Increasing Arm Efficiency in Swimming in a Triathlon
Swimming is said to be a technique sport, much like golf or tennis. Often times the biggest and strongest swimmer is not the one to win the race, it’s the person who has the best technique. With any stroke, but especially front crawl, if you can combine strength with proper form you will surely be a force to be reckoned with.
It may come as a surprise to hear that there are a few common errors that many athletes new to the sport, and even some who have been swimming for a long time, fall victim to. In this post we will discuss some errors people commonly make with their arms, and what you can do to correct them.
Overreaching
1. The most common error is overreaching. You see swimmers young and old bring their hands way out directly in front of their head, basically the 12 position on a clock. This is extremely inefficient and causes you to bob up and down in the water as well as puts you in an incorrect position to start the next as aspect of the stroke. The proper hand placement is at 1 and 11, or if you were to draw a line straight out from each of your shoulders your arms should enter somewhere on that.
Overextending
Very similar to overreaching, but no less common, is overextending. For some reason swimmers think that if they reach out as far as they can it will make them a faster swimmer. This is somewhat true but what people often forget is that you do not want to do all of the reaching in the air.
A proper entry position is about midway between your shoulder and your fully extended arm. From there your hand enters the water and then you extend the rest of the way about 5 inches under the surface. The reason you do not want to do all of the reaching above the water is because it causes your front half to drop and creates a lot of up and down motion, which is extremely inefficient.
These two techniques are a great place to start fine tuning your swim. If you consciously work on these each time you swim you will find your times getting faster but with less effort. Work on these for a few weeks and then check back here again for another set of pointers that will knock off even more time.
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DS Carroll is a consultant for Biomedical Research Laboratories. Biomedical Research Labortories market scientifically based nutritional supplements for endurance athletes including supplements for cyclists, runners, triathletes, and mixed martial arts. Visit http://www.epoboost.com to learn more about how EPO-Boost can increase VO2 max, running economy and endurance. Patent pending EPO-BOOST ingredients have been shown to increase VO2 max and running economy in college athletes. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=DS_Carroll |
Is Cross Training Important for Runners?
Many serious runners put in between 40 and 80 miles a week. This can be very taxing on the body and sometimes can lead to injury and burnout. A great way to prevent this is to switch up some of your longer less important runs with sports like cycling and swimming, which utilize the same muscles and systems but are low impact.
If you’re serious about running and want to reach your full potential then you don’t want to switch your speed workouts with cross training sessions. Speed work is important and targets muscle groups and systems that can only be improved by running fast. Instead, if you have two long runs or tempo runs a week you could replace one of those. Cycling is great if you want to get the heart rate up but reduce the pounding. Also, if you cycle at a high resistance or on hilly terrain it can greatly improve your strength. Since your main sport is running you’ll want to stay away from high intensity cycling, in other words speed work on a bicycle, because your muscles likely aren’t adapted to this kind of training and you’ll run a high risk of injury. In fact, it’s even recommended for people who are concentrating solely on cycling to bike for at least two years before getting into high intensity workouts.
Swimming is a viable cross training workout for runners as well. Swimming takes a lot of upper body strength, which is also necessary in running, so you might get a bit of a leg workout but more importantly you’ll build upper body strength. If you’re not keen on swimming then you could also try pool running. You’ll need a pool with a moderate depth in order to perform this correctly, but if you only have a lap pool then you can try it with weights in order to make it a bit more challenging.
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Boost your endurance with EPO-BOOST™ and you’ll run faster and farther, we guarantee it!
Endurance Running, Swimming, Cycling – Ice Baths BRRRRR…
If you bike, run, or swim at high intensity for any period of time you may have experienced sore muscles and discomfort. Many endurance athletes are spending 15 minutes or so in an ice bath to ease the pain after a long run.
Ice baths or cold water immersion therapy constricts blood vessels and decreases metabolic activity, which reduces swelling and tissue breakdown. Once the skin is no longer in contact with the cold source, the underlying tissues warm up, causing a return of faster blood flow, which helps return the byproducts of cellular breakdown to the lymph system for efficient recycling by the body. This means that not only do you suppress inflammation but you also get rid of of the broken down tissues from the body. So ice baths reduce inflammation of tissues and joints, relieves soreness, and speeds recovery.
Ice baths require more than just 1 tray of ice. Get about 30 lbs of ice and add to water and climb in brrr, soak for 15 minutes and yes, your teeth will be chattering. Stay no longer than 15 minutes or you may cause tissue damage. Some people suggest getting into the tube in cool water and add the ice to create less of a cold shock to the body.
Another option might be to hop into a cold lake (if you are lucky to have one nearby) and stand in cold water for 15 minutes. Wrap up and drink a warm beverage while sitting in the tub. Have fun and feel great the next day!
Olympic Swimmers Take Dietary Supplements for EPO-like Benefits
American Swimmers Jenny Thompson and Dara Torres admitted that they were taking a nutrition program to the benefits of some banned drugs to help them stay among the world’s elite swimmers, local reports said on Tuesday. Under the program, swimmers are requested to take small amounts of the controversial but legal creatine and about 25 daily supplements of multivitamins, minerals, amino acids and supplemental proteins, the Washington Post reported.
“The program, which costs more than 500 dollars a month, will produce the benefits of some banned drugs such as human growth hormone and erythropoietin (EPO) without breaking any rules or jeopardizing the athletes’ health,” the Washington Post quoted Glen Luepnitz, a Texas-based nutritionist and Immunologist, as saying.
“We know there are all sorts of performance-enhancing drugs being utilized nationally and internationally,” Luepnitz said. “I’m trying to look for an edge … We can get their own body to provide the same type of response in a very controlled manner.”
Torres’ and Thompson’s separate disclosures came in response to questions regarding their training methods and may have been intended to disassociate themselves from suspicions of banned drug use.
Torres, 33, recently set an American record in the 50-meter freestyle despite coming out of retirement just last year after seven years away from the sport. Thompson, 27, has long been considered one of the top Americans in the freestyle and butterfly, with the most Olympic gold medals of five but all from the relays events.
However, neither swimmer was ready to identify their specific supplement routine, citing a desire to protect their “trade secrets at a highly competitive time of year.”
Both Torres and Thompson train under U.S. Olympic women’s team coach Richard Quick, who said that he not only supports Luepnitz’s program, but also is using it for his Stanford swimmers.
Visit www.epoboost.com to learn more about how you can improve your endurance, speed and strength. You have nothing to lose with our 90 day money-back guarantee.
Boost your endurance with EPO-BOOST™ and you’ll run faster and farther, we guarantee it!
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