

The critical shapes in breaststroke – the Torpedo shape and the Frog shape allow maximum distance per stroke from a position of maximum kick propulsion: maximum propulsive force at the point of least resistance.

Reach long – (torpedo Shape) and kick strong – (frog Shape)

The long and strong becomes a mantra and helps to develop rhythm in the overall stroke: reach long / kick strong, reach long / kick strong, reach long / kick strong etc etc.

5. Small head movements and all of them directed forward.

In all swimming strokes (and just about everything else you do), your body follows your head. If your head is moving fast and excessively up and down, chances are in breaststroke, your body will also be moving up and down excessively creating too much drag.

In breaststroke, small head movements can help when there is too much height at the breath point and therefore not enough forward propulsion.

Try thinking Forward rather than Up and Down, i.e. push your chin forward to breathe then gently push your forehead forward back into the water. The total distance your head needs to move throughout the stroke is about 3-5 inches – the distance between your chin and forehead.

Whether breaststroke is the best stroke – you can decide. It is certainly one of the best four strokes and a stroke that can be fun, enjoyable and rewarding to swim.

Wayne Goldsmith and Helen Morris

Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Motivation: 50 Tricks, Tips and Techniques or How to find the fire when the fire isn’t firing!!!

Wayne Goldsmith — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 03:14:39 +0000

: The swimmer from Crestock Stock Photo

Set your self a daily goal to improve by one tenth of one inch. Anyone can improve one tenth of an inch each day. Over a week that’s almost an inch. That’s about 4 inches a month. That’s about 3 feet a year…..and 12 feet every Olympic cycle.
If you are in a pace line (i.e. a line of swimmers) chase the feet of the person in front of you.
If you are leading the pace line, imagine the person behind you is a shark or crocodile and you need to make sure you stay ahead of them!
Promise yourself a small gift or reward for improving your skills and drills – reward excellence in technique – technique is the key to swimming success.
Encourage other swimmers – the better your team mates perform – the more it will lift you and your performance – “a rising tide lifts all the boats”.
Keep a training diary and write in it three things you improved each day.
Keep a PB record sheet on your wall. Watch how you improve over time.
Remember you are special. How many people are prepared to get out of bed at 5 am, train hard and balance school, swimming and life the way you do?
Link your seasonsby making your short course PBs this season your long course PBs next season.
Make it your aim to have your 100 yard kick time no more than 10 seconds slower than your 100 yard PB swim time.
Reward PBs with things that will help you do more PBs. For example, if you do a PB, reward yourself with a copy of the latest swimming magazine.
Understand what motivates you – not anyone else – what motivates you! If you are motivated by winning, then do everything in your power to prepare to win. If you are motivated by learning new skills and challenging yourself, do it. The key to motivation is knowing what it is that motivates you.
Make a PARTNER PROMISE. Find someone in the team who wants to swim fast and make a commitment to them. For example, make a commitment that you will help each other achieve your goals. Each session say something positive to each other, encourage each other, meet at the pool early and do some extra work together, support each other through the tough times. Sometimes knowing you have made a commitment to help someone else is a great motivator for you.
Play imagination games in training like imagining the final lap of every set is the final lap of the 2012 Olympic final and all you need to do is work hard for a few more strokes and you will win the gold medal and break the world record. These imagination games are great fun and very motivating.
Make up some unusual, fun and weird goals that mean something only to you. Like how many times can you say “sausages” on a single breath or what’s the weirdest stroke you can come up with. Having fun is the best motivation of all.
Find a fast beat song that you enjoy and play it before you get in the water. “Feel the rhythm” and the beat when you are swimming and feel it lift you when you get tired.
Do your favourite stretches that make you feel good – as you start to stretch, you will find you begin to relax into the right mind set for fast swimming.
Imagine you are finishing a race when you pass someone in the next lane. Thinking about it will ignite the competitive fires!
Think about how heavy you thought the weight was when you first started doing gym. How much heavier are you lifting now?
How many push ups / sit ups / chin ups do you do now? How many did you used to do? Be proud of all your success. Enjoy the journey.
Think of the other swimmers that you have beaten recently that used to beat you. Give yourself permission to be proud of your resilience, your toughness, your perseverance and your character.
Imagine how good you will feel when you go home, have dinner and curl up in bed tonight? – Now work hard so that comes quickly!
Challenge yourself to turn (or start or finish) better than ever. Before you know it you will feel better and motivated to train hard.
Think of each lap as an opportunity: an opportunity to improve in an area of your swimming, which will bypass you if you don’t take it. Remember, someone somewhere IS taking that opportunity.
Ask a top swimmer (or successful athlete in any sport) what they do to stay motivated. Learn from them. Copy them.
Work hard – sometimes not thinking about it – and just doing it – is all the motivation you need.
Do the old NEVER ENDING STORY routine. Make up a funny story and tell someone in your lane a small piece of it between repeats. See how long you can make the story. It really motivates you to get to the end of the pool fast (and start telling the “never ending” story).
Get some support!!! Talk to some friends about motivation and every day support each other, encourage each other – motivate each other.
Put some photos of Michael Phelps, Natalie Coughlin and other swimming greats up on your wall. Imagine about what they would be doing, what they would be thinking and how they would be training each day.
Finish off one task every day. Nothing motivates you like finishing something! Might be something as simple as homework. Or a chore at home. Just finish something.
Shave down in training – no reason – it just feels great.
Stay positive. Everyone has tough days – the difference is in how you allow the tough days make you feel. Tough times fade…..tough people never do.
Say one positive, encouraging thing to every person in the team: coaches, swimmers, parents, pool attendants – everyone. You will be surprised how motivating others will motivate you.
Believe anything is possible – never, ever stop believing that.
Buy yourself a new, fast swimming costume.
Switch your brain on to something else. Focus on improving in another area of your life – school, music, another sport……..success breeds success.
Remember the three best things that ever happened to you. Just the thought of these amazing things will change the way you look at life.
Put up motivation quotes all over the place. Some good places are next to your alarm clock, on your swim bag, on the top of the bathroom mirror and in your training diary.
Get to training early and motivate some of the younger swimmers in your club. They look up to you and admire you the same way you look up to and admire older and more successful swimmers. Being a role model for others will trigger some really great, positive motivation messages in your brain.
Be the first. For example, get to the pool first on January 1^st and be the first in the team to swim a lap, a mile, two miles, five miles and so on. Striving to be the first is a great driving force and very motivating.
Try a new sports drink. Or sports bar. Or a new all natural diet. Motivate your “inside”.
Do something everyday that is “impossible”. Try kicking 50 metres underwater at maximum speed. Or sprinting 60 metres on a single breathe. Or aiming to do a PR from a wall push off (i.e. no dive). Keep trying one impossible thing each day and sooner or later the impossible becomes reality.
Form a triathlon team with two friends at school who cycle and run and enter in a local triathlon.
Lead the team cheers at your next meet. Even better, get some of your team together and write some new team cheers….and lead them at the next meet.
Allow yourself to be proud of you. Look in the mirror and take time to realise what an amazing person you are.
Do something away from the pool to help your swimming. Take an aerobics class to improve your fitness. Do a martial arts course to build strength, balance and confidence. Take up dancing to improve rhythm and co-ordination.
Play a counting game. Swimmers are great at these. Count tiles, laps, turns, breaths, strokes…………….you know the drill.
Have repeat or two in each set which is PERFECT. If you are swimming 10 x 50 always make the second, fifth, eighth and tenth ones perfect.
Challenge someone much faster than you to a race at the end of training. Nothing motivates like a real challenge.
Smile. It is impossible to smile and not feel better.

Wayne and Helen

Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Mental Skills Training in Swimming – a new approach.

Wayne Goldsmith — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 03:14:37 +0000

: colored brain from Crestock Stock Photography

What is your experience with sports psychology and mental skills training?

Is it meeting a psychologist or mental skills professional at an office and talking quietly about attitudes, anxieties and ambitions?

Or is it having a mental skills professional come to the training centre and do a “motivation” lecture or a mental skills training session on relaxation, focusing, visualisation / imagery and attitude?

Time to take mental skills training out of the office, away from the training room and into the pool.

How?

The Fourth Variable - Engagement:

In a recent post on my www.sportscoachingbrain.com site I talked about the fourth aspect of designing and developing training programs: Engagement.

In the article I suggested that in traditional programs, coaches write workouts in terms of the “big three” physiology variables: Volume of training (how much to do), Intensity of training (how hard to work) and Frequency of training (how often to do it).

However, this is old thinking…because it assumes that training adaptations are all about physical training and exercise physiology. Coaches and athletes know that there is another key determinant of training adaption…engagement - (how engaged the athlete’s mind is in the training activity).

The central argument is this. No matter how well designed the set and workout might be, it is the athlete’s approach and attitude to completing the workout that largely determines the outcome.

A brilliantly designed training set, sculptured perfectly in terms of heart rate, speed, volume and lactate levels, will not be performed optimally unless the swimmers have engaged in the set and are committed to performing the set to their full potential.

Competitive Swimming is not just swimming fast.

Remember that competitive swimming is not just about swimming fast – anyone can learn to swim fast.

Competitive Swimming is….swimming fast, with great technique and skills, under pain, pressure and fatigue.

If competitive swimming was only about swimming fast – then we would just train the body.

But…competitive swimming is about maintaining speed and technical excellence when the body is enduring pain, pressure and fatigue and it is the swimmers who can best integrated mind and body to work together in harmony in these conditions who prevail.

And it all starts with training set design and workout planning.

How can you integrate “engagement” with the physiology “big three” – volume, intensity, frequency?

Example:

Old way (physiology model):

Training set is 16 x100 metres (volume) on 2:00 minutes holding a speed of PB plus 10 seconds (intensity).

Enhanced Mind – Body way:

Training set is 16 x 100 metres (volume) on 2:00 minutes holding a speed of PB plus 10 seconds (intensity). Key mental skills learning (engagement) – At signs of fatigue, work with swimmers on relaxation under pressure and on breathing techniques to learn how to manage pain under fatigue and pressure conditions.

Find Opportunities to Enhance Mind-Body integration:

In every workout, there are opportunities to teach lessons which can make an incredible impact on the swimmer’s mental abilities for competition.

At times of pain, pressure and fatigue during workouts, opportunities emerge to teach swimmers life lessons and mental skills that can not be replicated in an office or classroom.

This is the key: we all want swimmers to master the mental skills necessary to compete successfully in the pool.

So it makes sense to shift our mental skills training focus into the pool.

If Gold Medals for 100 freestyle were handed out for winning a race around an office, let’s do our mental skills training in high buildings…..but it is all about mental skills mastery in the pool.

Optimal performance in any field of endeavour comes from the integration of the mind and the body working in harmony.

Next time you are writing a training program or training set add in engagement - the critical fourth dimension in training - and teach mental skills at every opportunity.

Wayne Goldsmith

Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Physiology based Training Set Design in Swimming: There must be Another Way.

Wayne Goldsmith — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 03:14:36 +0000

Walk on deck at any pool in the world on a typical Monday afternoon.

There it is – the old whiteboard over there at the end of the pool.

And what’s written up on the whiteboard?

Today’s training program!

“10 x 100 on 1:45 at 75%” or
“20 x 50 on 1:00 holding PB plus 5 seconds” or
“12 x 200 IM on 3:30 holding 2:50 or something similar.

You would think that swimming training, preparation and performance was all about the body wouldn’t you?

The Big Six.

The “Big Six” in swimming preparation and performance are:

Physical abilities;
Personality characteristics;
Playing (tactical) skills;
Performance abilities;
Pedigree (i.e. genetic makeup);
Preparation ((i.e. environment, family, culture).

Look at a set like 10 x 100 on 1:45 at 75% and evaluate it against the “Big Six”.

Does it measure up physically? Sure. It’s all there – volume, intensity, rest interval – all the usual suspects are represented but….

Does it measure up in terms of the swimmer’s personality and mental skills?
How does it fare as far as the development of swimming skills and stroke technique go?
What about the potential for this training set to impact on the swimmer’s ability to race well under pressure? To start? To turn? To finish? And to do it all at race speeds and race conditions?
How much does this set optimise the unique, individual qualities of each swimmer in the team?
How well does this set tap into the swimmer’s preparation environment, family structure and cultural background?

It’s hit and miss.

The fact is this.

The way most swimming workouts are currently written is a hit and miss approach. “Let’s give enough kids, enough work and some of them might swim fast”.

Those days are over.

Client Focused Swimming.

The world has changed. People – and for people read “parents and swimmers” are demanding three things from every service they pay for:

Individualisation -unique, tailored services for each individual;
Efficiency – they want more for less;
Quality- the Internet has ensured that everyone is an expert so they demand higher standards from the professionals they engage (pay) to provide services.

So, in other words, if your workout design does not provide the optimal preparation environment and opportunity for each individual in your team to achieve their performance goals in the shortest possible time, you will go out of business.

The Future.

Ask yourself this next time you are on deck;“Is this workout (and the consistent quality of my coaching), the best it can be? Does it provide the opportunity for each individual in the team to achieve their individual peak performance and realise their full potential?”

If not, chances are, you, your workout - and your overall workout philosophy need to change.

Engage the heart, inspire the soul, excite the mind, capture the imagination and unleash the genius inside every individual swimmer in your team and the blood, bones, tendons, ligaments, muscle and nerves will all come along for the ride.

Or, continue to rely on the “meaningless miles, countless kilometres and years of yardage” coaching philosophy: the “body first” philosophy to swimming coaching: the mass mediocrity approach to coaching large teams of young swimmers and start looking for a new career.

It’s your choice!

Wayne Goldsmith

Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Five New Ideas that will Change Swimming Forever.

Wayne Goldsmith — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 03:14:31 +0000

They say that “success is a moving target”.

This is so true in swimming where new ideas, information and innovations are constantly being thrown up to challenge, inspire and stimulate the thinking of swimmers and coaches.

Recently a wave of exciting and challenging new scientific research has come forward which has sparked some new ideas and forced the swimming world to sit up and take notice.

Here are five new ideas that will change our swimming world…………..forever!

1. Stop Stretching in warm up before training and racing.

Some great new research has really challenged the way we look at stretching in warm ups before training and racing.

Seems that long hold static stretches are actually counterproductive to producing speed and power. Long hold (i.e. 10 seconds or more) static stretches switch off some of the mechanisms within muscles and tendons that help the body performance fast, powerful, explosive movements.

(Note: The exception to the rule is around swimming injuries. If you are injured but continuing to train and race follow the guidelines of your doctor or physical therapist).

The research also says that stretching is still really important for increasing the range of motion around joints and in injury prevention but that stretching should be done as a separate training session away from warm up pre training and competition – at least four hours prior to training or competition!

Another great option is to schedule a team stretching session immediately after workouts when muscles are warmed up and receptive to flexibility improvement training.

Far better options pre-competition are the more dynamic forms of stretching and warm up like jumping, skipping, walking, jogging, using long “drill type” strokes in warm up etc.

So incorporate regular stretching into your overall program but schedule flexibility training at times when it will not impact on swimming performance.

2. It’s not all about technique, technique, technique.

We have all read it or said it over the years: swimming is all about technique, technique, technique.

Researchers have discovered that the old excellence by excess system – that is – repeat a simple skill in training ad finitum until it is mastered is not the best way to improve skills performance in competition.

The idea is that learning skills is a continuum. On one end of the continuum is what is called Stability and at the other end Instability or Chaos.

Where the training environment is reasonably Stable (i.e. constant, unchanging, consistent, the same), the racing environment is Chaotic with swimmers having to execute skills and make tactical decisions in a very Unstable (i.e. rapidly changing, inconsistent, variable) setting.

The research suggests that doing more skills work in an Unstable environment in training, i.e. one that is changing, different and variable, stimulates a swimmer’s brain to learn how to execute those skills more effectively in racing.

With the Internet and the way we know kids are using it and seeking information, the presentation of skills and drills work the same way over and over and over again is counter productive to the learning process.

In practice this means getting rid of the old 40 x 25 one arm freestyle drills etc and instead focusing on achieving a higher standard of quality in each repeat and continuously changing the learning environment to stimulate the swimmer’s thinking.

Chaos drill theory means varying how drills are presented to swimmers to teach them to think and learn more effectively.

For example:

Old Way of doing Drill A, then Drill B, the Drill C:

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA followed by BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB then CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

Chaos Drill Concept:

ABCBBAACCCAAABBBABABABCBCBCAABCAACCCCAAABB etc.

Try it – use your imagination to vary the presentation of drills.

You need to follow a 5x5x5 philosophy – can you teach the same lesson using five different drills, presented five different ways in five minutes?

3. Physical talent is a poor indicator of long term success.

There is no doubt that swimming is a tough sport physically. But a lot of research across several sports tells us that athletes who succeed in the long term and at the highest level are not just physically gifted and talented.

Just as important are characteristics like:

Self esteem and self respect;
Independence;
Ability to maintain satisfying relationships, e.g. family and friends;
Ability to adapt and solve problems;
Ability to deal with stress and difficult times;
Being happy and optimistic – even in adverse situations.

What this tells us is that working hard in the pool and in the gym is important but no more important than working on mental skills development, emotional intelligence and self confidence.

Yet, in spite of this most swimming programs based their talent identification and development on finding physically gifted and talented athletes, preferring muscles to motivation and strength to stress management ability.

Coaches need to focus on developing the total athlete– and spend time each day building the personality and character of swimmers (in partnership with parents, families and the swimmer them-self).

4. Tapering to swim fast is a fallacy.

Tapering has been around as a concept for a long, long time. However, its importance in swimming has been overstated for almost as long.

The original concept of tapering was developed primarily for adult athletes in weight bearing sports like running and ski-ing. The majority of athletes in swimming are young and more importantly involved in a non weight bearing activity.

The concept is pretty simple. Athletes work hard in training. Just prior to competition they decrease an element of training – usually volume (i.e. the amount of training) they are doing to reduce fatigue and perform at their best.

The record books are full of stories about swimmers who broke records and won titles while still in full training. Swimmers have swum PB times at all phases of their training.

More importantly – many, many swimmers who have had an outstanding taper, often do not swim PB times in competition or win titles!

Have a look at the NCAAs or the World Champs or even the Olympics. Every swimmer would have gone through a taper of some kind – yet very few do PB times at those competitions.

The main reason this occurs is that tapering may make the body ready to swim fast but it does nothing to get the mind ready to swim fast. Tapering does not improve a swimmer’s perception about their own ability. It does not improve their self confidence. It does not improve their resilience to pressure. It does not teach them to manage the stress of competition. It does not teach emotional control or composure in race conditions.

All it does is reduce fatigue levels – and people can race fast even when tired.

Tapering in swimming is over rated, over emphasised and just plain over as a performance enhancement strategy.

Bottom line: DE-emphasise the importance of the taper on performance and work hard to develop a balanced, total preparation– one that incorporates mental, technical, tactical and of course physical elements.

5. Squad Training is Dead.

Now this is a scary one. Squad training is dead.

Let me re-phrase that, Squad training to optimise individual performance is dead.

In the “old days” back in the 50s and 60s, coaches trained their teams as whole. Everyone did more or less the same program regardless of their stroke speciality.

In the 70’s we moved to training specialists – flyers did fly, breaststrokers did breaststroke and sprinters sprinted.

In the 80’s and 90’s we specialised even more – sprint specialists, 50 metre specialists, short course specialists, middle distance specialists etc.

Now we are in the age of the individual – and swimmers are demanding more and more individualised training and preparation.

Competition at all levels is getting tougher and the need for attention to detail with each individual is greater than ever meaning that the old “one size fits all” way of preparing swimmers is outdated and inappropriate.

What do we know about individuals in this century?

They are unique;
They learn differently;
They have different preferences for taking in information;
They prefer to take in little bits of information in a variety of forms rather than a lot of information presented the same way;
They want to have some ownership and engagement in the things they are doing;
They are motivated by different things.

So, given this, how does writing a single workout on a white board and presenting it to 100 unique individuals, with different needs, different learning styles and different learning preferences work? The answer is “it did work – but it is no longer good enough”.

In terms of producing great swimmers, the squad model has to change. Champions are unique. They are different They are special. They are typically A- typical. That’s why they are champions.

How can we treat all swimmers the same way and call it quality coaching?

Times have changed…and they will continue to change

Times have changed. It is no longer a coach driven sport – it is a partnership program: Coach, swimmer and family – working together to achieve success.

We have to change the old squad model and increase the attention to detail with each individual. We need to find ways to inspire young swimmers to take increasing responsibility for their own preparation and performance – and thereby helping the coach to coach.

This is THE greatest challenge to coaches and the sport everywhere. It’s not finding heart rate monitors or lactate analysers or video analysis equipment or copying the latest drill sets from successful programs – it’s finding new ways to inspire the hearts and minds of young swimmers to commit to the sport and realise their full potential.

And how will we do this? By treating every swimmer as an individual and providing them with the preparation environment that gives them the opportunity to succeed.

Wayne Goldsmith

Republished by Blog Post Promoter

The Ten Myths of Swimming.

Wayne Goldsmith — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 03:14:30 +0000

The dictionary says:

myth (noun)

a traditional story of unknown authorship, ostensibly with a historical basis, but serving usually to explain some phenomenon of nature, the origin of man, or the customs, institutions, religious rites, etc. of a people: myths usually involve the exploits of gods and heroes
such stories collectively; mythology
any fictitious story, or unscientific account, theory, belief, etc.
any imaginary person or thing spoken of as though existing

There’s the Yeti.

There’s the Sasquatch.

There’s the shopping cart with four good wheels.

There’s the low fat, great tasting chocolate cake.

And there’s these….the ten myths of swimming.

MYTH 1: It’s faster under water.

It’s only faster under water if you are faster under the water. Just being under water does not mean you will move faster.

For example, if you swim freestyle at two yards per second pace, but only maintain a speed of 1.6 yards per second under the water – get to the surface!

MYTH 2: More training makes you a better swimmer

We’ve all heard about the magic numbers that supposedly guarantee swimming success, e.g. 50 miles a week, 60 miles a week, ten sessions a week, 20 hours of training a week, 3000 miles a year etc etc.

There is no evidence to say that 60 miles is better than 48 or 56 or 79. There is no solid research to support the idea 10 sessions is any better than 8, 15 or 127.

More training by itself does not guarantee success. There is no short cut or easy road to swimming success. It takes a lot of hard work, commitment, dedication and discipline. But, just adding more sessions and more miles is not the only answer.

Swimming fast is about PHYSICAL fitness and physical factors like strength, speed, endurance and power. It is also about MENTAL preparation, technical skill and tactical knowledge / execution. It is a balance between PHYSICAL / MENTAL / TECHNICAL / TACTICAL elements.

So hard training is important but it is not the only thing.

MYTH 3: Vitamins and minerals and supplements will make you a great swimmer

The word supplement means “something added, especially to make up for a lack or deficiency”.

The research around how effective supplements are at improving swimming performance is not conclusive. However these things are 100% conclusive for all swimmers:

Consistent training
Positive attitude
Staying strong during tough times
Honesty
Great technique.

Buy a few bottles of these things and you can’t lose!

MYTH 4: If you start out swimming one stroke well, you will always swim that stroke well

We’ve all seen the “child champs” – the nine year old superstar backstroker who seems destined for Olympic glory. However, rarely, if ever do “child champs” make the Olympic team and win Olympic gold medals in the same stroke they first showed talent in. Often, kids will be a good breaststroker at 8, then a good freestyler at 11, then a top notch backstroker at 13 before ending up an outstanding flyer as a senior swimmer.

As kids develop and grow, changes in their limb lengths, their proportionality (i.e. the relationship of their limb length to overall body size), their muscle mass, height and weight, flexibility and strength will all impact on their ability to swim specific strokes.

Advice – become proficient in all strokes, in sprints and in distance events, medley and at dives, starts, turns and finishes. Then, no matter what happens to your body, you are ready for it!

MYTH 5: Weight training makes you a better swimmer

Weight training, strength training, Pilates, Yoga, Spin classes, Dance classes etc etc can all help improve your swimming performance when used in balance with pool training and when integrated into an overall swimming performance program.

Just throwing around a few weights and getting stronger does not guarantee swimming success.

Question: Why would you take up a weight training program?

Answer: To improve your swimming performance.

So the key issue is to ensure that the weight program enhances and supports what you do in the water.

MYTH 6: Body fat makes you swim faster because fat is buoyant OR being super thin will make you a great swimmer.

Sports scientists used to talk about % body fat or skinfolds and about optimal body fat levels for swimmers.

These days the critical concept is YOIPS – Your Optimal Individual Performance State.

There is no magical skin fold number or mystical body fat level that ALL SWIMMERS must attain to be successful.

The YOIPS concept is that each individual swimmer has an optimal body composition for their peak performance which is unique. For some swimmers that may mean being a lean, mean swimming machine. For others, an extra pound or two may help maintain their general health and well being and allow them to train consistently and shedding any excess weight will lead them to illness and being sick.

The bottom line is – find out what works best for you and stick to it!

MYTH 7: Lane 4 is the fastest lane and the only one you can win from

World records have been set in all lanes.

World championships have been won from all lanes.

Olympic gold medals have been won from all lanes.

NCAA, National, State and Club championships have been won from all lanes.

Enough said.

MYTH 8: A successful coach makes a great swimmer

One of the big mistakes a lot of swimmers (and parents) make is to change coaches too often for the wrong reasons. A good reason to change coaches might be that you have moved states or gone to College and you need a local coach to help you with your swimming program.

A poor reason to switch is because another coach seems to have produced a stand out young age group champion and you believe that simply by moving to their program, you will experience similar success.

Coaches are important in the scheme of things. Their training, knowledge and experience are invaluable to help all swimmers improve their physical, mental, technical and tactical skills.

However, a swimmer with a great attitude, who works hard consistently and who seeks to maximise the impact of every training session will succeed regardless of the coaching, facilities or club environment – they make their own luck and drive their own success.

A swimmer with a poor attitude, poor work ethic and negative approach will not succeed even if they go and train with Michael Phelps’ outstanding coaching team!

Coaches and swimmers (and parents) form a performance partnership – together they can achieve anything.

MYTH 9: It will be all right on race day

Many swimmers have TWO BRAIN disease. It is a terrible affliction.

One brain is the one they use for training. It allows the swimmer to perform sloppy dives, slow turns and to always finish a few yards short of the end of the pool.

The other brain, the one they use for racing, only comes out at Meets and makes sure all the dives, starts, turns and finishes are perfect.

The problem is that over time the TRAINING BRAIN starts to take over the MEET BRAIN and that’s when things start to go wrong.

Train the way you want to race.

If you execute sloppy dives every day in training – you get sloppy dives at meets.

If you do slow turns every day in workouts – you get killed in the turns when you race.

If you stop a few yards short every repeat at training – you will lose most tight finishes in competition.

Train the way you want to race.

MYTH 10: The more money you spend on swim suits and equipment, the faster you will swim

You need high quality equipment to compete at the highest level but no amount of money will make up for missed training, poor skills, sloppy technique, a poor diet, a lack of quality sleep or a lack of self confidence.

Improve yourself first – physically, mentally, technically, tactically………then go and buy a fast suit.

If you are driving a beat up old car, with a broken down engine, bald tyres, a faulty gear box and low grade fuel, giving it a $5000 paint job doesn’t make it go any faster. Sure, it looks a lot better but it will not win any races.

There is a common theme about all these myths – that is that people are always looking for a system or a secret or something they can buy or do to guarantee success.

There ain’t no such thing!

There is however, something that can make a real difference.

Something that can make every session outstanding and every day something special.

Something that can take every opportunity and turn it into a performance advantage.

You!

Wayne Goldsmith and Helen Morris

Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Swim Up to Swim Down: Some new ideas on Swim Downs to enhance your Swim Meet Success

Wayne Goldsmith — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 04:27:36 +0000

In the old days it was simple.

You raced. You did your best.

You spoke with the coach about your race, you swapped ideas about dives and turns, you listened to feedback, discussed splits and stroke technique etc etc.

You drank a little water or sports drink.

You jumped (or maybe slumped) into the swim down pool, did a few laps at a speed your grandma would consider too slow and climbed out three minutes later ready to go for your next race (or so you thought).

That, as they say was then and this is now – and now, more than ever, swim down is a critical element of every swimming competition.

Why swim down?

We’ve all heard the coach talk about “clearing lactic acid” and “reducing your heart rate” and “recovery”. We all know it is supposed to be a good thing for swimmers to do between races but in recent years what we thought we knew about swim down has changed considerably.

What we used to think we knew about swim down:

Swim down really slowly;
Swim down really slowly for a short distance;
Swim down really slowly for a short distance continuously (e.g. 800 freestyle without stopping);
Swim down really slowly for a short distance continuously and swim only freestyle or backstroke;
Swim down helps your body to recover from the physiological effects of fast racing.

What we think we know now about swim down:

Include some laps in your swim down at a much higher speed than we previously imagined, e.g. around 80%-85% of maximum (approximately lactate threshold speed);
Swim down for as long as you need to experience the “Goldilocks Effect”;
Swim down using intervals of varying distances, e.g. 25s, 50s, 100s, 200s;
Ensure your swim down includes some of the same stroke as your most recent race, i.e. if you just raced 100 breaststroke or 200 fly, include some breaststroke or fly in your swim down;
“Mental swim-down” is just as important as physical swim down.

For example:

OLD Swim down thinking: 800 metres swim down.

Jump in, swim a relaxed, slow 800 freestyle nice and easy and jump out.

NEW Swim down thinking: 800 metres swim down.

Take your heart rate after your race and before jumping into the swim down pool;
Swim a steady but relaxed 300 freestyle around 60-70% of maximum speed. Take your heart rate at the end of the 300. Focus on controlling your breathing and swim with a technically good stroke technique;
6 x 50 metres on 1:30 negative split, the first 30 metres at 60-70% maximum speed and the final 20 metres at 80- 85% of maximum speed and with good technique. Every second repeat should be swum in the stroke you swam in your most recent race. For example, if your most recent race was 100 fly, then your swim down 50s could be: 50 free / 50 fly / 50 back / 50 fly / 50 free / 50 fly. Take your heart rate at the end of each 50;
200 metres easy swim with good technique and controlled breathing. Take your heart rate at the end of the 200 metres and again one minute, three minutes and five minutes after the 200.
Jump out, stretch, refuel, rehydrate and relax.

Repair – Compare – Prepare:

An easy way to remember why an effective warm down is so important is to think about Repair, Compare, Prepare:

Repair – your mind and body from the hard work it has just completed;
Compare – in discussions with your coach consider how your actual race went compared to your actual race plan and preparation;
Prepare – yourself for your next race.

Swim down, like every other aspect of your training and racing is about you as an individual swimmer. It is important to practice swim downs in training and learn what it takes for you to feel refreshed and recovered after swimming fast.

Don’t fall for the trap of getting out of the swim down pool just because a team mate has finished their swim down. Your own swim down is important: stay in the water and get it right and you will appreciate that little extra time and effort when you have to race again.

How do you know when you have swum down enough?

Remember that great Swimming Coach “Goldilocks”?

Well before she went off eating porridge with the three bears, she left us with the perfect way to understand the importance of doing the right amount of swim down.

“This swim down is too hard”: Do too much swim down and you risk dehydration, fatigue and reducing energy stores and you will not swim well in your next event;
“This swim down is too easy”: Not enough swim down and your cardio-vascular, neuro-muscular and hormonal systems will still be stressed after racing and you will not swim well in your next event;
“But this swim down is just right”: Do just the right amount of swim down and you will feel fit, fast, fresh and fabulous for your next event.

Swimming down for your head!

Racing takes a lot of mental energy too so be smart and swim down your “head” as well.

A really great, simple and effective technique for mental swim-down is the “mental-minute”.

Sit or lay down face up somewhere quiet and make yourself still. If the pool area is noisy, gently place a towel over your eyes and ears to give yourself some quiet, personal space.

Take a deep breath and while you do it count to four, i.e. inhale for a full four seconds count. Hold your breath for two seconds, then breath out (exhale) for four seconds. On every “exhale” quietly think the word “re-lax”. Remain still for two seconds, and then breathe in again for a count of four. Do this 5 times.

Slowing your breathing down to just five breaths a minute helps your mind and body to relax, helps you to feel calm and composed and in control and can be a real edge in your racing program.

Give the “mental minute” a try!

Summary:

Try to remember it this way.

When it comes to the perfect swim down think SWIMMING:

Same stroke you raced;
Warm down progressively;
Interval format – 50s, 100s, 200s;
Monitor recovery using heart rate and “feel”;
Mental swim down is just as important as physical swim down. Control your breathing and do some “mental massage” while your body is recovering by incorporating the “mental minute” in your post-race routine;
Intensity – don’t be afraid to work a little in swim down;
Nutrition and hydration are also critical to help post-race recovery;
Get out of the swim down pool at the end of your swim down feeling “just right”: refreshed, recovered, re-focused and ready to race your next race – the Goldilocks Effect!

So Swim up in your Swim down!

Don’t forget to check out our Swim Shop.

Wayne Goldsmith

Swim Shop – Now Open

Wayne Goldsmith — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 22:15:22 +0000

The Swim Coaching Brain has Opened a Swim Shop.

In response to the overwhelming demand for more information on swimming topics, we have put together a series of swimming books for you to download and enjoy.

The first book in the series: Longer and Stronger: Stretching and Strengthening for Young Swimmers is available now!

More books will be added regularly.

Make sure you bookmark the Shop page and visit it regularly to check out some of our great new swimming products.