SwimVersity

It is hard to get a good aerobic or anaerobic workout when you stop and rest every 25 yards! Many swimmers ‘rest’ rather than ‘turn’ at the wall. We have put together this short “how to touch turn” video to help you on your way to a better, more consistent, workout. If you can do this type of fast and efficient touch turn you will be better prepared to move on to the more complicated, and hypoxic, flip turn. I know that many swimmers feel they don’t need to master turns because they don’t compete in pool swimming, but having a quick and efficient turn will help you get fitter, especially for the swimming you do when there is no wall to hold on to (and rest at) every 25 yards!

Don’t forget about your swimming just because summer is behind you! Now is the perfect time to dial in to your technique and create great habits that will stand you in good stead when you start churning out the miles in the spring. Come join us for a Level I or Level II clinic at the Circle C Swim Center in October. If a midweek swim workout is what you are looking for you can’t beat our technique focused Skills and Drills Workouts, check out our new October schedule!

Below is a brief video covering one of the key drills we teach at the SwimVersity Level I Clinic. The drill, called 10-10 TPR, works on body balance and timing, allowing you to practice swimming on your side and timing your pull with your body rotation. Drills are a great way to break down the stroke and allow you to focus on one (or two!) things at a time. It is always good to put some drills into the early part of your workout so you have a chance to think about and focus on your stroke before you get started. If you find yourself losing your stroke technique when you get fatigued, go back to doing some drills, refocus, and then resume your swimming workout!

We are excited to announce our two new upcoming clinics for High School students. On August 14 and 16 from 1-3pm at Nitro Swimming, Bee Cave, we are offering dynamic clinics that cover technique for all four strokes. Each clinic has a dry-land strength training component and time dedicated to working on essential skills like turns and breakouts.  A great clinic for those that need a refresher on technique before going back to school, or for those looking to refine and enhance the skills they have! See our Clinic Outline and Clinic Schedule and Registration pages for details!

Many triathletes think of kick as something they don’t want to do in a race in order to save their legs for the bike and run, which makes sense. Many don’t like to kick in practice because they have already worked their legs so hard in the rest of their training. The unfortunate truth is that you need to learn to kick efficiently before you can choose not to use your legs – and that means practice… Kick is a really important part of your swim. You need to use and hold your legs correctly so you aren’t dragging them around behind you like a dead weight  Try these simple tips and then add some kick with a kick board, on your back, or best of all, on your side, to every workout!

• Kick from the hips and keep your legs straight on the upward kick, follow-through and “flick” down on the downward kick with your toes in a relaxed point.
• Keep the distance of your kicking legs small and tight, let your big toes swipe each other and squeeze your butt cheeks as you kick up with your hamstrings.
• Kick should look like boiling water, feet right below the surface, not big loud splashes with your feet out and not way below the surface.

Once your kick is efficient then you can choose a two beat kick when it comes to your tri!

How’s your streamline? Not sure? Check out this video on how to and how NOT to streamline.

Whether you are a triathlete who wants to focus on efficient freestyle and triathlon skills, like sighting and open water swimming, or a masters or competitive swimmer who wants help with all four strokes and skills, like turns and dives, SwimVersity has a clinic to help you Swim Your Best!

The SwimVersity Clinics are designed with a progressive approach and there is a clinic for all abilities. Each clinic is 1.5 hours long and limited to the first 20 registrants. The SwimVersity Clinics will empower you with the skills and knowledge you need to take your swimming to the next level.

Learn more and register today!