Thank you.

Just got some real big powerful fins and am swimming with them a lot. Basically doing a 100 focusing on technique then 100 of drills with my fins back and forth until I can't hold form. Hoping it will help!

Yes, and on the stocky side for a triathlete (5'9" and 160 pounds with low body fat). I played a lot of rugby and then martial arts through my teens, twenties and thirties; since moving to triathlon in my mid-30s my body shape hasn't really changed. If I back off endurance training and start lifting, I hit 175 pounds really fast. I've always felt like a "sinker" and my wetsuit vs. pool swim times bear this out:

pool 1500 best last year: 26:00
lake (wetsuit) 1900 last year: 27:59

Do you have any special advice for dense people like me? I've always been told to kick more to keep my heavy quads up, but that is really tiring and has a negative impact on the rest of my race...

Went back last night and took a huge breath and was able to find that sweet spot a little easier. Thanks!

I also did really focused/deliberate swimming last night with an ankle band (as well as your elevator drill). I have never really experienced “pressing the T” before, but I was shocked at the feeling of swimming downhill. I hate to use these cliches, but I certainly experienced something I’ve never felt before. It was most notably in my feet… my feet seemed to be tucked into cleaner water (rather than feeling turbulence of the tops of my feet). I can assume that my feet were in my body’s slipstream. But I could be totally wrong. All I know is that I got just a taste of better body position last night and I’m excited to chase it again.

I was doing 50s on the elevator drill. I’m 5 seconds faster with a lower head position than a higher one. Crazy.

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@floathammerholdon | @partners_in_tri

If you reach deeper, the hips/legs will likely rise. The POTENTIAL issue is that you will miss out on some of the front part of the stroke. It then becomes an issue of trade-offs. If your body position is terrible and you otherwise do a good job with the pull, I would roll with that. If the opposite is true, I would caution you. Reaching deeper is probably more sustainable as a better hip position is generally smoother. If that's a priority, then that move might be a good choice.

Having to rotate more isn't necessarily a problem. It will take longer and thus slow your stroke rate. That may or may not be an issue for you. Something to try is to reach down WITHOUT pressing your head too much. If you can manage that, you may find that you have the best of both worlds.

Let me know if you have follow up questions.

Hope that helps.

Andrew

---

http://www.masteringflow.info
http://www.youtube.com/@masteringflow
http://www.andrewsheaffcoaching.com/...freestyle-fast-today

Agreed. This will work as well. The same caution applies. Too much, too soon can cause problems. As with any new stress, be patient and increase volume/intensity slowly.

Andrew

---

http://www.masteringflow.info
http://www.youtube.com/@masteringflow
http://www.andrewsheaffcoaching.com/...freestyle-fast-today

Go it. Makes sense. You will always ride lower in the water. It is what it is. However, that is not a death sentence. You just have to work harder to stay level. I've found that people like this need to work HARDER to press/lean into the chest/lungs/water. That will help you ride more level in the water.

As far as practicing the floating exercises, stick with the basic ones, and get a feel for the what the lungs do. Focus on POSITION (being level) rather than being high in the water. That probably isn't in the cards. Focus on being level. That will make the biggest difference. Getting the legs up is the key. Learning how lean/press will help.

This exercise is useful too for exploring the extremes.

https://drive.google.com/...o1i/view?usp=sharing

Let me know if you have follow up questions.

Hope that helps!

Andrew

---

http://www.masteringflow.info
http://www.youtube.com/@masteringflow
http://www.andrewsheaffcoaching.com/...freestyle-fast-today

YES! It's hard to explain, but once you get it, you GET it. It takes a little practice to make it work.

The feet being tucked in cleaner water is a good observation as well. It's because they're not dragging any more!

Swimming downhill is a cliche. However, once you get in the right position, that's pretty much what it feels like.

5 SECONDS IS HUGE!

Congrats. Keep searching. There's likely more nuance to figure out.

Hope that helps!

Andrew

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http://www.masteringflow.info
http://www.youtube.com/@masteringflow
http://www.andrewsheaffcoaching.com/...freestyle-fast-today

Hey Andrew,

My training plan kicks out workouts with pace zones i.e. smooth is 2:33 to 2:26 per 100, threshold is 2:17 to 2:08.

I'm always pretty much just swimming at threshold or slightly faster, so is it worth it to try and figure out how to swim that slow? I feel like I'm sinking at slower than 2:15 per 100. Is there a benefit to a real slow "recovery" stroke?

Thanks!

Good question.

Yes, for a few reasons.

1. If you feel like you're sinking at slower speeds, it's likely that you're not as stable/comfortable in the water as you could be. Going a little faster can help keep body position more in line. It's a bit counter-intuitive, but swimming slower actually challenges your skills more (as does swimming really fast). The more you can swim comfortably at a range of speed, the better control you have on your skills.

2. I'm not sure exactly what you're experiencing when you're racing. If you're feel like you're always working against yourself, and you're concerned about your ability to finish longer races, the only way to change that is to slow down so that you feel like you're in control from a fatigue standpoint, then aim increase the speed at which you can sustain that level of comfort. This works better when performed in conjunction with higher intensity stuff, which it sounds like you're doing. It's really valuable learning how to swim at speeds are physically sustainable, even if it doesn't feel right technically at first. You can figure out the technique.

3. From a physiological perspective, you can either 'push' your threshold up by increasing the speed at which you can swim sub-threshold speeds. Or you can 'pull' your threshold up by consistently swimming at or faster than threshold. Not sure how much you are swimming in terms of TIME. If it's limited, then the pull strategy tends to work better. If it's more, the push strategy can be a good one, particularly if you are training hard out of the water.

Does that make sense within the context of what you're feeling and experiencing?

Andrew

---

http://www.masteringflow.info
http://www.youtube.com/@masteringflow
http://www.andrewsheaffcoaching.com/...freestyle-fast-today

It does make a lot of sense.

I'm hoping to relocate soon to somewhere with coached master swimming because I really think that's what I need.

I feel like I could swim all day in a wetsuit albeit not very fast. But, I really struggled in a non-wetsuit legal race last year even at just a half IM 1.2 mile distance.

I'm swimming twice a week right now for an hour, about 30 minutes of sets and 30 minutes of drills. I've repeatedly been told to increase that volume. I'm not in a real training block right now, as I'm working on building some mass in order to cut some weight later, but I think I may try and go to 3 swims per week of 90 minutes.

I tried some slower sets today but didn't do very well. Seems I kinda always swim at the same speed.

Was able to consistently slow down today to about 2:25 to 2:30! Should I try even slower?

It was amazing. Seemed so easy. I swam 4 sets of 400 yards and it seemed so comfortable. I didn't realize I was so pumped out swimming 1:55 to 2:05 all the time.

Feels like a new sport!

If you're struggling without the wetsuit, it sounds like the balance/comfort issue is a big one, and the wetsuit is helping cover for you. While it's great to take advantage of the suit, if you can combine solid comfort AND the suit, you'll be even better off.

Doing more volume CAN help, as simply being in the water swimming tends to help, especially if you're focused on what you're doing. Be patient with the change. As with anything, it rarely clicks right away.

---

http://www.masteringflow.info
http://www.youtube.com/@masteringflow
http://www.andrewsheaffcoaching.com/...freestyle-fast-today

AWESOME!

I think being ABLE to swim REALLY slow and still be comfortable is a sign of balance. You don't need to practice/train at that speed, but you should be able to do it. So, i think it could be valuable from a SKILL perspective.

You should be able to swim EASY. If you're always hammering away at threshold, and you're UNABLE to slow down, it's going to be difficult to improve your ability to extend your ability to hold it. You always have to take breaks and everything becomes an intense interval workout. While you can probably get away with that to a greater extent in the water, you never see people take that approach on land.

You can and should still do the 1:55-2:05 stuff. However, you also want to work on getting the slower stuff FASTER without loosing the sense of ease. AND you want to work on extending the duration of the slower stuff WITHOUT breaks (i.e. 4x400 becomes 2x800 becomes 1x1600 over time) all while maintaining the same speed.

As you said in an earlier post, always swimming at the same speed is not a recipe for success.

Congrats on the breakthrough. Let me know how it goes, and if there is anything else I can do to help.

Andrew

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http://www.masteringflow.info
http://www.youtube.com/@masteringflow
http://www.andrewsheaffcoaching.com/...freestyle-fast-today

Totally agree with this. If you are under ~55-60, and an active triathlete that has been doing even the bare minimum of swimming over an extended period of time (i.e. 1-2 swims per week of 1-2kms over a year or so) and can't hit a one off 1.20 for 100 yards, your issue is likely to be technique/drag.

Thanks, Andrew. It really helped to have you support the direction the training program was sending me.

I could feel some interesting stuff happen at that slow speed. I actually felt like I was "feeling" the water as swimmers talk about. My rotation was so much better that I did a couple laps at the end bilateral breathing just to see if it felt better. Usually after a 1600 yard set there would be now way. I didn't feel great, but it worked.

I can really tell this is going to help me improve.

Funny, I can't swim sub-1:40 with my fins on, so obviously I have a lot of technique improvement before fitness catches up as a limiting factor. I'm excited to continue to improve.

It's kind of you to come on here and give free advice, I truly thank you.

You are very welcome.

Don't be afraid to 'test' your skills with some regularity. I would do this almost every time you get in the water, if only for a small amount. You can and should do it 2 ways (just pick one each day)-

1. Go for a short distance and try to go FAST and see if you can hold it together. Something like a 50 or a 100. Does it hold up?
2. Try to a little bit longer endurance swim or set, where you push it a bit. Does it hold up?

While these are tests to see where you're at, they'll also learning experiences that will help you figure out where to focus your attention. If there is something that falls apart, that's a sign where you need to spend your attention.

It's easy to get trapped doing things 'perfectly', while never challenging your skills and fitness to get ready for a racing situation.

The transition from learning to training can be a tricky one. Shifting your mindset to one of 'practicing and testing', as well as practicing under stress (ie speed or fatigue) can be really helpful in terms of staying focused on what matters.

It's an interesting challenge swimming presents.

Let me know if you have further questions.

Hope that helps.

Andrew

---

http://www.masteringflow.info
http://www.youtube.com/@masteringflow
http://www.andrewsheaffcoaching.com/...freestyle-fast-today

I use TriDot for my training plans and they kick out one fast day and one stamina day every week. This week, and going forward, I think I will continue to try and get this 3rd day in with mostly drills, technique work, and "special needs" I have as far as learning a new drill for a workout or a project I want to continue to try and correct a technique issue.

I didn't really follow the plan for much of last year, I just felt like I was doing my best to get into the pool twice a week for around an hour each time. But, I had a bad swim in my second 70.3 and realized I really need to focus on becoming at the very least a confident MOP swimmer.

I keep repeating to myself that I could possibly improve all the way down to a 1:20/100 swimmer with just technique. That seems wholly unobtainable right now, but I just would like to be able to hold a 1:45/100 for my CSS tests which are a 400 yd TT then a rest and a 200 yd TT.

That sounds a like a great mix of different days. Just make sure you are focusing on what you are doing during the TriDot workouts.

Most people OVERestimate what is possible in the short term and UNDERestimate in the long term. Focus on the what you are doing, and aim to achieve the next short-term barrier.

One step at a time. Regardless of how hard you work and how perfect your plan is, it will still take TIME. A lesson we all know, yet we all always seem to forget!

Hope that helps.

Andrew

---

http://www.masteringflow.info
http://www.youtube.com/@masteringflow
http://www.andrewsheaffcoaching.com/...freestyle-fast-today

This is very kind of you Andrew. Thanks for doing this.

My issue:

I’m slower when doing flip-turns (FT) than I am when doing open-turns (OT). Yes. Slower. :)

I’m actually quite decent at the FT itself. But the lack of breathing at the wall KILLS me, and I’m always gasping at harder paces.

Distance – OT PR – FT PR:

50m – 35.0 – 35.0 (Just one turn, of course!)
100m – 1:16 – 1:18
200m – 2:52 – 2:57
400m – 6:11 – 6:32
800m – 12:50 – 13:40
1500m – 24:58 – 26:18

So you can see that the longer the distance, the greater the discrepancy – percentagewise.

I’m nearly 60. I’ve been swimming nearly 3 years. I’ve been trying to do FT for 9 months.

I breathe right before turning. And after push-off I’m quite eager to get a breath. But the time it takes to FT just kills me, cardio-wise.

I dunno – is it possible that SOS (Senior Onset Swimmers) like me might never be able to rewire the cardio system so that FT really is faster, as it should be?

Thanks for any insight you might have.

---

I only swim.
I used to run. (31:09 10k)
I never did Triathlon.
Sue me.

My pleasure.

Question- Why do you care if you're doing flip turns? Seriously. If your main goals are open water, I'm not sure it matters at all. It's a skill that you'll never use and it's potentially making your swimming more difficult by creating an oxygen deficit that you'd never experience in an open water situation.

Now, if you want to successfully perform flip turns because you want to, and it's a skill that you want to master, that cool, too. That's a great reason. Just understand that it's not the same goal as improving your swimming for open water.

I don't think there is a trick. I think it is a training issue. Here is the approach I would take- slow down. When swimming with flip turns, swim slower. Give your body a chance to handle it versus always being in survival mode. Once you get used to performing flip turns withOUT feeling like you're dying for air over longer distances, THEN start speeding it up a bit. It's the same concept as any endurance training. If you go all out all the time, you'll improve a little bit at first, then you won't.

In competitive swimming, you see the same issue. Swimmers are often working on extending their dolphin kicks off the wall, which creates a similar effect- more time without air. The solution is to slow down get used to doing it slow, then speed it up. It takes time.

The first goal is to be able to consistently perform flip turns without feeling like it's an added stress. You'll have to slow down to do this.
Then start speeding it up, sometimes working in the struggle zone/sometimes working in the comfort zone. This will take time, but you'll get there eventually.

If you have a video, let me know and I can take a look. It's possible you're taking way too long underwater. However, I can't know until I see it.

Let me know if you have further questions.

Hope that helps!

Andrew

---

http://www.masteringflow.info
http://www.youtube.com/@masteringflow
http://www.andrewsheaffcoaching.com/...freestyle-fast-today

Thanks so much. I'll digest that.

Sorry - no video.

Also - I'm not a triathlete. (Don't tell anyone.) I'm just an ex-runner swimmer who wants to get better in the pool.

---

I only swim.
I used to run. (31:09 10k)
I never did Triathlon.
Sue me.

THIS ^^^^^^

For all that is holy

THANK YOU !!!!

On the same topic of faster vs slower in the pool. Thoughts on a swimmer who is slower with a pull buoy and paddles (or equal) compared to just normal swimming at the same effort?

What could be potential causes? fixes for those?

Andrew -

Can you speak to “pausing” in a stroke? I’ve been focusing on always having pressure on one of my arms at all times (I.e. when one arm is recovering the other is engaging the catch). I’ve been trying to increase my stroke rate which has a tendency to eliminate a “dead” spot where I would previously try to just glide through the water.

When I am focused on eliminating the dead spot, I feel smooth and I feel like I maintain a consistent depth/speed in the water. When I get tired, the dead spot reappears and I tend to constantly be in a seesaw of either accelerating or decelerating.

Am I right in thinking that there shouldn’t be a “dead” spot and I should always have some sort of “tension” on the water moving me forward?

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@floathammerholdon | @partners_in_tri

I greatly disagree with this aspect of ignoring flip turns as a non-expert triathlon swimmer.

Flip turns are immensely useful for getting accustomed to oxygen deprivation at effort, keeping a continuous flow of swim effort, small benefits in streamlining, and most importantly, not allowing you to cheat rest at the wall.

The cheat rest at the wall is a big deal. Even if you spend 0.5 sec extra on an open turn compared to a flip on each wall, that's 2 seconds/100 of extra rest you are getting compared to had you done it as a flip. And we all know that as you get more tired, the slower that 0.5sec is going to get.

The flip turn keeps you honest in your efforts, and in my experience, makes the pool effort closer to the continuous effort of OWS. Every time I go to a triathlete-group swim workout, I'm utterly horrified by the fact that up to half of the folks there not only don't flip turn, but clearly take gobs of extra rest on each open turn as the workout progresses.

I think it's crucially important for not-great AG triathlete swimmers to force themselves to learn to flip turn, for these specific reasons. No cheat rests and better oxygen-deprivation resistance (without being dangerous like prolonged underwater swimming.)

If you're a FFOP AG swimmers, you can do whatever the heck you want - you're already fast. But if you're not quite up there yet, this is one of the easiest and best ways to instantly improve your swimming, both pool and OWS.