My sister is entering a triathlon in June. I decided to enter it as well as a way of support for her. My only problem is that I do not have anywhere to train for the swim portion. Currently I am in Japan and it is too cold to swim outside. There is no indoor pool near my location. Until it gets warmer, is there any exercise(s) that I could do to help me with the swim? Thank you for your time and God Bless!
Surgical tubing. Tie loops in the ends, loop the middle around a stationary object at waist height. Bend over at waist, perform swim motion. Repeat several thousand times.
Thank you for the reply. I will give it a try until it warms up.
Ken’s right - but he’s a swimmer by trade and assumes (I assume) that you already know the really important part: elbows up on the catch. You need to learn that skill and then train it into muscle/neural memory. If you already know about this, my apologies - but 95% of triathletes don’t and drop their elbows (“gooseneck”) the catch. Major mistake, major time lost.
If you don’t know and want to do it right, three suggestions (in increasing degrees of cost):
**find a really top swimmer or coach (Japan has them) and have them show you.
**google the Halo swim trainer and order their video
**google the Halo swim trainer and order the trainer (which includes the video)
Note: As a coach, I’ve found that for the non-elite swimmer (i.e., the 95%), the Halo is probably the best value (money spent for minutes gained) of any equipment in the entire sport. Not sexy - just effective.
If there is anyway possible, travel to the nearest pool every other week. Even better once a week. You’ll at least have some feel for the water. Surgical tubing can be helpful if you have good form, otherwise it can just reinforce bad form.
You’ve probably got this covered, but do a lot of cycling/running. You’ll at least be building a good cardio base that is key to swimming as well.
When do you get back to the states? Hopefully you’ll have time prior to the race to really focus on swim technique.
they make a device for surfers that are stuck inland and need to train. It’s essentially a plank you lay on and then do the whole surgical tubing thing. If you got money to blow and it helps with form, you might find it a good investment. Try googling surfing land training or variations of that.
Thank you all for the advice. I am getting back to the States around the first part of March. I will be going to Texas so the weather should be warm enough to swim in.
Thank you all for the advice. I am getting back to the States around the first part of March. I will be going to Texas so the weather should be warm enough to swim in.
Try swimming in a pool. Much better results.
John
The pools here are closed as well as the beaches due to the weather. Some public pools do not allow people to use their facilities if they have tattoos. It’s rather hard to find one that does. The only one that I have been to out here that allows a person with a tattoo in my area was 2 hours away. Not very cost effective to do. Hopefully the weather is warm enough when I get back to Texas to go swimming. Until I can swim, I plan on doing a lot of running and cycling and other forms of cardio. I have never done a triathlon before. I am not looking to win at this point. I am only doing it to support my sister and as a personal goal. Thank you again for all the advice.