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Bike Fitting vs Swim Coaching
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Being in the somewhat unique position of having bike fit many world class athletes, as well as developed beginners through professionals in the pool, I have often considered the difference in process, but never tried to express them. I thought those differences were obvious, but I've had several swim clients through the years express frustration that their swim development was harder than their bike fits. (No kidding, right?)

Give me a fit bike and two hours and I can attend to your bike position, which is absolutely synonymous with your technique. We transfer those fit coordinates over to your actual bike, and as long as you don't try any "false techniques" such as scraping mud or powering the upstroke, your technique is set. It's fixed in space and supported by hard touch points. You really can't mess it up. You're free to build the engine with little thought of technique.

The situation in swimming is completely different. Weightless, unsupported, and unattached in a foreign environment, technique development (and maintenance) is literally everything. There's no fit bike for swimming. (No, the Vasa is not one) Those two hours on a fit bike stretch out to 6-18 months of structured skill and awareness building activities in the pool. Most of that skill is linked to your fitness as well, so the old "Should I work on technique or just swim more?" is a fools question. We are doing both much of the time.

This may seem a ridiculous metaphor, but learning to swim properly is much like learning to ride the Backwards Brain Bicycle, while blindfolded so our feedback mechanism is reduced, and up a steep hill, so our fitness becomes integral to the process. (Or maybe trying to find your ideal crank length using your Velotron)


So while difficult, it is also possible. It just takes some time. One of the biggest things that can get in the way of this process is frustration. One of the easiest ways to get frustrated is by misunderstanding how long this could take. There are processes for both things, but they are worlds apart, and being properly fit to a bike is the far easier and simpler of the two.


The thin thread common to both processes is your awareness. Rider feedback is highly valued on the fit bike, and awareness is absolutely critical in the pool, and more fundamental than early vertical forearm.


Watch the video and consider learning to ride that bike blindfolded, up a hill.
The Backwards Brain Bicycle


Then consider how many crappy bike fitters get outed right on these forums, and is it any wonder finding someone who can help you in the pool is difficult?

Last edited by: FindinFreestyle: Dec 18, 17 6:25
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