Hi Brian,

I have a swim school in Boise ID.  I have been a long time follower of TI and love the philosophy.  I also went to school and swam in your back yard..the Air Force Academy. ;o) 

I just purchased your Olympic distance tri training book from TI and wanted to get some suggestions from you as to how we might incorporate tempo trainers into the workouts as well.  We have just started using the tempo trainers and would like to incorporate the use of them in your workouts if possible.

Any suggestions you might have would be awesome.

Thanks in advance for all your time and consideration.

The post Using the Tempo Trainer with The Olympic Training Plan appeared first on Total Immersion.

 I got an e-mail from a young man who wanted to learn Combat Swimmers Stroke (CSS), commonly known as SideStroke. He’s going into the Navy, and wants to be able to pass their CSS test, which requires swimming 500 yards in 8 minutes or less. Now I don’t get many requests for that particular stroke, and I told him so. I haven’t swam it in years, and I told him so. I’m simply not expert in the stroke, and I told him so. 

 Despite my efforts to convince him I was not the right coach for him, he persisted. It would seem that CSS coaches are hard to come by. I told him that I believe there are certain fundamentals that I could teach him, and he signed up for an hour lesson.

I watched him warm up, a bit of front crawl and a bit of sidestroke at a blistering pace that left me winded just watching. Although his balance was good, it would be difficult not to be balanced at that speed. He nearly disproved the notion that a swimmer can’t hydroplane. It was far from the relaxed easy form we’ve come to know as "Shinji-like". And his breathing after each length reminded me of Lamaze Breathing.

After reviewing video of his freestyle and CSS, we discussed…you guessed it, balance, comfort, relaxation, streamlining, economy of movement, and pacing. We started out with Superman Glides and Skate. Then, with those two drills in mind, we broke CSS down into its components, using a drill for each. Then we re-assembled it, bit by bit. The product was a much easier stroke, albeit slower. However, this slower stroke was sustainable and afforded the opportunity for careful examination and improvement.

 Swimming is about habitual coordination. Constantly swimming beyond your ability nearly ensures that improvement in coordination won’t happen. By slowing down, This lad could improve his movements and make them repeatable.

I got an e-mail from him the other day. He said:

Hey Brian,

I’ve been working on the drills we discussed and my endurance in the pool has skyrocketed. I’d like to schedule another session with you sometime next week. Does Monday at 4:30 work for you? 

Maybe I am a CSS expert… 

The post Skills Common to All Strokes appeared first on Total Immersion.

Which program should I choose?

Beginner Freestyle Stroke Efficiency Program – Choose this program if you:

• Have a basic knowledge of the current TI drills: Skate, SpearSwitch, ZenSwitch (SwingSwitch), Swim and Nod.
• Want guidance to help you explore the TI drills, and develop a Shinji-like stroke.
• Can swim at least 50 yards without stopping, but have difficulty swimming more than a couple hundred yards.
• Are tired of getting tired and frustrated while learning how to swim!

It can be overwhelming to choose the proper drills, the proper focal points, and develop a practice that will incorporate those elements into a coherent practice that brings "drill skills" to wholestroke swimming. These practices will give you structure and help you learn to choose your own focal points and drills.

Intermediate Freestyle Stroke Efficiency Program – Choose this program if you:

• Have a basic knowledge of the current TI drills: Skate, SpearSwitch, ZenSwitch (SwingSwitch), Swim and Nod.
• Want guidance to help you explore the TI drills, refine and improve your stroke.
• Can swim at least 300 yards/meters without stopping.
• Develop greater endurance, the ability to maintain your form for a distance of your choice
• Want to swim faster by maintaining your best form at a higher stroke rate and effort level, instead of just working harder and hoping for speed.

Total Immersion drills allow every swimmer to access the same techniques used by top swimmers. This set of 19 workouts guides you through the use of those drills and wholestroke swimming to turn you into a better swimmer.

Sprint Triathlon Swim Training Plan – Choose this plan if you:

• Are a TI devotee, and are ready to spend more time swimming whole stroke, and less time drilling.
• Swim in a short course pool (25 yards or meters).
• Are training for a sprint triathlon.
• Are training for a longer triathlon, but it takes you longer than 2:20 to swim 100 yards/meters.
• Are a swimmer who wants to develop speed and endurance to swim a faster 750 yards/meters.
• Bought a "traditional" triathlon training plan, but don’t see the purpose in mindless "kick, pull, and swim" sets.
• Are ready for a swim training plan that creates "habitual coordination" and improves fitness.

The sprint triathlon swim requires you to swim fast.  But long, hard swim workouts teach you to swim slowly.  This plan optimizes your training time, helps you imprint faster swimming, while saving time and energy for training on the bike and run.

Olympic and Long Course Triathlon Swim Training Plan – Choose this plan if you:

• Are a TI devotee, and are ready to spend more time swimming whole stroke, and less time drilling.
• Swim in a short course pool (25 yards or meters).
• Are training for an Olympic or half-iron triathlon.
• Are training for a sprint triathlon, you swim faster than 1:30 per 100 yards, and want to swim more than 2000 yards when you practice.
• Want a plan with a logical progression that places emphasis on neuro-muscular coordination and optimal speed.
• Don’t like traditional training plans that teach you to swim harder, instead of better.
• Wish to optimize your training time, learn to swim faster with less effort, and still have plenty of energy to train for the bike and run.

This plan discards those mindless workouts in favor of a challenging practice that stimulates your physical and mental systems, preparing you to swim your best stroke for the entire race distance, and achieving a better balance of priorities, so that you have the time and energy to train two other sports.

The post Swim Training Programs by TI Coach Brian Vande Krol appeared first on Total Immersion.

See the plans here. 

You’re at the triathlon starting line. As you stand in the water, surrounded by 150 of your closest friends, your heart starts to race, even though you have not.  You think of all that training you’ve done.  You swam hard, countless sets of KPS (kick, pull, swim).  You worked so hard in the pool that you were often too tired to workout effectively on the bike or run. 

The horn sounds, and you’re off! You’re swimming hard and fast.  You’re at the front, with nothing but open water in front of you. And then it hits you.  It’s hard to breathe. Despite your best efforts, you just can’t kick or pull as fast. You keep trying, and somehow make it to the finish of the swim.  You stand up on wobbly legs, stagger across the timing mat, and barely manage to jog to your bike.  With shaky arms and legs you don your helmet, amble out of transition, panting rapidly, and start riding slowly.

Is this the race you imagined when you committed to that training plan?

Triathlon training plans are generally written with one goal in mind – to make you fit and strong. But swimming doesn’t necessarily improve with fitness and strength. If you don’t focus on technique, swimming harder will tire you and might even result in slower swimming.  And if you train too hard in the pool, two things can happen – you might be too fatigued to train for the bike and run, and you might swim too hard in the race.

It’s more important to swim well, rather than hard. This is especially true in a triathlon, where more time can be saved from biking and running fast than from swimming fast. But most triathlon training plans put little emphasis on swimming better or easier.

Successful triathlon swimming requires that you swim as fast as your technique allows, while still conserving enough energy to power you through the bike and run. Work too hard during the swim and your form might break down.  At some point on the bike or run, those seconds you saved by swimming hard will turn into lost minutes when you’re just flat out of gas.

Successful triathlon training requires that you spend the optimal time and energy on the swim to allow hard training on the bike and run.  That’s where you’ll gain the most benefit from hard work.  But almost every training plan includes the standard swim training – warm up, kick, pull, swim, cool down.  I’ve trained with a few of those plans, and always ignored the swim workouts.  They just don’t help me swim better.

I once had the pleasure of working with a guy who had just become a professional triathlete. I asked him to swim a few easy lengths.  He was clearly working hard on those easy lengths!  He told me that he works really hard on the swim.  He’s been known to work so hard during the swim at races that he gets sick on the bike.  We worked to learn an easier way to slip through the water, the TI way.  A month later, he reported that he was swimming faster and easier than ever before.

I’ve written four training plans, all designed to help you become a better swimmer.  The plans are described here.  Imagine this scenario at your next race after training the Total Immersion way:

You’re at the triathlon starting line. As you stand in the water, surrounded by 150 of your closest friends, your heart starts to race, even though you have not.  Then you remember your training. Your heart rate slows as you visualize executing your best stroke. 

The horn sounds, and you’re off! With a highly developed sense of pacing, you swim your optimum stroke rate and stroke length, honed to near perfection by careful practice and experimentation in the pool.  You barely notice the thrashing swimmers around you.  They are no longer important.  You focus on your stroke.  You allow yourself to consider that you are swimming easier than the people around you.  You smile to yourself and then refocus on your stroke.

Soon, you’re at the finish of the swim. A quick check of the time reveals that you swam fast.  You stand up and jog easily past the timing mat.  The swim was a good warm-up.  Now you’re ready for your best performance on the bike and run.

The post New Training Plans Available! appeared first on Total Immersion.

I often work with swimmers who, at our second or third lesson together, can’t quite seem to remember which drill is the skate drill.  This usually leads to a discussion about what they’ve been practicing since our last lesson.  I often find out that they’ve been swimming mostly whole-stroke, because they have a race coming up, are impatient, or just simply need more guidance about how to incorporate the drills into a practice.

 I worked recently with such a person.  She could swim most of the distance of her upcoming races which were still a couple of months away, but she was still concerned that she needed to work on endurance.  So she would spend just a few minutes working on the drills, and then proceed to swim long sets of whole-stroke.  I took video of her swimming, and then doing the skate drill, and compared the two.  It was obvious that a) her skate drill was good, but not consistent and could be better, and b) that her skate position was not at all evident in her whole-stroke swimming.

 Next, I had her practice, refine and imprint her skate position, and then took video of her whole-stroke again.  In the whole-stroke, her focal point was simply to replicate that skate position on each stroke.  She noticed right away that the swim was easier, and on the video she could identify her skate position on each stroke.  Now it was obvious that mindful drilling and mindful swimming practice is the best way to make those race swims easier and faster.  She’s been practicing her drills mindfully ever since, and has gained a much better sense of how her body behaves in the water.

(Incidentally, after three lessons in three weeks and some mindful pool practice, she went from barely surving an open water 1 mile swim in about 45 minutes to swimming 1.2 miles in under 43 minutes with much more ease.)

 Because of many similar encounters, I’ve recognized a need for a training program for TI swimmers.  I’ve written a six week program for new TI swimmers.  It has detailed instructions for 18 practices that offer a coherent, structured progression through the TI drills.  It’s more than "skate 4 by 25, and then spearswitch 4 by 25".  You’ll get focal points for each length, and learn how to bring your drill skills into whole-stroke swimming.  There’s an increasing amount of whole-stroke swimming with each practice, and some guidelines about how to make your practice more effective. 

 If you have the Easy Freestyle DVD, or have taken a  TI workshop or lessons, this plan bridges the gap between knowing the drills and incorporating them into your practice.

 The plan is available as an E-Book at Total Immersion.  Click here for more information, or to purchase the plan. 

A plan for Intermediate swimmers will be available soon.

The post Six Week Beginner Freestyle Stroke Efficiency Program appeared first on Total Immersion.

The Skatch drill uses the Skate drill to develop a higher traction position for the stroking arm.  During the pull phase of the stroke, the forearm should be oriented somewhat vertically.  Somewhat, because it can be a difficult position to achieve, depending on your shoulder flexibility.  This drill helps move you closer to that ideal vertical forearm. Rest assured that you don’t have to "get there" to swim better – getting closer to it is the kaizen way.

There are two common and well known errors during the pull phase of the stroke, and one less well known error.  The common errors are:

1. Dropped elbow.  This is when the elbow bends and moves before the hand, leaving the hand and forearm in the wake of the elbow, reducing traction.
2. Straight arm pull.  This is better than the dropped elbow, but the first part of the stroke puts more pressure down on the water, rather than moving the swimmer forward.  This is inefficient, stresses the shoulder, and pushes the hips down.

Both of these errors are linked to one factor: where is the elbow pointing at the start of the stroke?  When we reach full extension with the lead arm, the elbow is typically pointing down.  Rotating the elbow just a bit so that it points more to the side can allow the hand to come towards the body while the elbow stays in place.  That’s how a vertical catch happens.

The third error is using too much muscle to get to the catch position.  When that happens, the hand becomes tense, and usually faces the wrong direction.  You’ll also feel a "squiggle" in the first part of the stroke, instead of a pull that happens on the track.  Instead, relax the hand into the catch position.  There’s no reason to exert yourself before you get to the stroke!

The Skatch Drill starts in the Skate position.  First, just simply turn the elbow a bit, leaving the hand relaxed and fingers pointing down.  Then return to the starting position.  Repeat this several times, gradually turning the arm a bit more.

When that becomes comfortable, allow the hand to move toward the elbow, just a bit.  Don’t force it!  Keep the hand on the track, and maintain "just enough rotation". Then return to the start position.  As this becomes more comfortable, move the hand further, with the goal of maintaining your skate position while having the hand under the elbow.  Click here for a video of the drill.

Alternate lengths of Skatch with whole stroke swimming to integrate the easy catch position into your stroke.

The post The Skatch Drill appeared first on Total Immersion.

Zenswitch is a favorite drill for many TI swimmers, because it more closely approximates whole stroke swimming than Skate or Spearswitch.  In fact, I tell my swimmers that Zenswitch "evolves" into whole stroke swimming.  There are really just two things that separate Zenswitch from swimming:

• 1) Using pauses to isolate parts of the stroke.
• 2) Dragging part of the forearm through the water.

The Purpose of Pauses (and How to Eliminate Them)

Typically, we pause in the skate position, and again in the "entry" position, with the elbow in front of the head and the forearm dangling. This pause provides the opportunity to examine where we are and what we are about to do.  I like to think of a checklist.  In the skate pause, my checklist might be:  

• o Am I in my best skate position?
• o Do I know where I’m going? (swinging the elbow out and forward to the entry position)

In the entry position, my checklist might be:

• o Am I still in my best skate position?
• o Do I know where my next skate position is? Can I visualize my target?
• o Do I know how I’m going to get there? (Patient lead hand, smooth weight shift, traction with the pulling arm, etc.)

Once I’ve cleared my checklist, I’m ready to move.  As I become more familiar with the positions and movements, it takes less time to clear the checklist.  Eventually, I can clear the checklist before getting to either position, and I can smoothly move through the switches without pausing.

Dragging the Forearm

When we drag the forearm through the water, we use the water to provide feedback about the recovery.  When the forearm is truly relaxed and dangling like a rag doll, the water shapes the arm, keeping the wrist behind the elbow.  The feeling is that of "releasing water" under the forearm, as opposed to pushing water in front of the forearm.  Also, if we maintain a constant depth of the forearm (feel the waterline at the crook of the elbow) we must swing the elbow out away from the body, rather than bringing it up in a cramped recovery.

Practicing Zenswitch with the waterline at the crook of the elbow imprints a relaxed forearm and a wide recovery.  When we bring the forearm a bit higher out of the water, we can test the imprinting we’ve done.  With less water to shape the arm, we have to rely on our habits to ensure a proper recovery. As the arm gets higher and higher, eliminating pauses and keeping a relaxed dangling forearm, the drill becomes whole stroke when the fingertips are dangling millimeters above the surface.

Zenswitch Transitions

The accompanying video demonstrates one of the ways I like to practice Zenswitch (it’s also demonstrated by Terry Laughlin on the Easy Freestyle DVD).  I’ll first practice several lengths at various "forearm altitudes", gradually bringing the forearm up until I arrive at whole stroke swimming.  Then, I’ll swim two strokes at each of the following positions to bring the drill skills to whole stroke:

• o Waterline at elbow
• o Waterline at middle of forearm
• o Waterline at wrist
• o Fingertips tickling the surface, finishing with whole stroke

This is done without breathing for the first 8 switches, and then I’ll add breathing as I finish the length in whole stroke.

Notice that the recovering arm looks very similar in each stroke, only that the elbow is higher.

The post Zenswitch Transitions appeared first on Total Immersion.

Thou Shalt Not Decelerate
If you’ve ever been kayaking, you know that as soon as you complete a paddle-stroke on one side, you should immediately begin a paddle-stroke on the opposite side. Doing this keeps your kayak moving forward and minimizes deceleration.  "learn to elongate your reach – your arm’s extension and entry into the water – and precisely time the catch with the end of the propulsion phase of the pulling arm,"…"In other words, there should be little, if any, deceleration and glide".

Let’s examine this "commandment" in light of what we know about kayaking, swimming, and common sense.

1. Favor Streamlining over Power
The front of a kayak doesn’t disappear between paddle-strokes!  The length and shape of a kayak determines its potential speed.  The longer and more streamlined it is, the less it will decelerate between strokes.  A swimmer, however, loses some of that length when the lead arm begins to pull.  Until it is replaced by the other arm, the bodyline becomes shorter, and therefore less streamlined. 

We can minimize deceleration in two ways:  continuously apply power, as the article suggests, or leave the lead hand in place a bit longer to reduce drag.  The first method requires a higher stroke rate and more power (because you’re propelling a less streamlined vessel, you have to apply more power to overcome drag).  The second method decreases drag and allows you to swim faster with less power.

2. Reach Through the Water, Not Over It
Elongating your arm’s extension and entry into the water does nothing to propel you forward. It requires energy to support your arm out of the water as you reach forward.  And it reduces the amount of time you spend in a longer, more streamlined body position.  Then, after your arm enters, it’s pressing down on the water, which requires energy, and pushes the hips down.  Worst of all, it puts the shoulder in a weak and vulnerable position, setting you up for injury.

Instead, let your hand enter the water closer to your head, and then make your extension happen underwater.  Allow the water to carry the weight of your arm from entry to extension.  This will make you more streamlined, save energy, and help to protect your shoulders from injury.  As an additional bonus, this type of entry can concentrate energy from the body’s weight shift and direct that energy forward.

3. Don’t Windmill!
Timing your catch with the end of the propulsion phase (a wind-milling stroke) again shortens your vessel, making you less streamlined.  Further, it fails to capture the energy released by the weight shift as you line your body up on one track, and then the other. 

This is also guaranteed to increase your stroke rate and decrease the distance you travel with each stroke. The formula for speed in swimming is Stroke Rate (SR) times Stroke Length (SL).  Wind-milling increases stroke rate.  Increased SR is a good thing, provided that your fitness will accommodate a higher stroke rate, and your coordination enables you to travel a sufficient distance with each stroke to make the formula work in your favor.

By training SR alone, you can make physiological adaptations (become more fit).  However, you are likely to lose SL and end up swimming no faster, perhaps even slower. Instead, swim with the purpose of maintaining Stroke Length while you gradually increase Stroke Rate.  You will swim faster while imprinting the stroke habits required to be more efficient. You’ll still gain fitness as you extend your ability to swim farther and faster.

4. Gliding = Less Drag
The last sentence offers a false choice between minimizing deceleration and glide.  By optimizing the time we spend in a long bodyline, we can minimize deceleration and increase stroke length (glide).  Total Immersion swimming helps you develop the technique to travel farther and faster with each stroke, rather than wind-milling to a shorter stroke with more effort. Minimize deceleration and increase glide!

The post Tilting at Windmill(er)s appeared first on Total Immersion.

Maverick (Tom Cruise) captured the sentiment of millions of people with that line.  In fact, it earned the 94th position in the American Film Institute’s top 100 movie lines.  And for the competitive swimmer or triathlete, speed is one of our top goals.  And it should be a goal for every improvement-minded swimmer. 
Speed is relative.  Obviously, I’m not going to swim as fast as Michael Phelps, but I can learn to swim faster than I used to. And swimming faster is a sign that my technique is improving, as well as my fitness.  Even the fitness swimmer or recreational swimmer should see faster swimming as a desirable outcome.  If I always swim at the same pace and for the same distance, no physiological adaptation occurs, and fitness actually declines. 

If you follow the Total Immersion method, drill faithfully and swim mindfully, you will swim faster. Even without the assistance of a professional coach with a video camera and poolside monitor (that’s me!), you will improve if you swim each and every length with a focal point.

Great technique alone, however, will only take you so far.  It still requires physical effort to swim faster.  The sleekest vessel in the world still needs some energy to move it.  And the more energy applied, the faster the vessel will go. 

What happens when my focus is to "apply more energy", or swim harder?  Quite often, I don’t get nearly enough speed for the additional energy.  Sometimes I even go slower!  Swimming harder nearly always results in less than satisfactory results. Why? When my heart rate becomes elevated, and I become fatigued, my coordination falters, and my technique suffers.  As my technique deteriorates and I feel myself slowing down, I try even harder, and my coordination becomes worse.  Soon, I’m a writhing, flailing, fatigued, slow swimmer.  How can I change that, and use my energy for good, rather than evil?

Understanding the Speed Equation

There are two basic components of the swim stroke that affect speed:  Stroke length, and stroke rate.  If I travel further with each, or take each stroke faster, I will swim faster. And there are combinations that also result in faster swimming. For instance, I can take a longer stroke just a bit slower, or a faster but slightly shorter stroke.  It’s simple math.  Here is an example:

1.0 meters per stroke (m/st) x .83 strokes per second (st/s) = .83 meters per second (m/s)
or
0.95 m/st x 0.9 st/s = .855 m/s

I’ve increased the stroke rate, but I travel just a bit less with each stroke.  The result, however, is a pleasing increase in speed.  I’ve reduced the time required to swim 25 meters by about .88 seconds.  Over a 1500M swim, that’s a savings of nearly a minute, or 3%!

Now, to put this in terms that are a bit easier to comprehend in the pool, we can think in terms of strokes per length (SPL).  If we maintain SPL and our times per length increase, we must be stroking slower.  If times decrease, we must be stroking faster.  If we increase SPL, and times decrease, we must be doing some combination, as in the example. So stroke counting is an invaluable tool for the TI swimmer.  It gives us a measure of stroke length, and combined with a pace clock, an indirect measure of stroke rate.

Gradual Improvement

The TI definition of endurance is "the ability to repeat efficient swimming movements for a distance of your choice".  The TI definition of speed is "the ability to repeat efficient swimming movements with an elevated heart rate and stroke rate".  Note the similarities?  In order to swim fast, there is always an element of endurance.  After all, swimming one stroke fast probably won’t meet anyone’s definition of speed!  We need to be able to "repeat efficient swimming movements at an elevated heart rate and stroke rate for a distance of your choice".

As TI swimmers, we spend a lot of time working on stroke length.  Indeed, the techniques that increase stroke length require much more practice than the techniques that increase stroke rate.  We gradually develop greater stroke length through hours of mindful practice.  Until those techniques become habit, any attempt to increase stroke rate generally results in a less skilled stroke. 

We need to increase stroke rate gradually, perhaps at a rate that is almost imperceptible.  There’s not much difference between 1.20 seconds per stroke, and 1.19 seconds per stroke.  I can’t see the difference watching someone swim, but the clock will tell the difference.  A swimmer taking 20 strokes to swim 25 meters will swim 0.2 seconds faster per 25 meters with that 1/100 second difference in stroke rate.  Increasing my stroke rate in small increments allows me to keep my good habits (stroke length), because my neuron-muscular system doesn’t notice that small change in rate.

But how can I increase my stroke rate in such small increments?  Say hello to my little friend, the Tempo Trainer.
 

Faster Swimming Through Technology

The Tempo Trainer (TT) is a small electronic metronome you place next to your ear, under your swim cap.  It emits a beep at preset intervals, and can be adjusted by .01 seconds.  So I can set it at 1.20 seconds per stroke, and then at 1.19, or whatever. I can gradually increase the stroke rate at which I can maintain my stroke length.  My nervous system will readily adapt to those small changes.

I can also use the TT to increase stroke length.  I first find my "comfortable" tempo, and then slow it down, until I reduce my SPL.  It doesn’t necessarily just happen.  I need to use a focal point, or series of focal points.  The slower stroke rate gives me the time to really focus on some aspect of my stroke, and make it better.
Once you get used to using the TT, and find your range of tempos, you’ll be amazed at how the TT focuses you.  The TT really makes it obvious that adding a stroke adds 1.2 seconds (or whatever tempo you are using) to each length, demanding that you get as much distance per stroke as possible.  And when you find that you’re swimming faster, it’s not because you’re trying harder.  It’s because you’re swimming better.

Total Immersion Speed Shop

Starting on June 5, I’ll be offering a series of four coached workouts at FORZA. These workouts will teach the use of the Tempo Trainer, helping you optimize and improve your stroke rate and stroke length.  The Tempo Trainers will be provided.  Just bring your swim cap, goggles and swim suit!  Click here for more information, and to register.

The post Speed Shop appeared first on Total Immersion.

_____________________
From: Edward
To: Brian Vande Krol
Sent: Monday, March 16, 2009 10:41:05 AM
Subject: Moving Forward with TI

Hello Brian,
 
Tomorrow is our last class of the session. I really like the TI approach and feel more comfortable in the water. I don’t want to lose that as I go forward, but I also need to know how to manage that in a world that doesn’t follow TI.
 
I have signed up with a triathlon training group. Last year I just started swimming with them and they helped me along, at least to be comfortable enough in the water to do my first tri. What is nice about the workout is that it is included in my fee, so I don’t have to pay for pool time. The downside is teaching of perhaps more traditional drills.
 
I want to be able to find a good balance and make sure I do things the TI way.
 
To give you an example, our workout this coming Wednesday is as follows:
 
Warmup: 5 minutes EZ
Main: 8 x 50- Drill down, swim freestyle back (eg. catch-up, finger tip drag, right arm only, left arm only) w/ 15 seconds rest recovery between each 50. Then swim VERY easy for 15 minutes straight, taking breaks as needed.
Cool Down: 5 minutes
 
For Friday it is as follows:
 
Warmup: 5 minutes
Main: 8 x 150 as 2 x (150 easy, 100 easy/ 50 fast, 75 easy/ 75 fast, 50 easy/ 100 fast) w/ 20 seconds rest recovery.
Cool Down: 5-10 minutes
 
Besides some of the drills listed (catch-up, etc.) I remember swimming with hands in front of the head on top of each other just kicking (sounds like superman with flutter to me with the TI way).
 
I remember sculling. Head out of the water I believe, which from what I know now does not seem to make sense. Is this an OK drill (head in or out of water)? I think it helped me with my catch, because I learned to try to catch the water.
 
Catch-up seems pretty close to the TI Zen Switch, although in catch-up your hands touch. It seems that Zen Switch would be better, taking that break before the switch rather than have your hands touch.
 
Finger Tip drag…Zen Switch again.
 
Right arm only, left arm only – is that worth anything? If not, what is a good substitute?
 
There may be others, but I cannot think of them right now.
 
Thanks for your help. See you tomorrow night.
 
Regards,
   -edward

______________________
From: Brian Vande Krol
To: Edward
Sent: Monday, March 16, 2009 11:24:17 AM
Subject: Moving Forward with TI

Hi Edward,
 
Are these workouts written specifically for you?  If it’s a group workout, it might be too simple, or too advanced.  But in general, group workouts are a bit of both.
 
First, the drills:  I would substitute a similar drill for the prescribed drills, and you’ve already identified some of those. 
 
Catch-up can be useful, but be sure to keep wide tracks.  Some coaches give their athletes an 18" baton, and they catch up on that instead of hands touching.  My preference is to do a switch drill with a focus on patient hands, but moving from catch-up to patient lead hand can help identify how patient is "too patient".
 
Fingertip drag is essentially Zenswitch, except it is usually taught with a cramped recovery, fingers next to the body instead of on a wide track.  Keep the forearm dangling lifelessly below an elbow that moves away from the body, instead of up.
 
Any switch drill with one arm at a time can be useful for breathing, integration of the kick and hip drive, or setting a firm catch. Keep that one arm performing with your usual TI style, employ a focal point, and it can be helpful.
 
When doing their variation of Superman Glide, keep the arms on the tracks, not one on top of the other.  Don’t turn it into an aerobic kicking drill.  If you need to focus on your kick, do so. But keep the relaxation in the neck, shoulder and arms.  Better to kick in the skate position, and use a skating focal point.  Remember, there’s no time in an open water triathlon where you’ll have one hand on top of the other.
 
I don’t like the sculling drill, except for breast stroke.  I think there is some merit to "water polo" swimming, head up, back flat, maintaining balance and a patient lead hand.  It can help you develop a better catch.  On the rare occasion that I do it, I transition to whole stroke swimming after half a length.  I think it was Doc Councilman that used that sort of drill, explaining that as swimmers, we evolve from dogs into fish.
 
Length of swim and rest period relate to endurance.  Remember that endurance is the ability to repeat an efficient movement for a particular distance.  So if you can complete the intervals and maintain good form, that’s great.  If not, add rest or shorten the swim. I like to use stroke count to monitor my form.  Keep your stroke count within 10% of your initial stroke count.  And, of course, have a focal point for each length or interval.
 
The easy/fast prescriptions can be problematic if you don’t have an idea about what makes swimming fast.  Harder efforts often result in degraded form and slower swimming.  Instead,  focus on the conditions that allow you to swim faster.  Stroke counting exercises will help you learn what those conditions are.  Learn to hit predetermined stroke counts, and relate those counts to effort level and pace.  There are a variety of exercises in the TI books, or you can come to my Masters Practice for a taste of it.
 
Most of us don’t need to swim faster, then easier in a triathlon, so that kind of training isn’t race specific (faster swimmers might swim fast to catch a draft, and then slow down when they have it).  However, with the right focus, it can teach you to maintain your form when moving faster.  During the easy swim, regain your form and stroke length.  During the fast swim, add stroke rate while maintaining as much form as possible.
 
The goal in all this is to do "sneaky TI".  Make your drills similar to the prescribed drills, and swim with a purpose.  If they give you a kickboard, tell them it hurts your shoulder and skate instead!
 
See you in the water!
 
Brian Vande Krol
FDS Coaching
FDSCoaching.com
Total Immersion Senior Coach
303-466-4615

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