MySwimCoachOnline

Video of the Week – the great freestyler……Ian Thorpe

sproutventure — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 10:00:33 +0000

this is a great video filled with slow motion and notes. Enjoy

*sorry about the music !!

Try an open water workout

LBaratte — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 21:14:29 +0000

This time of the year try taking your pool workout to an ocean, bay, or lake. Open water swimming is fun, different, and just as good for you as a swimming pool workout. Safety is always an issue so please make sure that you swim with a partner or partners, check conditions before you start, and ask a person familiar with the area if there are any information that can help you. Typically swimming parallel to the shore is your best plan. The freedom of getting out and swimming without walls is a great feeling. Put together your swim plan and enjoy.

Age provides no barriers

LBaratte — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 20:40:16 +0000

This morning I read how Janet Evans, the queen of distance swimming in the United States, has returned to competitive swimming with an eye toward the 2012 Olympic trials. In her first meet, after reporting that she has been training for about six months, she established two world records for her age group (35-39). She was pleased with her progress and will continue on this adventure. A mother of two, she joins Amanda Beard and Dara Torres as past Olympians who have taken time out of the sport to start families and have returned to challenge the most elite athletes. Torres was successful in 2008……it will be interesting to see how Evans, who will be 40 at the time of the trials, will do. Regardless, she is a testament to all who continue to challenge personal goals throughout their lives.

Use MySwimCoachOnline to help you reach your own personal goals.

With MSCO….never train alone again

Swim Training Etiquette…..when swimming in a group

LBaratte — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 20:38:39 +0000

Many MSCO members swim either on their own or in a small group. Here are some good rules for you to consider when you are swimming as part of a workout group.

1. Learn the names of the swimmers in your lane.

2. Know (or ask) the speed of the people in your lane so you can get the right order in your lane (fastest to slowest). Try to select a lane that contains swimmers of similar ability.

3. Circle swim. (If you are sharing the lane with only one other swimmer, you can each “split the lane,” which means each of you stays on your own side of the lane.) When circle swimming, stay to the right side of the lane. When swimming butterfly, be aware of others in your lane. It’s a good idea to switch to single-arm fly when you’re passing someone coming the other way, especially if they’re also swimming fly.

4. Don’t stop in the middle of a length! Keep going to the end of the pool, move immediately to the far right and let others pass you. Push off AFTER they have finished their pushoff.

5. If you want to pass, be patient. Don’t swim over top of the person, or try to speed around them. You could injure yourself or someone coming the other way. When you want to pass, gently tap or tag the toes of the person in front. This is the sign that they should stop at the end of the length and let you pass.

6. Don’t tailgate! Wait at least 5 seconds before you push off behind someone. Then, if you catch the swimmer ahead of you, tap their feet and go ahead of them at the end of the length. It’s annoying if you stay right at their feet and don’t signal to pass. Or, worse yet, you keep hitting their feet every time you take a stroke. If you’re always catching the person in front of you, either go ahead of them on the next swim or leave 10 seconds apart.

7. Turn in the center of the lane. Just before you reach the wall, IF THERE’S ROOM, you can move to the center of the lane to do your turn, but make sure you push off along the right-hand side of the lane. Don’t push off in the middle of the lane. Start and finish each swim at the wall. . If you finish by stopping two yards from the wall, you prevent the people BEHIND you from finishing at the wall. Also, chances are good that you’ll lose a lot of races. Swim races are won and lost by hundredths of a second. Practice a strong finish… right to the wall… every time you swim, and strong, fast finishes will be automatic when you race.

8. Be aware!
* Always be aware of where others are in your lane.
* Anticipate when they will catch you, and pull over
* Don’t push off right in front of someone about to turn, if they are faster.
* Let your lane-mates finish every swim at the wall. Even if you have 8 people in your lane, the last person has the same rights as the first. Everyone should be able to finish at the wall and finish strong. So move to the left and get out of the way after you finish!

9. Learn to read the pace clock. Know both your time and the interval.

10. Stay on the interval and help others stay on the interval.

11. Don’t change the interval without conferring with your lane mates.

12. The slowest person in the lane should be able to make the interval with some rest.

13. Count your laps and stop at the appropriate number.

14. If you’re leading your lane, you have responsibilities!
* Have goggles on and be ready.
* Know the sendoff. Keep track of how many laps you’ve done and how many repeats you’ve done.
* Get everyone involved in keeping track.
* Make sure everyone in your lane has a chance to finish at the wall.
* Make sure everyone in your lane can make the interval with some rest.
* Set an example… encourage your lane mates… be a leader.

15. If you are unable to do a particular skill, do a drill or swim that’s about the same speed.

16. Brush your teeth before practice and don’t breathe on people when resting at the wall. Especially important after garlic pizza!

Advanced Etiquette
1. Encourage your teammates at practice.

2. Count strokes when asked. Descend swims when asked.

3. Go easy when asked.

4. Negative split your swims when asked.

5. Even split your swims when not given special instructions.

6. Start, turn, and finish with LEGAL pushoffs and touches.

7. Finish all swims at the wall with an underwater touch (on your side for free and back; two-handed for fly and breast).

8. Bring a positive attitude with you to the pool.

It may seem that life was a lot simpler when you were just swimming laps on your own, but there are HUGE advantages to following a specific workout plan (such as one provided by MSCO). Your training sets (and that darn pace clock) will push you toward being a faster, stronger, more competent swimmer.

With myswimcoachonline.con………..never train alone again !!!

Landmark Sets

LBaratte — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 00:03:51 +0000

One of the best ways to determine if you are making progress with your workouts is to complete a “landmark set” every so often. This week we will include one of these sets. A landmark set can be just about anything……but typically it is a set that will require maximum effort to be able to receive an accurate result. This can be determined by your perceived effort or by using your heart rate as an indicator. The set will usually take @ 20 – 30 minutes and will include a work to rest ratio of at least 1:1. The set this month will include a set of 100′s. What you need to do is track your time on each interval. Keeping a mental, or better, a written note of your average time on the set will give you your goal time for when you next complete the set.

Another “landmark set” we use is a timed swim for distance. Typically we use a 20 or 30 minute straight swim. During this set we will ask you to count the number of laps you are able to complete in the given amount of time. The challenge will be to improve on your “number” (laps you are able to complete) each time you complete the swim.

Both of these types of landmark swims will provide specific goals each time you attempt to complete the set. These goals will, hopefully, provide feedback and motivation for your training.

MSCO…….never train alone again

Variety is the spice of life…….and of your workouts

LBaratte — Sun, 21 Nov 2010 22:04:44 +0000

The workouts that you receive from MSCO will give you the chance to customize by using a variety of strokes. Freestyle is the stroke of choice for most swimmers, but when you include various competitive strokes in your training you will find that your sets will become more challenging.

As an example……

If you are assigned a set of 7 x 100 on :30 rest (as you will be in your Nov 22 workout)…..try swimming the set this way.

#1 = 100 fly / #2 = 50 fly+50 back / #3 = 100 back / #4 = 50 back + 50 breast / #5 = 100 breast / #6 = 50 breast + 50 free / # 7 = 100 free

odd # 100′s = 100 IM / even # 100′s = one of each stroke (#2=fly, #4=back. #6=breast)

I have always felt that cusomization such as this will turn one simple set (like 7 x 100 on :30 rest) into as many sets as your your imagination will allow. Constantly be looking for ways to add to your workout by including different strokes. You will discover that this variety will, not only challenge you, but also make your training more interesting.

MSCO…….never train alone again

Be ENGAGED in your workouts

LBaratte — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 19:53:42 +0000

Lap swimming can be therapeutic and can provide an escape from the world, but rarely does it provide significant improvement in regards to your swimming ability. Swimming back and forth, mostly in your sub-aerobic or aerobic energy system will, in time, produce a fitness gain but following a training plan will always be better, and produce superior results.

Once you have your plan (hopefully from the MSCO site) you need to understand the focus of the workout and follow through with what you are being asked to do.

When a percentage effort number is given, it refers to a perceived effort that you will need to determine. A pace clock or a watch with a stopwatch (chrono) function will help with this. You need to know the kind of time 80% or 90% perceived effort will produce. For example …..here is a simple training set……Swim 9 x 100 on :30 rest w/ #1 – #3 swam at 80% effort…..#4 – #6 swam at 90% effort……and #7 – #9 swam at 100% effort…..freestyle

With this set you will need to hold the first three 100′s at a time that will produce @ 80% of your maximum training heart rate (see heart rate info on our homepage). The next three 100′s should be swam about 5 – 10 seconds faster than the first three and should produce @ 90% of your maximum heart rate. Finally, the last three 100′s should be swam about 5 – 10 seconds faster than #’s 4 – #6 (10 – 20 seconds faster than #1 – #3) and produce your maximum training heart rate. Each group of three 100′s should be produce about the same time. The result of this set should look something like this……

Maximum training heart rate is determined to be ….. 160 bpm (beats per minute)

1st three 100′s holding 1:30 on 2:00 interval (@:30 seconds rest) ………pulse rate (taken at the end of #3) = @130

2nd three 100′s holding 1:22 on 1:50 interval (@:30 seconds rest)……..pulse rate (taken at the end of #6) = @ 145

last three 100′s holding 1:15 on 1:45 interval (@:30 seconds rest)……..pulse rate (taken at the end of #9) = @ 160

By knowing your time for each repeat 100 and your pulse rate goals you will be much more engaged in this set. If, after the first three 100′s you find that your pulse rate is too low, you can simply adjust to a faster pace for the next three. Once you have completed this set, or one like it, a few times you will begin to see progression.

The hope is that, in time, you will be able to swim faster with less energy used.

Be engaged in your workouts and your workouts will be much more interesting AND much more productive.

The fifth competitive stroke

LBaratte — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 17:20:55 +0000

Underwater swimming has been around for many yards and those who are able to use this skill to their advantage can really benefit. This weeks video shows just how effective it can be and why in competition it is limited to 15m off each wall. In training ……coming off the wall with a strong underwater kick coupled with a disciplined streamline body position and then transitioning to surface swimming is something that can be used hundreds of times each day. It takes focus and concentration. It is much easier to simply push off the wall and float to the surface…..but if you really want to improve your speed…..adding an underwater component, off EVERY wall, will be great help. Refer to our video of the week………..http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4py9HjKuvQ&feature=related

Tis the season………to stay in the pool

LBaratte — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 18:45:49 +0000

November and December seem to be the most difficult months to maintain consistantcy in regards to your swim workouts. The holidays….the weather…..the family….. there are many excuses that can derail your good intentions.

As members of myswimcoachonline the workouts you receivewill provide you with the motivation to remain consistant. So let us help you with this time that is between the great training weather of the summer and early fall and your new years resolution.

With myswimcoachonline.com never train alone again

never train alone again

LBaratte — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 18:17:39 +0000

The motto of this site enourages two things.

1) Train with purpose and direction by arriving at the pool with a workout plan.

2) Train, if possible, with a partner or partners that will encourage completion, bring out the best in you in regards to effort, and provide a safer training environment.

Swimming back and forth is fine and there are days when you may want to put on your snorkel, your swiMp3 player (both found at www.finisinc.com), and escape the outside world for an hour or so. But the true benefit from training is going to come from following a training plan. Some receive this benefit from joining a swim team and following a coached workout. Others receive this by downloading customized workouts from myswimcoachonline.com and follow what is written. Regardless, a specific workout plan and training with a partner or partners will typically enhance your training experience. There have been many times that I went to the pool unfocused and if I were alone would have “talked myself out” of a good workout. But my training partners pulled me through and made for a positive training day. Plus…..the safety factor of swimming with others can not be stressed enough.

Get your workouts from myswimcoachonline.com ………….. get your training partner(s) ………. and go to the pool and enjoy.

myswimcoachonline.com……never train alone again