Terry Laughlin's Blog, page 34
July 1, 2013
Part 1 – How to ‘Work Less, Swim Better’ in Triathlon
“What is Perpetual Motion Freestyle?” with Terry Laughlin:The 10 steps of the self-coached workshop that you can learn at home
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0:01 – What is Perpetual-Motion Freestyle?
0:58 – scenes from Terry Laughlin’s 2006 World Master’s Championship
2:00 – The essentials of Open Water Swimming
Total Immersion’s Terry Laughlin explains to triathlete’s the advantages of his Perpetual-Motion Freestyle stroke in open-water swimming: Listen as he examines how his technique helped him at the 2006 World Masters Championship
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Private Swim Lessons in Total Immersion Swim Studio
This video shows the perfect setting for private swim lessons in the Total Immersion Swim Studio, New Paltz New York
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0:01 – A tour of the Total Immersion Swim Studio
0:30 – Swimming demonstration in Endless Pool
1:01 – Child playing in Endless pool
1:30 – Child learning to swim in Endless Pool
1:48 – Terry Laughlin teaching breaststroke
2:06 – Teaching butterfly technique
2:20 – Total Immersion Studio Contact Information
The Total Immersion Swim Studio in New Palz New York, equipped with an Endless Pool, is the perfect place to perfect your swimming technique. This video shows how children, through expert swimmers have used this studio to learn to swim.
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June 30, 2013
How Do You Hydrate?
We just finished one of our open-water camps in Çıralı, Antalya Province, Turkey (more in September!) – the water was a bit cool for some (25 C / 78 F) but the weather was hot. It created a situation where one could lose a lot of fluid during the heat of the day, and then head out to swim yet not realize how dehydrated he had become because of the refreshingly cool water.
The problem is, once we hit the water it is a bit late to think about hydrating.
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So how do you hydrate?
There could be a wide range of opinions about this one. I will simply share what works for me…
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To view hundreds of articles of coaching advice and answers to swimmer’s questions on training and technique please visit Coach Mat’s Smooth Strokes blog.
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More Notes on Achieving the Early Vertical Forearm
NOTE: Portions of this post were drawn from my posts in the Total Immersion forums.
A while back, I wrote a post about my path to achieving the Early Vertical Forearm or EVF. Over a year now of coaching TI, I thought I’d capture all my EVF thoughts into one place.
Pre-requisites for EVF:
1. First, the high elbow catch requires some mobility. You must have sufficient mobility in the shoulder, arm, and elbow for you to perform this movement at all. So if you have restrictions or are stiff, you need work in this area before any progress can be made. I would search out a good physical therapist/sports medicine person to help with this. If you want to try it yourself, probably the best text I’ve found is Becoming a Supple Leopard by Kelly Starrett. You can also find some free resources at his website MobilityWod.com. Someone trained in the Functional Movement Screen (FMS) will also be a big help (this is why I certified in FMS; to learn how to address mobility and inbalances in the whole body, and as a coach not as a clinician).
2. You must be able to spear higher, about horizontal. The higher your elbow is at the start of the EVF, the easier it will be to let your forearm drop underneath it. But you shouldn’t be spearing horizontal to try for EVF if you haven’t perfected body balance to a point where spearing horizontal means your hips start to drop!
TI teaches a deeper spear in the beginning to help our students learn proper balance in the water. At some point, you should start seeing if you can derive proper balance through the body alone and not rely on your arm’s depth for balance. Once you have great balance no matter how deep you spear, you can then start moving towards imprinting the EVF.
Next comes neuromuscular patterning of the movement. I would break that down into 2 parts, what happens in the extended arm and what happens in the overall stroke/switch in the entire body and arms.
Extended arm:
After you address mobility, then you need to be able to get your elbow on top of your arm, or at least somewhat on top if not a bit to the side. If you cannot, you will not be able to drop your forearm/hand under your elbow – it will fold inward towards your head.
On dryland, try this drill. Extend one of your arms with your palm facing down, as if you just speared. Now, without a ton of movement in the shoulder AND keeping your hand still, rotate just your elbow from its down/side position to the top of the arm. Nice parlor trick right?
Here is a video of me explaining this movement.
That was the advanced and most desirable movement. For some, shoulder and neuromuscular issues may make this movement difficult. An easier path is to just rotate your hand inward, with the thumb starting to point down, about 5-10 degrees. This also gets your elbow nearly on top. You do not want to rotate your hand all the way inward to get your elbow all the way on top; this is bad because now your palm is not facing backward and is not in the optimal position to catch water.
In the water, you must imprint this movement as you spear. So as the spear extends outward, you must either turn your thumb inward/down slightly, or better rotate your elbow on top (without excessive rotation of the shoulder and no movement of hand). Either way puts your elbow in a more optimal position to just let your forearm drop underneath it, or nearly under it – it may bend slightly inward.
But also remember, your entire body is in motion at this point. So even if your elbow is not all the way on top, the moment you bend is when you spear the other hand so that it will end up with the hand pointing down once your body rotates with the other side spearing.
This is a good segway into the patterning of the entire movement:
I highly recommend practicing Coach Dave Cameron’s dryland drill. It is one of the best ways to drill the spearing and EVF movement.
In the water, the EVF has many elements.
First, you must be able to do this movement WITHOUT moving your upper arm during the time to stroke back. Most swimmers have imprinted just moving the entire arm back during the stroke back; this habit must be changed. So at the time when you would normally move the entire arm back, you just drop the forearm under the elbow. This is the essence of Coach Dave’s video.
Second, you must adjust the timing of your stroke back. Here is a textual description of this movement while swimming:
1. You are at the end of recovery. For the sake of clarity, let’s say the right arm is in proper spear-ready position, the left arm is extended in front of you. As we discussed before, you already have your elbow on top or near-top of the arm. Your fingers are relaxed and drooped slightly, such that your palm is facing somewhat back.
2. As the right arm begins its spear, it drops into the water. Your left arm is still extended – remember the patient lead arm!
3. As the right arm spear starts extending forward (and your body is beginning to rotate, probably getting flat at this point), your left arm bends at the elbow WHILE keeping the upper arm still extended forward. Thus the left forearm is dropping below the elbow to catch water with the entire forearm, not just hand.
4. The right arm spear is now extending forward and the left arm has a full vertical forearm now. Your body has rotated almost its finished position on the other side.
5. As the right arm spear is shooting forward, only now do you stroke back with the left hand, keeping its path straight backward which results in the elbow moving “high” in the water back with the hand. The stroke back along with the 2BK and hip drive through the torso and shoulders is what launches the spear forward, and you along with it.
Most of the time, the main issue is that you want to get your whole arm stroking back as soon as possible. You need to change that and delay it until you drop the forearm under the elbow first before stroking back.
You must leave your patient lead arm left extended forward a little longer until the recovering arm has entered the water and begun its path forward. At this point, most swimmers have imprinted a timing which is to pull the lead arm back as the recovering arm has dropped into the water. Now you must delay that by a tiny bit more to let the forearm drop down first and then stroke back.
Note that Coach Shinji has described two phases of tension. The first is when you drop your forearm down and you place pressure on the water you’ve caught with your entire arm, at the beginning of you stroking back. Then as you pass your shoulder, the tension lessens until you get a bit further down your torso and then again you use tension to push water back strongly, as you finish the stroke back to your hip. This is apparently very present for sprinting; for longer distance, they have found that there is more tension at the back of the stroke near the hip, versus in front.
All this takes a ton of practice and work, some out of the pool, but it is definitely achievable by everyone.
CoachDShen coaches in the SF Bay area. Read more about training at his blog.
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June 27, 2013
Secrets of Buoyancy
Secrets of Buoyancy
“When I try to swim, I sink like a rock.” This is a standard resignation that can close the door to the possibility of effortless swimming for many people. It simply does not have to be so.
First Secret: Balance
“Balance? On the water?” Well, no… Balance in the water. We start with Superman Glide, so our clients can relax into the water. Regardless of body composition (proportion of lean muscle to fat), no body balances on top of the water.
In order to walk on “solid” ground, we must first learn to balance. As toddlers, when we “lost” balance, we fell to the ground. In other words, we were relegated by gravity to a lower stratum.
In order to swim, we must first learn to balance in water – a shifting, viscous liquid medium. If we are successful, we remain near the water’s surface. If we are not successful, we are relegated by gravity to a lower stratum.
Second Secret: Balance in Stillness
Our first response when we feel out of balance is to move around until we regain balance. This isn’t just a response – it’s a reaction. It’s imprinted through countless generations of human existence into the cells of our bodies. However, it’s pretty easy to dissolve that imprinting.
The first empowering step towards swimming with ease and mastery is to discover balance in stillness. We use balancing drills like Superman Glide and Skate Position to refine this balance in stillness and relaxation, and to strengthen an emotional sense of ease and confidence. (I prefer to call Skate Position “The Hammock”. In my workshops, you get extra credit if you fall asleep in your Hammock!)
Move through the water – without moving around in the water. The less disturbance you make, the easier it is to move forward. Be still. Be balanced.
Third Secret: Tense Muscles are Dense
When you tense up your muscles, they contract. As anything contracts, it becomes more dense. More density equals less buoyancy. Relax! Maximize your “hammock time!”
In every movement, the less tension required, the less energy expended. That’s an element of efficiency – using less energy to accomplish your goal.
Fourth Secret: Tension versus Toning
However, you cannot accomplish anything if your body is like a noodle. You must develop the discernment between tension and toning. In any sport, correct posture, alignment and biomechanics require muscle toning with judicious cycled patterns of tension and relaxation.
A tense elbow, forearm, wrist, hand and fingers are deterrents to efficient swimming – in all phases of the stroke. However, tone and align the same parts and you will create less drag and less disturbance.
Fifth Secret: Vibration
This secret is one I’ve just now started to consider. I’ve often pondered why a lean body with little fat can still maintain reasonable buoyancy, while a body with more buoyant fat seems to sink. This is the reasoning I’ve conjured up to explain it:
When you “activate” (read: “tense up”) a muscle, the result is that the muscle vibrates (resonates) more that when it is relaxed (or even toned). This resonation is on cellular level.
All vibrations/resonations radiate outward. So your tense muscle vibration resonates into water around you. This resonation disturbs the water, creating more voids – more empty space – between the water molecules.
Consequently your body falls into those empty spaces. Your tense muscles continue to vibrate and continue to disturb the water. You keep falling into the empty space, and keep creating more of it.
Relax!
When you minimize muscle vibration, you interface optimally with the water molecules around you. The molecules maintain their optimal liquid structure, with fewer empty spaces. You can enjoy more hammock time with each stroke!
And, as I say to the triathletes I work with, “In the swim, maximize hammock time, because when you get out of the water, hammock time is over.”
Shane Eversfield is Founder and Head Coach of Zendurance Cycling (and a Total Immersion Master Coach). Visit his website: www.zendurancecycling.com.
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June 13, 2013
Slide And Glide Example
A recent comment I received on my post Long Live ‘Slide-And-Glide’ (drill) asked for a video example of this.
I think Shinji’s 9-stroke video gets the idea across.
Notice how there is no pause in the stroke. One arm is always moving, and moving steady and smooth, even while stroking at slower tempo. The catch and hold is still strong and steady, not lighter, nor snappier. That firm and steady pressure of the catch at all tempos is a key feature of SAG.
In my early TI self-coaching days I spent a great portion of my practices in SAG and rotated through my long list of focal points. I mixed it up with various distances and repeat patterns and occasional drill work.
Now-a-days, I use SAG most often while swimming along in open-water with my groups of students and need to set a pace in coordination with them.
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Click here to read more of this post…
To view hundreds of articles of coaching advice and answers to swimmer’s questions on training and technique please visit Coach Mat’s Smooth Strokes blog.
June 10, 2013
Problem-Solving In Open Water
We can divide the teaching we give in our private lessons, camps, and workshops in two categories:
1) Stroke and Swimming Skills
2) Problem-Solving Skills
“Problem-Solving?” you might ask.
Yes, Problem-Solving.
Here are the ‘problems’ that swimmers face:
I want to make swimming easier but it is such a struggle, and exhausting.
I want to make swimming more enjoyable, but it is so boring to train and swim laps.
I want to swim faster, but I can’t figure out how to do it with the time and energy I have to invest in it.
I want to swim without pain or injury, and go faster and farther without those.
I want to be free to explore open-water but there are so many things that provoke my fear and anxiety.
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Click here to read more of this post…
To view hundreds of articles of coaching advice and answers to swimmer’s questions on training and technique please visit Coach Mat’s Smooth Strokes blog.
June 1, 2013
Feel For Feedback
Here is an excerpt from my latest blog post:
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Have you ever asked your coach, "Hey, look at me. Am I doing this right?"
What are you trying to get with that question?
Feedback.
You need feedback to tell whether you are doing the right thing or not so you can make some improvement. There’s no way to learn something (and I mean learn it, in the sense that you acquire the skill, or integrate the knowledge in a way that shifts your behavior) or improve something without feedback.
But this feedback from the coach is outside of you. What do you do when you don’t have the coach around to tell you whether you are doing it right or not? What are your feedback devices then?
**
Click here to read more on my blog smoothstrokes.wordpress.com.
May 22, 2013
Triathlon Swimming : Total Immersion Part 4-Olympic Mammals
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0:01 – Video of Total Immersion’s Perpetual-Motion Freestyle
0:32 – Olympic Champions are Terrestrial Mammals too!
1:14 – Faster strokes is a Problem, not a Solution
Total Immersion’s Head Coach Terry Laughlin gives an in-depth triathlon swimming presentation on Swimming Faster.
At the 2009 Multisport World Expo he advocates slower, slonger strokes for more speed.
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Triathlon Swimming : Total Immersion Part 4- Olympic Mammals
To comment on this video on YouTube, click here
0:01 – Video of Total Immersion’s Perpetual-Motion Freestyle
0:32 – Olympic Champions are Terrestrial Mammals too!
1:14 – Faster strokes is a Problem, not a Solution
Total Immersion’s Head Coach Terry Laughlin gives an in-depth triathlon swimming presentation on Swimming Faster.
At the 2009 Multisport World Expo he advocates slower, slonger strokes for more speed.
(function() {
var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true;
ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js';
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