Progress in sport comes step-by-step. It takes a long time, and the only way to get there is one stroke at a time, one revolution at a time, and one stride at a time. There’s a lot of repetition, and that’s certainly true of swimming. 　　The problem is that it’s easy to go on autopilot, and when you do, you’re...

　　A good drill can make a big difference in helping you improve your skills.But to continue to keep learning, you have to continue to perform novel activities. 　　You’re not going to keeping learning by repeating a drill you’re already familiar with, so you need to create a new challenge. 　　However, that doesn’t necessarily mean you have to change the drills...

　　Improving the catch in freestyle can be difficult to do.And unfortunately, it’s an important skill to master because without an effective catch, it’s very difficult to create an effective pull. 　　Because it’s important, and because it’s difficult, we want to use the most effective strategies to create positive change, and sometimes, that means using multiple strategies in combination. 　　I’m going...

　　Developing a solid kick during freestyle swimming is difficult to do.The mistake many triathletes make is that they’ll perform a kick set to develop the skill and fitness of their legs, and then they’ll perform a swim set.Or they’ll perform the kick set at the end of a workout after they’re swimming. 　　The problem with this approach is that they’ll...

　　The most important thing about getting swim fit for an Ironman-distance triathlon is to spend time in the water regularly and consistently. Twice a week is ideal if you can do it on a regular basis. 　　Get your swim stroke looked at by a swim coach – it’s the best way to make improvements in your swimming and make your...

　　Fins and buoys can be useful tools for improving your swimming.And when appropriate, you should never hesitate to use them.The problem is when you need them to feel good and swim well. 　　Unfortunately, you can’t use a buoy or fins in a race!And even if you can wear a wetsuit, you want to have the ability to swim well without...

　　For those looking to improve their swimming, in particular the skill and fitness of their pull, a swim leg band, which goes around the ankles, can be an attractive strategy. 　　It makes perfect sense, too – take away the legs and stress the arms.While simple in concept, it’s actually an advanced training strategy, and swimming well with a band is...

　　Swimming can be really challenging because you have to be physically fit and possess tremendous technical skill. The problem is that working really hard to develop your fitness can lead to poor skills, and focusing exclusively on your skills can lead to a loss of fitness. 　　It’s a really tough balancing act that’s hard to get right. However, by using...

　　Swim cadence (and run cadence) are very much the same as bike cadence in that you’re measuring the number of times your arms complete strokes. 　　The difference with swimming from cycling is that you count every individual stroke as opposed to full revolution. 　　Cadence is one of two variables in the swim speed equation, along with stroke length. Swim speed...

　　If you’re an athlete, you’re probably not satisfied with your progress. It can never be too fast, and that’s certainly true of triathletes. If you’re in a bit of a rut, and you’re looking for ways to start improving again, check out these three simple strategies to kick-start your progress. 　　Switch up your speed 　　Too many triathletes perform all of...

　　If you’ve been involved in triathlon for some time, and you’ve sought to improve your swimming, you’ve likely heard about swimming with a ‘dropped elbow’. 　　To get as strong a pull as possible, you want to use your hand and your forearm to move water backwards.That means you have a bigger surface area and a bigger paddle to pull with....

　　Writing a workout can seem like a daunting task.It doesn’t have to be. Here are some simple steps that you can use to start writing workouts that get the job done. 　　Create clear goals 　　The biggest mistake triathletes make is creating workouts that are too complicated and too unfocused.You want to make sure you have a simple, crystal-clear goal that...