I am giving away my ten simple steps to improving your swimming technique.  These are effective for triathletes of any level.  

Step 1 Master Floating: This sets the foundation for everything.  If you can not float well, do not skip this step, master it. 
Step 2 Learn How To Kick Well:  There are many nuances to kicking: ankle flexibility, pointed toes during the apex of the upkick and down kick, and relaxed back of the knees are a few areas.  
Step 3 Master the Streamline Position: This is essential for fast swimming:  Practice an efficient streamline every training session.  Keep the elbows in a tight line next to each other and stretch our body from the fingers to toes in opposite directions.  

To obtain additional information about the foundational building blocks in swimming please review my book on Amazon: 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B087M9VLX3?ref_=dbs_dp_rwt_sb_tkin&binding=kindle_edition 

Believe and Belief:  You must click on the attached link to find out why Richard Quick was so influential and admired by coaches and athletes.  US Olympic coach David Marsh gives a few insights on Richard Quick.  Believe and Belief is one of his keys to success. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=175JAXdBQ6g&t=21s&fbclid=IwAR0_llX27S9Uf3xJ4vEFJFxKcnSmBSnSfsUIvEpD3pFtAYnJi5-KRCqEznw

One of the most important things you can do for yourself as a swimmer is work on constant technique improvement.  Video brings to light what the swimmer is doing well and points out improvement area's.  I am running three, three day clinics this June.   If you want an edge on the competition and are striving for personal improvement, sign up using the link below. 

​https://www.eventbrite.com/e/video-analysis-swimming-clinic-tickets-45653667348?utm_source=eb_email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=new_event_email&utm_term=viewmyevent_button

SC swimming is progression based swimming.  Starting with the basics of body position floating and building.  Nature goes through a similar process.  Humans wiggle, than crawl, then walk.  Flowers grow then blossom. Butterfly's are a larva, then caterpillar, then soar.  Everything starts with the basics. 

You try to jump ahead and most of the time it is not going to work out as well as it should have.  We will begin a series of building from the basics. 

​Tip 1: If you cant float, you can't swim well.  Master floating before moving on.  Seriously, it sounds basic, but most people will let their feet drop in a few seconds.  And yes, you are not floating if your feet are not at the surface. 

I have not had the time or motivation to post after the excitement of the Rio Olympics, but it is time to let go and move on.  Click on the below Instagram link to see a video my son put together.   We look forward to appreciating the next great life experience and the little moments along the way.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BI5_kUMgy2j/


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To me the 2016 Olympics showed your attitude, you saw what you wanted to see.  To set the stage for my Rio adventure, I spent two days visiting with Family and 8 days on beautiful beaches driving up from Sao Paulo to Rio.  Lets just say I was feeling pretty good about life, and it kept getting better because of the Olympic Games.

Rio is one of the most Beautiful cities in the world, I do not even see how this is disputable.  Every beach has a huge rock mountain that looks like it is from a pre-historic age, lush green vegetation, white sand beaches and for the most part clear blue water (I did not say clean).  There were many writers and columnists complaining about many things I will address later, but I never heard them say we are in one of the most beautiful cities on the entire planet.  How could you ignore that; attitude.  Their glass was empty.

If you wanted to turn the Olympic games into a negative, you could.  The lake by Olympic Park stunk, I personally walked by it after getting my entire family out of a cap early, we got lost and smelled a horrible odor from the lake.  Look family, I got you lost in Rio and now smell this, I was not the best dad at that moment.  Zica, (probably would be dangerous if you were looking to get pregnant), Crime (what city of 6 million people does not have crime, also there were military and police on every street corner),  Political unrest (all politicians are perfect, Right? ),  Expensive Hotels and tickets, the fear level kept getting higher and higher, and turned out to be greatly exaggerated (except when I drove in Rio, my fear level was high, they drive crazy).

Live in the moment, experience life!  The negative writers saw what they wanted to see and what they thought would sell.  I took the trip of a life time and we lived to tell about it.  We saw Olympic stadium get to crazy noise levels when the Brazilian women beat Sweden 5-1in soccer.  We watched Honduras hold on against an Algeria soccer team playing its heart out.  We walked by the largest outdoor cocktail party in Rio called beach volley ball, the stadium was not empty, everyone was dancing and waiting in line to buy more beer.  Seriously, the volleyball stadium had a DJ and was a party.  I wish the DJ was at swimming, because he would have blown the roof off the swim venue when Katy Ledecky broke the world record in the 400 free (yes, we were there) and then the Men's 4x100 free relay, not knowing if Phelps or Irvin would be on the relay (they should have put both).  We had been trying to start USA chants the whole night and it finally caught fire, about 1/4 of the crowd was from the US at swimming and the place was Rocking for the Relay.  This was by Far the most exciting swimming event.  When Nathan Adrian said he was coming down from the relay, it is because the entire crowd was chanting USA right before he dove in and then erupted even louder when he won.  Sorry, morning prelims in the 100 free is anti-climactic. 

I might be drinking the Olympic Cool-aid, but my glass was Full, Overflowing.  The trip of a life time with the people I love.  Sign me up again. 

I attended the first 5 days of the 2016 Olympics and it was a Truly Amazing experience.  Rio is one of the most Beautiful cities in the world, it has a festive atmosphere, the events were world class and it was a pretty safe environment.  It was a party on the beach watching the best athletes in the world.  Where else would you rather be for an Olympics?

​To start our series we are going to pay tribute to a man that finished writing his real life movie script, Anthony Ervin.  16 years between individual gold medals, he stands alone as the fastest man on the planet.  A life path that went from suburban swimming to a gold medal to drugs, women, weight gain, soul searching, teaching/coaching, to swimming again and being on the top of the world.  WHAT A STORY!




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​We sat down with Anthony last fall, below is the recap of the interview:


Talking with Anthony you get the feeling he is a cerebral guy that thinks beyond laps in a pool.  Having over a 4.0 in high school and attending Cal he had to be smart, but he thinks on a cerebral level about body placement and flow.   He has been involved with inner city swimming and spent a few years in the eclectic city of New York.  Issues substance abuse, not working hard and leave from swimming are well publicized, but to me it seemed like someone realizing there is life beyond a pool and trying to live it.
 
 
A collection of thoughts from talking to Anthony:
 
Flow with the water, feel like you are swimming down hill and a rope is pulling you through the water coming from your head.
 
Working with Mike Bottom on his front-end catch/reach took him from a good swimmer to an elite level swimmer.
 
Discussed his age group coach who was a little harsh, and tough compared to his high school coach, Steve Neal, whom he responded well.  Steve is one of the most positive people you will ever meet and his constant encouragement helps you feel like you can do it.  When I questioned Anthony on which type of coaching he thought was better, he stated it depends on the swimmer.  He has seen some people that need someone yelling at them to motivate and get them to maximize their abilities.
 
From 11-14 Anthony hit a plateau and considered quitting swimming, his older brother encouraged him to stick with it and pursue swimming in college.  This was around the same time he transitioned from a backstroker to a freestyler.  He wanted to pursue trying to go as fast in the water as he possibly could.  Freestyle was the stroke.
 
Every tattoo tells a story so I asked for a PG13 tattoo story.  He stated the Olympic rings were a rite of passage to join the ranks of Olympic swimmers.  Anthony and a few other swimmers went and obtained them together.
 
He mentioned a few eclectic bands that I would love to hear, but forgot their names and we do not have video to bring back the names.
 
 
During the clinic he emphasized all parts of your body working together and flowing with the water.   Drills:
 
One of the drills to emphasize this was a swordfish scull timing your hips to each scull.
 
He emphasized reach. We call half army crawl stretching forward catching, fingertips down, and pulling back about a ¼ to your chest, with a flutter kick.
 
Another drill was swimming, purposely timing your kick to your pull.  It is similar to an old school two beat kick.  This emphasizes using your core and tying your body together.
 
Body up to swim down hill:  This is a drill similar to head up freestyle, but you focus on your body.  Begin swimming vertically, and then continue to press your chest down until your head and body are fully submerged underwater.   It gives you the feeling of swimming downhill.
 
 
It is all pretty simple right; flow with the water, extend to use your body working together and feel like you are swimming down hill.  I am being sarcastic, swimmers like Anthony have been trained at a high level since they were children and have some of these things embedded in muscle memory.  However, a swimmer of every age and ability can apply these principles and it will help them make improvements.
 
Watching Anthony swim, listening to him speak, you can tell he puts thought, focus, feeling, intelligence and efficiency into his swimming.  If you watch someone swim you can obtain glimpses of their personality from their stroke and how they swim a race.   We were fortunate to get to know Anthony a little better and gain a few glimpses into the swimmer and individual.  We are rooting now more than ever.

I am generalizing, so please do not take my next statement and apply it to every triathlete you meet.  Tri-Athletes tend to swim with tight/tense strokes.  It is kind of like the I will just try harder to go faster philosophy.  News Flash, triathletes are some of the hardest workers on the planet, so why are they not the best swimmers?

Let the hate mail come, but I am trying to help.  Help everyone come to the realization that working harder at the wrong thing, will not really do anything for you except burn some calories (which isn't bad).  

The issue comes down to relaxation and being comfortable in the water.  The key to swimming in water is flowing with the water and knowing when to use you body for power and when to relax and glide.  Maximizing efficiency is what we should be striving for; especially when your swim is 1.2 or 2.4 miles!

Ok we have established we need to relax, how do we do this?

• Start with the basics:  Relax and Float, keeping your body in a line, fingertips to toes, staying at the surface.  Lean forward and down on your lungs to help lift the lower body to the surface. 
• Relax and stretch:  Practice swordfish kicking stretching through your armpit, keeping your body in a line (fingers to toes), relaxed knees, snapping down with the kick and then feeling the water on the bottom of your feet as you kick back up. 
• Relaxed Shoulders:  Building from the swordfish position, count to 6, then lead your stroke with a relaxed shoulder first.  The shoulder leads, the elbow stays high, and the wrist stays relaxed as you come over the water with the arm. 
• Rhythm with Relaxed Rotations: Swimming is a dance of using your body in a linear rhythmic motion to move your self through water.  You must reach while staying relaxed, we discussed relaxed shoulders on the over water recovery, and relaxed back of the knee on kicking.  Use power from the lats and abs/core to move the arms in a backward direction, using the triceps and core to finish the stroke pulling strait back.   Simplified: Use your body to pull, not just your arms!
• To recap:  Reach, Relax and find a Rhythm.  

Staying relaxed will keep you safer in the water, it will help you be more efficient in the water, and it will not only help your swim time, but your run and bike, because you will have more energy for these portions of your race. 

Go get back in the water, and don't stress about the workout, Relax. 

Coach are you crazy?  You want me to train kicking for a 1.2 or a 2.4 mile swim! Yes, yes I do.  However, I do not want you to use much of your legs during the actual race.  Save them for the run and the bike. 

I have seen Triathletes move backwards when they kick flutter/freestyle kick.  This does not mean stop kicking,  it is an opportunity to improve in the following areas:

1. Increase the stretching of your feet and ankle flexibility.  At work simply stretching or rolling your ankles can help.
2. Keep the back of your knees and ankles relaxed while you kick.  Have you noticed tense strait legs do not help us kick faster.  Maybe that is a sign something needs to change. 
3. Snap the toes down on the down kick to a hyper extension of the knee.
4. Feel the water on the bottom of your feet on the up kick, going up to around a 45 degree angle. 
5. Get in a kicking rhythm, almost like you are riding a unicyle.  Use the hind and leg muscles to help.
6. Turn the toes in towards each other a little.  Pigeon Toed.  

Training kicking will help increase leg strength, stamina and endurance.  Then when it is race day focus on an easy relaxed kick, you will get out of the water with additional energy feeling fresh for the bike and the run.  

http://listen.floridaswimnetwork.com/ryan-murphy-florida-to-california/

Listen to NCAA Champion and US Swim Team member Ryan Murphy talk about the importance of technique.  We thank him for recognizing the Salles-Cunha family, but really want to convey to you that technique should be your main focus.  

Please support Ryan on his road to the Rio Olympics.