It might be counterintuitive, but performing kicking drills while on your back and swimming backstroke with fins will improve your freestyle technique. Watch this drill, then give it a try. It really feels great, too! https://youtu.be/F5YbPYuYFvY
It’s frustrating when you do the work in the pool to improve your swim splits and then -- during a race -- discover that your open water splits are much slower than you expected! The key to improving in the open water is to replicate open water race scenarios in your training. Try these sessions and drills in [...]
Training for the swim leg of a triathlon takes purposeful practice; too many triathletes simply swim mindless meters and then can't understand why they're not getting faster. Understanding the nuances of how the swim leg typically develops -- and being able to anticipate the tactics of your competitors -- are valuable skills that result from deliberate training. [...]
I find this drill extremely beneficial for beginners to advanced swimmers to help with their freestyle technique. This drill helps build leg strength, hip flexor mobility and hand & elbow positions--all which help make you a faster and more efficient swimmer! If you give this workout a try, let me know how it went. Get [...]
This week, I’ll be kicking off my 3-part series of Workout Wednesday sessions on how to prepare for the host of unknowns that you'll face in a race. We’ve all been there: Despite being meticulous with your race planning and following your power meter, heart rate monitor or just being sensible, you’ve either had [...]
One of my favorite drills is swimming with tennis balls. This drill–as silly as it may seem–can dramatically improve your stroke and hand position in the water. Watch the demonstration in the video below to learn more. Try incorporating this drill 1 to 2 times a week during your swim sessions. If you give this [...]
Practicing in open water at a race pace effort is a valuable experience going into your key events of the year. This workout includes longer threshold -- or race pace -- efforts with short bursts of high intensity speed that mimic the pace oscillations in a race. If you have an opportunity to practice in open water, [...]
The majority of triathletes consider a brick workout to be a bike-run session. Rarely do they include a swim-bike brick in their training plan. If you haven’t tried a swim-bike brick before, you are missing out on a valuable training opportunity! Here are the top 3 benefits of adding a swim-bike brick into your routine: [...]
