No, he even looked really good at that.

Provided you do it right, this helps focus all your arm movement in a single plane parallel to the length of your body. This helps reduce wasted energy in lateral movements. However it's important to make sure you don't cross over in any way.

I was certainly wide arm to avoid crossover (but I'llnhappily take the free time). I'll have to get video to check.

Doesn't he seem wide, at least on one side!

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Aaron Bales
Lansing Triathlon Team

The beauty of ST, even DTD learns something!

Good job with the young man, btw...looking forward to watching him Sunday!

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!

LOL

Always be learning.

Cheers, he is in fine form and my job has simply been to help him make smarter choices along the way.

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David T-D
http://www.tilburydavis.com

As another poster already said, yes, it is generally accepted good swimming form with the proviso that you do not cross over your center line. The bicep brushing the head is definitely just for drilling purposes though, as otherwise you'd be causing a bit of a chafing spot on your bicep. Not exactly same but I once had an issue with rubbing my shoulder on my cheek on my breathing side; this came about b/c i was trying to speed up my turnover rate to swim faster and stay warmer in cold water sans wetsuit. When i finally gave up on the cold water and moved indoors to an 81* pool, it took a week or 2 to get my timing back such that i didn't chafe my shoulder with my cheek. Apparently, this cheek-rubbing-on-the-shoulder is not that uncommon as, after my little episode, I read about a Channel swimmer who forgot to shave and to apply grease to his face, with the result that his shoulder was a bloody mess after 15 hr of swimming. He did make it across the Channel though.

In sum, 1-2 centimeters (0.4-0.8 inch) can make a big difference in your stroke. :)

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"Anyone can be who they want to be IF they have the HUNGER and the DRIVE."

I have a hard time believing that it took an entire coach to getting you around to trying out different arm entry positions to find the best one for you. Isn't that part of what we're doing in swim training every day, questioning and experimenting with aspects of our stroke to find the best fit? If it were something more challenging like a big leg drop or big overrotation, I'd almost believe it, but seriously, you swam 1:23s day in day out and failed to notice you could go an entire 5sec/100 faster (which is a LOT if you're at your upper limit of performance) just by moving your entry point in a little more?

I guess I'm so skeptical because I've recently been working on this myself, and for sure, I'm not noticing any speed difference with myself no matter how wide or narrow I enter. I do notice however that my body rotation is more controllable with a wide entry (as most coaches advise) so I'm sticking with it, but for sure, I'm not losing 5 sec/100 or even 1sec/100 if I'm entering dead midline (which predisposes to a crossover) or intentionally far wide. I always find it hard to believe that people swimming sub 1:30/100 for awhile can still do a small fix and gain as much as 5sec/100 near-instantly.

Actually, now that you mention it, dropping from 1:23 to 1:18 is a lot just for that minor change; prob Mumps was right on the verge of a big drop and it was simply coincidental that he made this tweak right before dropping 5 sec off of his fastest 100 repeats. It's the old just b/c something happens after something else happens, does not necessarily mean that the one caused the other. I forget the formal logic name for this.

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"Anyone can be who they want to be IF they have the HUNGER and the DRIVE."

I know - surprised the hell out of me too. Not something I'd played with as it was very unnatural at first.

This was Monday before a 70.3 when I made the switch, so perhaps taper boost helped, but I'm not sure. Maybe swimming like a Y was just crazy inefficient, but since I wasn't a 2:00 per hundred swimmer no one said anything.

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Aaron Bales
Lansing Triathlon Team

Interestingly, for me, it doesn't change my speed if I enter dead center or pretty far out. Even with my arm in a full "YMCA" position angle on the reach, if my stroke gets shortened by it, if I'm keeping up the same effort, stroke rate compensates and I end up the same speed.

I guess this part was surprising to me as you keep hearing about being like a "needle" going through the water, which should suggest entry and reach at the tip of your head, but pretty much no elite swimmers do this, and most enter decently wide. I suspect it's harder to maintain a power stroke without x-ing over if you enter dead center, but to my surprise, I'm no slower when I do so.

Then again, unfortunately for me, not much I do makes me go faster techniquewise. Even with the fisty drill where I lose all the area of my palm, I just increase my stroke rate and I'm like only 1sec/100 slower than normal.

Yes I have. I find it odd, for sure. The current tends to pull your legs down so I usually go with a pull buoy. Their pool is kind of a combo lounge pool + fitness thing so it's a good bit longer than it appears Lionel's pool is, so I'm not sure how that affects things. It doesn't seem much more turbulent at high speeds (theirs can't go crazy fast, I think there are more than one speed/motor options) but the consequences of straying out of the "stream" become more "severe." It's a handy workout, but not one I'd want to use exclusively. And for me, the cost is too high to ever really justify having one. I'd rather just not swim.

This current pulling your legs down is weird for sure but i've heard same from others. If my pool/fitness center were to get one, i'd certainly give it a try but, as you may have heard me say before, i would never build a regular pool, or an EP, at my house b/c then i'd miss the casual, chance encounters with other swimmers. I just like watching good swimmers swimming, the power and grace of their strokes.

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"Anyone can be who they want to be IF they have the HUNGER and the DRIVE."

The endless pools really aren't that great for workouts. They are much better for doing one on one lessons with a coach.

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http://www.magnoliamasters.com
http://www.snappingtortuga.com
http://www.swimeasyspeed.com

This is what i've always suspected, b/c it would be so hard to get the current "just right" to swim at the pace you want to swim at, not to mention the various current issues. Just a regular pool will do just fine, thank you.

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"Anyone can be who they want to be IF they have the HUNGER and the DRIVE."

Yep and even the fastest motors that are advertised at :52/100 isn't anywhere near that speed from the 3 different pools I've been in. It always felt closer to about 1:01-1:02/100 and it's tough to stay in the current at that speed since it's fairly narrow.

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http://www.magnoliamasters.com
http://www.snappingtortuga.com
http://www.swimeasyspeed.com

Yes I have. I find it odd, for sure. The current tends to pull your legs down so I usually go with a pull buoy.

OK guys, I have written about my experience with EP's in the way distant past, here is a recap. Yes they pull your legs down, don't wear a pull buoy!! This will strengthen you kick beyond belief if you go without the floatie. On the flip side your arms will get a bit weaker because you are always pulling in moving water. If you swim in one of these for a long period without a pool it really feels weird when you finally get in a lane. You do feel the weak pull but your kick is like you have never felt before.


And of course it is a work out, you guys are silly to think otherwise. You can set it on 53 Ironman pace and just go for an hour, that would give most people a good go for your money. Maybe not Potts, but the rest of you wankers for sure. And all this talk about intervals and how it doesn't really work, it is not supposed to!! You use these just like your OW swims, you get to keep your arms and legs moving without turns or interruptions for a long period of time. You absolutely need this kind of workout in your quiver if you want to race well on game day. You will feel your back getting tight after an hour in one of these, just like in real OW. It really lets you know what is going to be niggly after long swims, so now you can work on those spots.


And lastly the mirror is really great, you get to make tiny little changes and you get instant feedback because you are at a constant speed. Change up your kick a bit, move back bad, move forward good!! Same with pulling, although with the moving water it is not an exact measure of what will happen in still water. But if you are like me and always on someones feet until the last 100, then it is perfect race simulation!


I had a blast in mine, set at 4200 ft with a beautiful view of 10k ft mountains. It bridged the gap for a couple years before I got to a real pool again, but I had to build that one too! It was just nice to turn off your brain and swim, like running in a forest under the canopy. An hour goes by in no time..

I gather that the width of the current gets narrower as the speed increases, which makes sense based on flow measurement. So, what is the fastest speed at which a swimmer can realistically use the EP, w/o having to worry too much about "getting out of the current"??? Maybe 1:15/100 yd???

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"Anyone can be who they want to be IF they have the HUNGER and the DRIVE."

Good new Lionel interview.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kofGSsWHNaw