Wow... this is gold! Thanks for posting these. I'm on the 10th video already! Pretty impressive list of athletes in the room too!

Take care,

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Chris Thornham
Co-Founder And Previous Owner Of FLO Cycling

Wow, this is great. Thanks for posting it!

Started watching this, then realized, I was there in person. Lots of good information there, even I learned something (been a swimmer since the age of 4).

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check out my blog http://theswimmingtriathlete.com

or some good 'nuggets' on swim training, as Gerry would say. thanks for posting the vids.

BOOM!

thanks for the links.

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Dan Meehan
Coach / Athlete

Playlist form: http://www.youtube.com/...TRsZsZil-2IlsHPxtPp2

Thank you for posting..this is effn solid gold...

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"Good genes are not a requirement, just the obsession to beat ones brains out daily"...the Griz

Thanks. Easily one of the most useful posts I have ever come across.

As another stated already - "Solid gold."

David K.

Bump. Anyone trying to improve their swimming needs to watch these. A thread with (company name redacted) gets 6,000 views and this one only gets 600?
Peter

Direct quote, "There are no great or any elite swimmers who breathe anything other than ever single stroke (cycle)."

bingo.

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Advanced Aero TopTube Storage for Road, Gravel, & Tri...ZeroSlip & Direct-mount, made in the USA.
DarkSpeedWorks.com.....Reviews.....Insta.....Facebook
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How does this thread have so few viewers? Though I don't agree with everything on here, most of it is spot on and great information.

Thanks for posting this, very helpful. As someone else said, one of the most useful threads here.

Agreed. I'm going thru them again on the trainer. Good for big gear work...haha but awesome information!

Brent

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DFRU - Detta Family Racing Unit...the kids like it and we all get out and after it...gotta keep the fam involved!

Thanks for posting. Looks like some great information!

Thanks man! Great stuff here.

I echo everyones comments. I'm a horrendous swimmer. Thx for posting

Thanks!

Thanks for posting this!

At least for me, the problem was the title not being descriptive. I may be clueless but I had no idea what this was about. Tower 26? I was thinking Tower Records... Once I got referred here by another thread I agree it's great.

I'll do my part to keep this on the front page a little longer and maybe a few more people will see it. The critical workout he describes in the 7th or 8th video is really good. Working my way up to 4 x 1000 (talk to me in May), but liking the mix of pulling, aerobic and speed in the 4 x whatever set concept. To not over think it, swim training is really very simple, you have to make it hard. Peter

This is the TRUTH from Gerry's mouth himself, and something that still makes me realize why I am still a struggling MOP adult-onset swimmer:

- "You have to swim CONSISTENTLY for 2 years to even begin to 'learn' to swim."
- At least one of your sessions per week has to be a 90 minute session with 4000 of intervals, almost all done hard. (He lays out the structure.)

This was fantastic. Thanks for sharing!

It's pretty awesome stuff. I was thinking people would like it when I saw it.

Glad everyone is enjoying it. The only people it probably won't work for is the mens 35-39 age group for IMC, but should help everyone else :)

Brent

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DFRU - Detta Family Racing Unit...the kids like it and we all get out and after it...gotta keep the fam involved!

Thanks for this. I am a big follower of Swim Smooth and this is a really nice supplement.

Pretty sure this video series won't work for the same age group at IMCDA. If you're M35-39 and going to CDA, don't bother with watching this. :)

I'm a few videos into the series. It starts slow but definitely good info in there. One of the references he mentions, swimsmooth.com, has some good stuff too!

Thanks so much, what a great speaker!

Great videos,- thanks! Technique stuff was mostly reinforcement and clarification of what I've been aspiring for (with a couple solid indications of useless crap I need to quit), and the stuff about training planning/balance/duration/frequency/consistency was a major eye-opener. As a lousy swimmer, this made me want to re-evaluate everything and make some big changes. [reply

Thanks for posting. Here's a link to Joel Filliol's top 20 that Gerry mentions at the beginning of the second video:

http://joelfilliol.blogspot.com/2012/01/most-popular-post-on-this-blog-is-is.html

amazing video series.

Mind you, the 4x1000 workouts he mentioned with two blocks of 10x100's inside at 85-90% output do not sound like fun at all.... but to be honest it inspires me to do something like this to push through the 1:25/100m range that im at.

Half way through that video series it gets quite good.... thanks for posting.

I'm pretty sure he never said it was easy ;) haha consistency and triathletes don't swim fast enough were the two big things I got out of it for sure. Glad you enjoyed them.

Brent

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DFRU - Detta Family Racing Unit...the kids like it and we all get out and after it...gotta keep the fam involved!

Excellent, thanks for posting.

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Train safe & smart
Bob

came across this video of him on vimeo. good stuff.

http://vimeo.com/49203338


Wish we had this where i live.

Does anyone know exactly what the 4 x 1000 set was? I wrote it down afterwards from memory and think it was something like this but can't recall exactly where and in which video it was>
20 minutes warm up
4 x 250 band, buoy and snorkel 20 sec break. 70-75-80-85%
10 x 100 @ 85% HR 3-7 secs rest
2 x 500, buoy and snorkel @ 75% focus on mechanics
10 x 100 @ 90% 30-60 secs rest b/w intervals
What is the break between each 1000?

That's pretty much the set that he described. I think it was something like 30-60 seconds in between the sets. I liked his description of the first set of 100's - the 'shit and go' set, where you touch the wall, look at the clock, say 'oh shit,' then go again.

For me, as a slower swimmer (34 min HIM swim), I made his sets into 4x800 (4x200, 8x100, 2x400, 8x100). With a warmup and brief cool down, I get around 4200 yards in 1:15 or so. It has actually made my swims this past week go pretty quickly, as I'm just focusing on the current set.

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Blog: http://262toboylstonstreet.blogspot.com/
https://twitter.com/NateThomasTri
Coaching: https://bybtricoaching.com/ - accepting athletes for 2023

Might I suggest you amend the tittle to "Tower 26 Swimming Lecture with Gerry Rodrigues"? This series is too good to not be easily located easily with a search.

I particularly liked the 'no drills' part. I am pretty sure that drills have done very little for me except allow me to claim that time as part of a swim workout without helping me get faster.

Thanks for posting this.

I am going to attempt to use this program in prep for next season. I like the big 90 minute session, and was able to copy that down. I'll definitely be starting with the 4 X 600 sets!

My question is, besides this big set, what are some of you doing for the other 2 - 3 weekly sessions? Shorter high intensity technique sessions with the buoys and snorkel? Repeat - repeat?

A second question. In the videos he briefly touches on getting the arm from horizontal to vertical to start the pull. Getting from horizontal to vertical has always been a challenge. The other day I was experimenting with timing this action with the entry of the opposite arm. Is it a timing thing, or is it more of a strength issue to get the arm from horizontal to vertical?

My 2 cents. For me, it seems that the main limitation on attaining the EVF position is one of shoulder flexibility - being able to internally rotate the shoulder enough to attain the proper position early in the stroke. If you have tight shoulders, the best you can do is LVF. Many adult onset swimmers just do not have the flexibility to do what seems easy to long time swimmers. Once you can attain the position, then you need to build the strength, because it is a movement unlike anything else in sports. Peter

Thank you for the positive feedback.

Regarding elbow position, the two two key points are:
1) make sure your elbow is always above your wrist;
2) Keep your finger tips pointed toward the pool's bottom.

Do that with force, and train it a lot; you'll get faster.

What jumper stated is correct.

Focus on a firm hand pushing water with force toward your feet. One of the biggest flaws in slower to moderate speed triathletes/swimmers is what I refer to as "petting the kitty" i.e. too gentle of a hand going through the power phase as if they are petting a kitten. It's too gentle, needing more force. Be gentle on your recovery, get to work when your hand is in the water.

Someone sent a direct message regarding drills. Drills are important but many of the conventional drills for SWIMMERS would not apply to triathletes. Drills that George Bovell (world class 50 m swimmer) does as mentioned in an article by another coach has little to no relevance to triathletes. Just as drills Usian Bolt does would have little relevance. Learn to hold your body tautly and keep it aligned (head, hips feet in a straight line), apply load, ie. proper training, and you'll get plenty fast for triathlon. Don't over complicate it.

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Gerry Rodrigues
http://www.tower26.com
twitter: @tower_26
FB: Tower 26

Hello Gerry, and thanks for replying to a question you must get asked a thousand times! I think I understand what to do once my arm is more or less vertical with my fingers pointing down. It's that 90 degree transition from roughly horizontal to the vertical fingers pointing down that I'm trying to get a feel for. The higher elbow puts my arm in a better position to start, I get that too, but what is that initiates the movement. Jumper mentioned that it is an un-natural movement for a late bloomer. It probably means I have a balance issue as well. That's why I was wondering if that 90 degree transition has to be co-ordinated with the opposite arm. Never mind, sounds like I'm making it complicated.

That aside, I really liked the way you presented your thoughts on tri specific swimming. The taught alignment is something I'm really focusing on. Thanks again.

Gerry,

Can you explain the comment about not dropping the finger tips at the start of the catch which differs from the advice of the Swim Smooth folks? IIRC, you said that the hand should remain in line with the arm with no break at the wrist.

Thanks,
Ian

Just an honest question -

Any triathletes out there actually man up enough to do that 4000 workout as Gerry recommended? That's a tough one!

Awesome serious. Permanent bookmark for me!

I really think that if you focus on...

- keeping your wrist in line with your forearm at all times
- fingertips pointed down as mentioned
- maybe ever so slightly lead with your fingertips downward at the beginning of the stroke
- press down with your entire arm
- actually keep a relatively straight arm

You won't have much of a bend in your arm or 'high elbow catch' until you get to 45 degrees or more below the surface of the water, and you certainly won't have an 'early vertical forearm'. I really think though that the number of swimmers who 'think' that they have an EVF is much much lower than you would think. Much much lower than a lot of coaches would have you think.

Grant Hackett has one yeah. Thorpe yeah. Janet Evans, nope at least in the terms that most people are talking about. But all of these swimmers and every decent swimmer have a 'high elbow' in the sense that it is always above their hand. The examples commonly used are great examples and ones that we can all learn from. But, they are all really really physically strong swimmers that are commonly used. And, they have massive massive kicks, which generally means they have a much slower turnover. Again, you can learn something from all of them.

Here's one that a lot of people probably use, or at least one very similar to this one. Hackett.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhQfPokRMA0

And, here's Janet Evans. No offense to triathletes, but their physique is probably a lot more similar to Evans than Hackett/Thorpe/Phelps. And her technique is probably a bit closer to the 'high turnover' swimming that was brought up on a different thread.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71CN4yNMgtY

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Brandon Marsh - Website | @BrandonMarshTX | RokaSports | 1stEndurance | ATC Bikeshop |

Different link to the video series that includes a description of each of the videos:
http://www.purplepatchfitness.com/...t-us-page-guest-blog

Resurrecting an old thread here, but I noticed the videos are private. Do you or anyone else have another link to them?

Here are links to the Swim Smooth videos on an efficient freestyle stroke. They include some footage of Janet Evans

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8SEJpvZSOY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yiSZP4PQCs

Boo, these videos have gone private. Was going to send them to a friend

Unfortunate, these were a classic

I didn't get a chance to watch these before they went private. Are they going to be packaged for sale, or was there some other reason for them to be made private? I'd love to check them out based on the comments others have made.

PSA: Looks like these are back up!

twomarks

Thanks! Time to download them before they disappear again!

Just came across this post. Those videos are awesome. I've read some of the Tower 26 but the videos are awesome. I really like his statement "there are no shortcuts" It's nothing I didn't know but it's something that bears repeating over and over and over

Love this series and his approach to triathlon swimming... very practical and just seems to be dead on for what many of us want/need to reach our triathlon goals. I saw this series a while ago and then poured through his site http://tower26.com/

He's recently started a Podcast that goes over much of the video info and delves deeper into some areas... while keeping it relatively simple as he does. Podcast is: Triathlon Swimming with Tower 26 - Be Race Ready Podcast Roughly 30 minutes or less which is a great commute listen for me. Currently up to 11 episodes.

Between he and my coach, I've dropped 5 seconds per 100 off of my times in a few months... I've got a bit of work to do on step one in his program.. I'm not always taut but I'm focusing on fixing that.

His basic steps to successful tri swimming... work the step in this order with a good "prescription".

1. tautness
2. alignment
3. propulsion

I've listened to the podcast. It's good. I definitely have a lot of work to do but step 1 is just swim more and have harder sets. I've never used a swimming snorkel before so will definitely start doing that. It's really shocking at first when he says triathletes need a minimum of one 90 minute swim session per week and two is better.