IronBoomer    A Guide to a Healthy, Active, and Fit Lifestyle    by IRONGEEZER

Beginner's Guide to Swimming By Matt Bean, Men's Health   We're giving it to you straight: You're never going to swim like Michael Phelps. For starters, you're probably not 6'4''—and in the water, length means speed. Then there's your—by comparison —penguin like wing span. Phelps's span is 79 inches, and it propels him through the water like a nitro-fueled speedboat. And the 45 miles of practice he puts in a week? Great for him, but you have commitments.   Now, the good news: All of this had less to do with Phelps's six gold medals and three world records at the 2004 Olympics than one basic in-pool principle that anybody can learn: "The longer and more streamlined you can make your body, the faster you'll go," he says.   "It's that simple."   Phelps and swimming guru Terry Laughlin, president of the New York-based swimming think tank Total Immersion (totalimmersion.net), helped us put together a step-by-step guide to leaving your lane mates behind. If you're a beginner, our plan will keep you from flailing about like you're being attacked by piranhas. If you're a pro, we'll show you how to shave seconds without having to shave your knees.   We're focusing on the freestyle stroke here, not only because it provides a killer cardio workout, but also because it works the most muscles overall—building core strength and carving your V. And it shreds calories. Blows them right out of the water, in fact. Phelps is as thin as an Olsen twin, yet he eats 8,000 calories a day. His average breakfast: two egg-and-cheese sandwiches, a bowl of grits, a western omelet, French toast, and a stack of chocolate-chip pancakes ("for dessert," he says). Being 19 doesn't hurt, of course, but if Phelps can keep his abs well groomed despite eating enough for four, you should be able to make sizable strides with just a modest amount of effort.   Here's our seven-step plan for leaving everyone in your wake.   1. Swim tall. "Water is 1,000 times denser than air," says Laughlin. "So the single most important factor is to slip your body through the smallest hole in the water." Imagine a central axis extending from the top of your head to the opposite end of the pool. Rotate your body along this axis with each stroke, stretching your leading arm (the one reaching out front) as far forward as you can. Keep the muscles in your lower back and abs taut as you power through the water—doing so will keep the propulsion coming from both your arms and legs and stop your midsection from sagging like an old first-mate's belly.   2. Drop an anchor. Swimming with just your hands is like jumping with just your feet. Instead, grip the water with your entire forearm and hand, holding your forearm at a right angle to your upper arm and digging in like you're gathering sand with a shovel. Keep your hands broad, flat, and firm. You're not pushing your arm through the water as much as anchoring it and pulling your body over it.   3. Put yourself on heavy rotation. Each stroke begins with your leading arm having entered the water, and that side of your body—the low side—pointing almost at the bottom of the pool. The other side of your body—the high side—should be raised, with the arm that just finished its stroke getting ready to return to the water. Power is triggered when you drive down the high side of your body, Laughlin says, throwing your high-side arm forward along the central axis into the leading position and forcefully rotating your hips and torso. Meanwhile, your low-side arm becomes the pulling arm underwater, working with your rotating torso to provide acceleration.   4. Keep your head down. Freestylers used to hold their heads high. That forced the rest of the body to drop, turning it into a high-drag plow. "I look pretty much straight down at the bottom of the pool," says Phelps. Not only does this technique cut drag, it keeps your torso high, reducing strain on your neck and lower back.   5. Find your glide path. In the pool, fewer strokes is better. Your goal should be a high DPS—swim-speak for "distance per stroke." Elite swimmers like Phelps can easily traverse a 25-yard pool in seven strokes (each hand entry counts as a stroke). Try to keep yours below 20 by conserving momentum. Pull yourself over your anchor and continue to glide forward with one arm forward and the other back. "You'll travel farther and faster with your legs streamlined near your axis," says Laughlin. When you begin to slow, start the next stroke.   6. Drag your feet. "If you're a good kicker, you're a good swimmer," says Phelps. The secret is turning your feet into fins. Here again, leverage rules: Your legs should be taut, scissoring you through the water, while your feet remain flexible. This will help them snap at the downstroke of each kick, adding oomph and helping twist your torso along the central axis. If your feet don't flex well, buy a set of kicking fins (we like the Slim Fin, forcefin.com) to add flexibility.   7. Don't waste your breath. Gasping for air every time your head nears the surface is a great way to drown. Instead, make each breath count. Emphatically exhale the air from your lungs (all of it, not just 90 percent) before snagging a quick, full breath on the high side. Beginning swimmers need to breathe after each stroke, but as your endurance improves, try breathing on alternate sides—that is, after three strokes. It'll reduce the strain on your neck and shoulders that results from always breathing on the same side. Source: Men’s Health Yahoo Health This will be posted here thru 2010, refer to it as often as you like. "Achievement seems to be connected with action. Successful men and women keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don't quit." - Conrad Hilton

Freestyle Swimming Basics Thoughts on Basic Swimming Technique By Mat Luebbers, About.com Guide   Swimming Techniques What is your mental picture of a freestyle swimmer's technique? This is one result from a swim coach doing an exercise to quickly describe different elements of freestlye swimming technique.   •Head - In-line with spine   •Eyes - Looking at bottom of pool when not breathing, looking sideways, one eye directly over/above the other when breathing.   •Shoulders and chest - Rotate around central axis of spine in same plane as hips. High shoulder is on recovery arm side, low shoulder on pulling arm side.   •Arms - One arm tends to be leading at all times, other arm is pulling or recovering; more of a catch-up with hands overlapping in the area from the shoulders forward - sometimes called the front end or front quadrant. Shorter max-effort or sprint-efforts may have less front-end overlap, even no front-end overlap, but that is a function of the timing, not an effort to remove the overlap.   •Forearm and hand pull - Propulsive surface, line from fingertips up through wrist and elbow should be pointing at the bottom of the pool as much of the time as possible - as early a catch as can be achieved, with the maximum possible catch held until the hand passes below the waist   •Forearm and hand recovery - Relaxed, hanging from the elbow, swung forward rather than pushed forward, thumb leading   •Forearm and hand entry - Fingertip first, rotated towards thumb up, pinky first entry, then a gentle slide forward to a natural extension as the body rotates   •Trunk - Must maintain the connection between the shoulders and the hips   •Hips - Rotate around central axis of spine in same plane as shoulders. Attempt to initiate body rotation from the hips.   •Legs - Kick is secondary to the pull, not overpowering it. It should be natural, not forced. A variety of kick rhythms are acceptable, from 2-beat through 6-beat, with cross-over variations.   •Feet - Faster feet = faster pull = faster swim if same kick pattern is maintained (2-beat, 6-beat, etc.). Switching form a lower beat kick to a higher beat kick will also result in faster arms and a faster swim, but possibly at a higher cost if not practiced often. Splashing is not only OK but encouraged to facilitate better follow-through on the kick.   •Breathing - Every two or three pulls - every 1 to 1.5 cycles. Swimmers must be equally comfortable breathing to either side. May breath less often for shorter events. This will be posted here thru 2010, refer to it as often as needed and tell a friend.

Simple Strength Training for Swimmers From Mat Luebbers, An Easy To Follow Strength Training Program Weight training and dryland exercises can be used for many things, including injury prevention, rehabilitation, gain strength, build general or specific fitness, or to cross-train to improve abilities in other sports. Many training programs seem too complicated to follow. You may get discouraged, almost before you start. If this has happened to you, then perhaps you'll give this weight training program a try. This is a basic, simple program. You can adjust it as needed, but its central purpose is a quick, easy to follow plan. You can do it once a week for strength maintenance or two to three times a week to build strength and power. If done several times each week, separate workouts by 1-2 days to allow for full recovery.   Each lift has a minimum/maximum number of repetitions   During the early portion of the program (the first 6 to 10 weeks), if you can exceed the maximum number, then add 3% to 10% more weight the next time you do that exercise. Later in the program only increase the weight if you can exceed the maximum number two workouts in a row. If you cannot do the minimum number of lifts, decrease the load by 3% to 10% the next time you are doing the routine. If you miss a week, decrease the weight load for each exercise, building back to your pre-miss levels over the next few weeks. Start with a moderate to light weight load for the first workout and slowly add weight each subsequent workout until you reach a weight load that meets the minimum/maximum number of lifts for a specific exercise. Substitute different lifts Squats instead of a leg press machine, for example, if needed due to available equipment - or if wanted because you like one type of lift more than another. Control the speed of the lift Aim for a 1-2 second positive, loading, or lifting effort and a 2-4 second negative, unloading, or lowering effort.   Stick with the basic order of exercises Work muscles from large groups to more specific muscles.   Take minimal rest between lifts By alternating upper and lower body exercises, rest for general areas being worked is automatic, and your heart rate will remain slightly elevated for the entire workout.   Avoid plateaus Switch the program from one set of lifts to two sets at half the minimum/maximum level with an increased weight load periodically, as often as every four weeks. When you switch back to week 1-4 Min/Max, remember to use a lower weight than you were using during the weeks 5-8 Min/Max sessions. During the week 5-8 Min/Max sessions take 1-2 minutes of rest between exercises for the same part of the body.   Keep a training log Track weight loads and progress through the program.   Don't skip the warm-up or warm-down!   The Strength Training Routine: Warm-up: 5-10 minutes of aerobic work, like a spin on a stationery bicycle or an easy jog. Exercise: Leg Press Week 1-4 Min/Max repetitions goal:20-25 Week 5-8 Min/Max repetitions goal: 8-12 x 2 @ 1-2 minutes rest   Exercise: Rowing Week 1-4 Min/Max repetitions goal: 10-15 Week 5-8 Min/Max repetitions goal: 5-10 x 2 @ 1-2 minutes rest   Exercise: Leg Extension Week 1-4 Min/Max repetitions goal: 15-20 Week 5-8 Min/Max repetitions goal: 6-10 x 2 @ 1-2 minutes rest   Exercise: Push-ups (remember up on a 1-2 count, down on a 2-4 count) Min/Max repetitions goal: maximum possible in 60 seconds   Exercise: Leg Curl Week 1-4 Min/Max repetitions goal: 15-20 Week 5-8 Min/Max repetitions goal: 6-10 x 2 @ 1-2 minutes rest   Exercise: Bent-arm Pull-down (mimics the basic pull of freestyle or butterfly using the lateral pull-down machine) Week 1-4 Min/Max repetitions goal: 10-15 Week 5-8 Min/Max repetitions goal: 6-10 x 2 @ 1-2 minutes rest   Exercise: Calf Raises Week 1-4 Min/Max repetitions goal: 15-20 Week 5-8 Min/Max repetitions goal: 6-10 x 2 @ 1-2 minutes rest   Exercise: Rotator Cuff Exercises (light weights, surgical tubing, or stretch cords. Do several different types: internal rotation, external rotation, etc. - focus on smooth movements - intended to reduce/prevent shoulder injury) Min/Max repetitions goal: 10-15   Exercise: Back Extensions Min/Max repetitions goal: 10-15   Exercise: Abdominal Crunches (this exercise always has two sets of repetitions) Min/Max repetitions goal: 10-25 x 2 @ 1 minute rest   Cool-down: 5-10 minutes of easy aerobic work, like a spin on a lifecycle or an easy jog. That's it - a general workout for upper and lower body that should only take 35-60 minutes. I recommend doing body core work - abs, back, etc. - at least every other day. I also recommend that swimmers perform stretching every day following your workouts. Give it a try and let me know how it goes. I use this routine because it fits in my schedule. While I am not getting the same strength gains I did when using a more swimming specific, detailed weight lifting routine, I am still getting stronger - and in much less time than I formerly spent in the weight room. This workout will be posted here thru 2010. Refer to it as often as you like.

Yoga for Swimmers  - Yoga, with its emphasis on balance and alignment, is great dryland training for swimmers. By Baron Baptiste and Kathleen Finn Mendola  Gentle on the joints, forgiving of injuries and other physical limitations, and deeply relaxing, swimming and yoga, when practiced together, unite their strengths, making for a more balanced athlete. The minimal gravity effect of swimming is appealing to those who suffer from injury that precludes them from high-impact movement, as well as pregnant women, people with chronic joint pain, and the elderly. Logging laps in the pool undoubtedly provides physical and psychological benefits. But too much time spent in the water without counteracting or opposing activities can be detrimental, resulting in body misalignment and lack of bone strength. Body alignment, integral to all sports performance, is often thrown off kilter in swimmers, says Leslie Sims, a former national swim coach who is currently a yoga teacher at "now YOGA" and head coach at Club Swim in Los Altos and Palo Alto, California. This is due to overdevelopment of the front of the body, which occurs from chronic overuse in three of the four basic swim strokes—butterfly, breast, and freestyle. Because a swimmer's pectorals are predominantly in a contracted state, the opposing fascia (where muscle attaches to bone) of the rhomboids is weakened. Because the backstroke can counteract some of the repetitive stroke motions that lead to such muscle imbalance, Sims instructs her swim students to perform the backstroke at the end of every workout. Often just doing the backstroke isn't enough, however. Learning proper alignment through a consistent yoga practice can help tremendously, Sims says. The biggest drawback to a fitness routine based solely on water sports is that the body can't get stronger without gravity. Just as a coiled spring gets its force from resistance, the body needs stress to build strength in muscle and bone. Bone density, in particular, is developed through low- and high-impact weight-bearing exercise like running, walking, bicycling, dance, and yoga. This is an especially unfortunate drawback for women, who are most at risk for developing osteoporosis, a disease marked by a gradual weakening and thinning of the bones. Laps and Asanas Competitive swimmers call it "dryland training"—incorporating other sports into an exercise regimen to compensate for what is missing in a primary workout. A yoga practice can complement even an amateur's swim routine by introducing two legs of the fitness triad—strength building and flexibility. Asanas (postures) utilize body weight as a powerful source of resistance: Outside of the water, gravity helps to build strength and muscle. In addition, postures take the body through a full range of motion, encouraging flexible, supple muscles that are less prone to injury. Consistent practice of yoga also yields extended muscles, as opposed to the contracted, compact muscles associated with running or cycling. And extended muscles are physiologically necessary for a swimmer: To be efficient in the water, every stroke and kick demands a full extension of the arm and leg. When executing all four strokes, swimmers propel themselves by extending and contracting from the tips of their fingers to the ends of their toes. Many competitive swimmers run to increase aerobic conditioning—the third leg of the fitness triad—because effective aerobic training requires more than just a few laps in the pool. "If you just casually swim laps, chances are you'll be unable to bring your heart rate up high enough and sustain it long enough to gain significant aerobic conditioning," says Sims. "By incorporating the four basic strokes when you swim—breast, freestyle, butterfly, and backstroke—you can get a full body workout. However, achieving a cardiovascular workout in the pool is more challenging. You must use interval training—swimming laps at a vigorous pace against a clock." In Sims' work with swimmers, she focuses on key body areas and applies some of what she calls "universal principles" of asanas to help them ward off injury and improve performance: Shoulder Blades: In Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-Facing Dog) and Urdhva Mukha Svanasana (Upward-Facing Dog), your instructor may tell you that the shoulder blades need to drop down the back. The same principle applies in swimming, where the shoulders create the biggest problems. Rotator cuff injuries or shoulder tendonitis (also called "swimmer's shoulder") occur when the rhomboids are not held in place when the arm is raised in freestyle stroke. Instead of the muscle carrying the weight of the arm, the tendon bears the burden. Over time the tendon becomes frayed and aggravated. Hips: Baddha Konasana (Bound Angle Pose), with the soles of the feet touching together and the outsides of the knees flat on the floor, demonstrates a healthy external rotation of the hip. For many people, though, the hips remain locked and stiff. In a swimmer, this congestion can manifest in a faulty breaststroke kick. Without free, loose hips, it's difficult to complete this stroke effectively and efficiently. Ankles: In all of yoga's standing poses, it's important to place the foot on the ground in order to get full extension, and flexible ankles allow the foot to rest solidly on the ground. Similarly, swimmers use the ankles as the foundation of movement—propelling the body forward with a kick. The top of the foot should hit the water as if in Virasana (Hero Pose)—at 180 degrees. Sims will often work with runners who have such severe ankle stiffness that their kick literally pulls them backwards—"like trying to lift a plane off the ground with the flaps down." Swimming to Samadhi Both yogis and swimmers know about using the breath to move the body. Yogis use the breath to encourage the opening and lengthening of stubborn muscle groups, and the cleansing of physical and emotional toxins. Deep, full breathing enhances yoga asanas and increases circulation and cardiovascular capacity. Being immersed in the water makes this process easier, as water puts pressure on the lungs to expel excess air and allows fresh new prana to enter the body. "All breathing in swimming should be done in an open chest position," says Sims. Just as yogis often exert effort on the inhalation and relax on the exhalation in asana practice, swimmers inhale before submerging, then utilize the extended exhalation to follow through on each stroke, propelling themselves through the water. The stroke facilitates the cycle of breath, with the rhythm modified according to each individual. In freestyle, swimmers are encouraged to become aware of alignment and pattern their breath cycles so that the head turns to breathe on alternating sides of the body. Not practicing this "bilateral breathing," Sims says, would be like doing Trikonasana (Triangle Pose) on only one side of the body. It makes sense that breath awareness factors into good swimming. After all, swimming is a sport in which the senses are withdrawn and awareness is pulled inward. For some people, Sims adds, because "you are covered with water, with little sensory ability, little sound, little visual stimulation...it's a sense of the fifth limb of yoga—pratyahara," literally, a gathering toward oneself. Baron Baptiste is a yoga teacher and athletic trainer in Cambridge, Massachusetts, known for his work with the Philadelphia Eagles and as the host of ESPN's "Cyberfit." Kathleen Finn Mendola. This will be posted here thru 2010.

Workout Specifics - Triathlon Key Workouts From Mat Luebbers, About us. Your Guide to Swimming. How Often and How Fast Brain Work: Speed= race pace or slower, but always the same speed through the entire swim. Frequency= every 2-3 weeks - remember to start with less distance and build-up. Race Simulation: Speed= race pace. Frequency= every 3-6 weeks - remember to start with less distance and build-up. Technique Golf: Speed= varied speed from slower to faster than race pace to experiment with stroke rate, stroke distances, etc. As experience is gained moves to a narrower range, and moves towards race pace or slightly slower early in the set to race pace or faster later within the set. Frequency= every week. Sustainable Pace: Speed= overall race pace, with variation between segments narrowing with experience. Frequency= every 1-2 weeks. Hold a Pace: Speed= Fastest speed that can be sustained for all repeats. Frequency= every 1-2 weeks. Count-down: Speed= average race pace, starting below race pace and ending faster than race pace, with the variance narrowing with experience. Frequency= every 3-6 weeks - remember to start with less distance and build-up Hard-Easy Hard: Speed= As fast as can be done for four swims in a row. It might be so fast you cannot hold that speed for every repeat; speed could decrease 5s-10s from first to fourth swim and from 5th to 8th swim, but if the slow-down is greater, then the inital speed was too great! Frequency= every 1-2 weeks. I also have a few random thoughts to add...   Swim is not the place to try and win unless it is a drafting race, then still better not to win but draft off the leader in the swim!   Balance of effort and speed - much more to come in the race after the swim is over.   Swimmers will often say that the swim leg of a triathlon is too short, and non-swimmers will say the opposite - this probably relates to the level of technical proficiency of the swimmer, not necessarily their fitness.   Not taking into account the benefits of a wetsuit, you will not swim faster in a race than you swim in practice (and still be able to bike and run well afterwards).   You must do some swimming in practice at efforts below, at, and above race pace. Short races require a bit more emphasis on swimming at or faster than race pace, and longer races slide down to an emphasis on race pace and below. Works the same way as training for a run of 1 mile or 26.2 miles - training for the longer race tends to have less running at race pace! This workout will be posted here thru 2011 so that you may refer back to it.