More than just pitching the palm...

Last week's session was a serious headache for myself to teach and I bet a bigger headache for most of you to absorb except perhaps for TeckBeng (cos of his active discussion and involvement in digesting the info and also simplifying my ideas..) and perhaps Sam(a coach herself) and KH who has been the victims of my neverending nags and vomitus of informationzzzz...

Nonetheless, isn't it good to know that what we're doing every wednesday night isn't mindless laps but something much more than the movement of your arms and legs to move one's body through the water?

Training:

300m warm up (focus on 3 beat kick per pull)
50m L arm pull only (focus on belly button and chest rotating to face wall then back to the floor)
50m R arm pull only (same as above)
50m Normal FS swim (bilateral breathing)

50m L arm pull only (focus on an early catch and rotating body to move forward in water instead of using the arm to pull)
50m R arm pull only (same as above)
50m Normal FS swim (bilateral breathing)

2 x 50m Breast Stroke pull only, without kick
(Focus: to learn how momentum affects our body movements in swimming)

2 x 50m fs with an accelerating (upon exit of hands) to throw recovery.

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A very simple idea of the swim we performed is the following:

1) An early catch (way out at the front before the forehead)

2) Establishing the anchorage in the water with the catch

3) Rotating your body forward while holding the anchorage

The key is not to use your arm to swim but just an anchor to hold onto a point in the water and then moving your body past that point with a body roll.

It seems easy to understand but it is an entirely different matter to feel it and let alone perform it.

One will have a better chance to doing it well on the master hand being the anchor while feeling almost zero relevance in the off hand.

Nonetheless, practicing it with a conscious state of mind is a must... consistency is key and persistence can never be discounted. I read that same theory from a huge book of swimming that I still keep dearly right now since 3 yrs back in my mad mad research of swimming information... and its only until now that I kind of got it right.

Frankly speaking, before the start of this triathlon swim training, my 100s was hovering around 1:55 to 2:00... nowhere near now where I'm hitting 1:45 and below... It goes to show that swimming isn't just abt moving your limbs and body... we have to feel the way water move and how our body is acting and reacting to the water that we've moved through our own movements.

I will continue to teach tomorrow. Expect slightly more swim though.

Participants of Port dickson may excuse yourself in this week's swim (Arvind, Andy and Ernest and YY, etc..) to better rest for the race.

See you guys tomorrow!

Cheers
KK