So this is a little delayed (like a week), but my team brought Doug Stern to VT last weekend for a swim clinic. Quit spending money on new saddles and carbon brake levers and whatever the hell else is going to save you 0.5 seconds on your next 40k and look to this man for real, “it actually works”, swim advice to make you fast. One of the things I liked the best is that Doug hasn’t really “pioneered” anything, he takes what works from all over the place and gives it to you on a nice platter. Tarpinian says this, Laughlin says that, Popov does this, Thorpe does that. There is no reason to say you must do everything person “X” says or does, take what works and create a masterpiece! If it works, Doug has checked it out, if it works for you…DO IT!
So I’ll gloss over with highlights for space constraints as this will be plenty long with just the highlights….Doug came into VT for a 2 hour Friday session that started with the classroom for some baseline data gathering (here’s my summary – work on your flexibility!! Get your toes to the floor; stretch your shoulders, stretch, stretch, stretch). Interesting explanation for what ankle/toe flexibility matters so much, and its not for a “longer flipper” as I have believed for so long (although that is certainly important) but it is for improving the flow-line over your foot; really not so different than the trailing end of an aero helmet. Decrease the turbulent flow over the back end of your “vessel” thereby reducing the backward pulling vortices coming off your foot. SO STRETCH!
We then went to the pool, did some more testing: 10 minute swim for distance, 25 yards for speed/strokes, video for form and a little bit of drills.
Saturday started with a 3-hour session pretty much devoted to drills and some underwater video analysis as well as watching of video from Friday. Stuff I learned or saw included:
I need to quit staring at the bottom of the pool (yes I know this is contrary to what many have learned in the past - me included) and “find” my hands…watch what they are doing, because there is all sorts of important timing clues in there. For instance see my left hand enter the water, breath, turn back find that same left hand now out in front of my body, then start my left hand pull. It really was quite impressive to feel that work for the first time. It also somehow helped me to keep my arms closer to the surface during the glide phase of my stroke, allowing my hands/arms to act as an airfoil and provide lift rather than just minimizing drag.
While I didn’t do this particularly, he also really stressed how counter-productive “finishing” the stroke is and that your recovery needs to start right at the very top of your hip. So your hand gets to your hip and your elbow should immediately be yanking it out of the water to start your recovery; leading with a high elbow and relaxed hand to an entry point that is roughly even with the elbow of your extended arm. A good drill we practiced was “scooters” it’s single arm drill but with your head out of the water and lead hand on the middle of the middle of a kickboard. Again, you can see everything that is “right” and fix what isn’t. This in particular (getting rid of the backend of your stroke) provided the best explanation I have ever heard regarding why a glide “works” or doesn’t “work” (and I’ve read that point-counterpoint argument on here on STa dozen times). Seeing it on video was even more compelling. Every person who had a lot of “backend stroke” also had their front/leading arm dropping lower and lower in the water as their backarm was busy doing nothing that promoted forward motion. Some people even would actually start the pull of their front arm in response to this lowering, thereby effectively lessening the length of their body, significantly in some cases, while again doing nothing productive with the back hand. So ending your stroke at your hip allows you to swim a bit more in the front quadrant and keep your “vessel” long (the elusive “glide”) while not stalling your stroke (like I have previously been very guilty of). So it’s not really glide vs. no-glide, but re-defining the operational definition of glide and getting rid of "stalls"in your stroke.
As it turns out I also really suck at the catch phase of the stroke and have this weird little outward movement (sort of like sculling) that I guess in some strange way I believed was helping me grab the water. So I need to bend my wrist, extend my shoulder (scapula really) to get forward and “over” then pull STRAIGHT back past my hip that I am consciously snapping out of the way. I was very surprised to hear that “shoulder width”, rather than close to the center-line of my body is much more appropriate (and powerful).
People that came back in the evening (for a 2-hour “freebie” session) got to play with the toys he had brought. Anyone that swims with Doug has probably already used or checked out the “paddles” he recommends. They are extremely narrow across your palm (like 2 fingers narrow) and extends almost to your elbow, but are flexible so that you get used to the feeling of reaching “over the barrel”. They don’t have a strap for your fingers only your forearm though, so if you enter the water “off” the paddle goes flying off too. They really kick-ass. He also recommends fin use pretty extensively, center snorkels, and the second paddle he recommends are the Finis ones (maybe called “freestyler” ?). A couple of us, started to “test” what we had been learning as well. I will speak for a couple of us and say that while faster, we were “gassed” pretty quickly. I was able to swim a 1:12 100 at what I would say was my race “effort” (based on RPE) but my arms were going to fall off my body, no lung problem, just arm/shoulder/muscles. I was next to a teammate and I believe she may have been having the same experience. The will was there, just the muscles haven’t been trained to do it…yet 
Sunday provided more drills, thumbsies, sewing machine, fists, scooters, line pulls, single arm drill (and I’m probably forgetting some). Doug says that every single workout he has his teams start with 200 of thumbsies. Which is a regular swim but your during your recovery, your thumb is in actual physical contact with the side of your body the entire time until you get to your armpit then it flops into the water. I can’t explain sewing machine (and can barely do it, but I know Doug has explained it on ST before). Fists you guys know (or should). Line pulls are just pulling yourself down the lane via the lane lines with one arm while the other stays out front. It works on the fact that if you truly “anchored” your hand in the water, that’s the kind of travel you would get. It also teaches/reinforces/refines the snapping open of your hips. I guess that is the reason so many elite level swimmers play with it, Doug insists that every high-level swimmer will do several hundred yards that way to deeply ingrain the hip opening thingie.
We also taped again and counted strokes again. Every single person took strokes off compared to their Friday count (as many as 4 but normally 2). I’m pretty much tired of typing now, and you are probably tired of reading. SO in summary:
get video-taped cam – soon – even above water, what you see is pretty amazing (you don’t know how bad you suck…trust me)
get flexible, if you already are, get more-so
Find your hands, see your hands, watch your hands, love your hands
do thumbsies, line pulls and scooters…a LOT
Now what really matters….are you faster? After 14 or so hours of drills (clinic included) a few of us raced this weekend) me and two teammates that were at the clinic PR’d in our swims, all of us sub-30 in ½ IM, including a 26:xx, all improvements measured in minutes, not seconds!! Proof is in the pudding.
