Crushing Iron puts on several Triathlon camps a year and these are highlights from April, 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee. We had nearly 20 athletes in town and they all came with a great attitude ready to work. Hear their feedback on camp and see highlights from Natchez Trace, Percy Priest Lake at Anderson Beach, and the abandoned airfield we lovingly call “The Lab.”
If you’d like more information on camps or coaching please click and don’t forget to check out the Crushing Iron Podcast released every Monday and Thursday. Motivation, Information, and Good ole fashioned rambling.
One of the most common questions we get about open water swimming is, “How do I swim straight?” This is not only an important for beginners, but advanced swimmers because the faster you swim, the more chance you have to get further off line.
The Crushing Iron swimming philosophy is to take out as many variables as possible. In a nutshell, swimming straight comes down to swimming square and keeping your motion inside a rectangle.
The reason people swim crooked is because they making too many East/West motions vs. North/South. Whenever you move side to side you’re negating forward motion.
Once this gets out of balance you have a tendency to overcompensate by moving side to side instead of straight back. The key is to build fitness so you can keep your stroke wide and move “still water.”
Check out this short video for to see the concept of swimming square more clearly.
For tons more information on Open Water Swimming, check out our Podcast Series: “How to Not Suck At Swimming” parts 1-4. And be sure to subscribe to the Crushing Iron Triathlon Podcast on iTunes. Thanks for listening!
Triathletes and swimming often don’t mix, but Crushing Iron Triathlon thinks that should change! Yes, swimming can seem complicated, but Crushing Iron Swim Coaching gives you ways to make it easier and more enjoyable. And let’s face it, standing in line to start a triathlon is a lot more fun if you are confident and don’t have open water swim anxiety.
Crushing Iron has now over 125 podcasts and has released a Four Part Swim Series designed to make you a more powerful and purposeful open water swimmer. We believe pool swimming and open water swimming are two different sports, so it’s important to train for race conditions so anxiety and fatigue don’t destroy your best race before you get to the bike.
Below, you’ll find four podcasts focused exclusively on being a better open water swimmer. We recommend starting with How To Not Suck At Swimming – Part 1 and work through to Part 4. Dozens of athletes have not only become better swimmers, but have begun to love swimming in general because of this podcast series. You can love the water, too!
Don’t be one of those triathletes that think the swim doesn’t matter because it’s only a small percentage of the time you’ll be racing. Having a solid swim that warms you up instead of sucking your energy is the first solution to having a great race.
We’ve kept it simple, sort of like the Rosetta Stone of swim coaching, but if you can’t seem to grasp the technique we offer an excellent personalized Swim Analysis that can save you hours of wasted practice. We also offer general triathlon coaching and will be happy to connect you with current athletes to see why they are so happy with Crushing Iron Triathlon Coaching. You can also check out our Swim Specific Camps located in Nashville, TN that are sure to up your comfort in open water, make you faster, and more confident.
As always, thank you for listening to the Crushing Iron Podcast. If you have any questions about coaching or a personalized swim analysis, feel free to contact Coach Robbie at [email protected]. Happy Swimming!
Why building swim fitness should be powerful and purposeful
The bigger your mesh bag, the slower you are committed to being
The correct and most effective way to use paddles
Why pool swimming and open water swimming are two different sports
What an expensive wetsuit really does for your swim
The power of the Pull Buoy
The tools you need and the tools you don’t need
The Crushing Iron Podcast releases every Monday and Thursday. We have over 125 Episodes, including several that focus on the journey of our athletes. Please subscribe to the Crushing Iron Podcast on iTunes or sign up for the Crushing Iron Newsletter on this page.
1. I didn’t get enough sleep again – Waking up at 5 am would be more like Christmas morning if I could fall asleep before 1:00. I mean, I am a terrible sleeper, unless I’m not supposed to be sleeping, then I’m a rock star. But honestly, this is a significant source of frustration and I know it probably boils down to me being a self absorbed ass that isn’t spiritually evolved or something. So, as I drove away from the wonderful scenery I once again promised (and craved) being a solid citizen that will attain his goal of getting used to early morning workouts. I took a deep breath, looked at myself in the rear view mirror, then realized I have no chance. 2. Coach does not take open water training lightly – You would think swimming is just swimming, but our coach is constantly focused on making us better and more comfortable in the water. Today he challenged our sighting with a new “moving target” drill that made us find him on the beach after we cornered the buoy. And in an exercise he “discovered in a dream,” we did a staggered start, then swam single file and parallel to the boom (see above photo) for about 300 yards. if you passed, you had to go by on the right, then drop back in front of the person who was then supposed to draft you. It was race mode with a rising sun to our right and a curved boom to the left which created sighting havoc that would have leveled the playing field for Hellen Keller.
3. I forget techniques from one swim to the next – A week ago I wrote this post about sighting and today I completely ignored my own theory. My eyes were squeezing every ounce of reflection from the buoy for the first half of our workout. BUOY OR BUST! I mean, I was sucking the texture out of that floating latex through my foggy goggles. Eventually I calmed down and looked for bigger and general-direction targets that helped alleviate anxiety that comes from trying to spot a tiny white speckle each time I sight. It also helped me resist lifting my whole damn head out of the water.
4. Your mental state shapes your workout – I had a conversation with coach the other day about, what he said, was “the best swim workout he’s had in a very long time.” Then he added, “But I felt like that would be the case, even before I got into the water.” His mind was right. I wouldn’t say I was expecting the worst today, but I was probably only about 50% convinced I would crush the lake. 90% of that 50% can likely be directed at my lack of sleep, so as with most things in life, it comes down to recovery and energy, which is probably why I workout alone at 10PM most days.
5. I like swimming on Friday more than Thursday – As I drove away from the beautiful scene, I felt a tingle of joy creep over me knowing that the weekend was here. Then I hit a literal and figurative speed bump. It’s only Thursday! This is obviously a deep seeded issue because, frankly, what’s wrong with Thursdays? Nothing. Thursdays are pretty awesome really. Used to love them back in college because it was the big party night and Fridays were pretty much a blow-off. To make matters worse, one of the guys (who will remain nameless) has the day off today, ie . . . “is working from home.” Anyway, it’s never a bad morning at the lake, but some are better than others.
More than ever, my body has been looking me deep in the eyes and asking, “WTF?”
Here I am approaching 50, putting on mileage I’ve never dreamed possible, and clearly that doesn’t come without complications. Last night’s 3,000 meter swim was a great example.The workout included a warm up, followed by 40 x 50 meter combined set and a cool down. I felt fairly strong as I cooled down for 400 meters, but when I got to the end and jumped out of the pool, I was nearly brought to tears by a piercing cramp in my left calf.
As I was leaning against the wall screaming bloody murder in front of the lifeguard and festive aqua-bikers, the guy in my lane asked if I was ok. I said, “Yeah, I’m just cramping.” He calmly replied, “I used to get them all the time when I swam with the pull buoy.”
Aha!
Yes, I remember Robbie telling me that when I was dealing with MUCH smaller cramps in the pool. The logic is that when you immobilize your legs with the buoy, the blood circulation to your lower body slows and quick movements can launch a cramp attack. I did know and understand this, but how quickly we forget.
I’m not gonna lie, my night was filled with a bit of panic. I was having a hard time walking and the calf was very sore. I tried to imagine running and it did not go well. Could all of this training be derailed by a freak incident?
I vowed to get back in the water as quickly to start the mental healing process, and though I was 45 minutes late, I showed up at Open Water Swim to knock out 30 minutes in the lake. I took the usual ridicule about being late, then swam up and down the orange boom for 32 minutes without stopping. No pull buoy, no cramps, but tired arms.
Robbie and I talked for a bit after the swim (as we watched the next Pele run line drills in the sand) and he suggested the other reason for cramps in the pool can be from pushing off the wall. This makes a ton of sense, especially when blood flow to your legs is low, and you’re exploding off the balls of your feet which targets the calf muscles.
Aside from the pull buoy, I suspected there was another major reason for the cramping: dehydration.
I am just shocked by how much I am sweating these days, and I’m assured that’s a good thing, but I have certainly not been compensating like I should with hydration. I used to drink a lot of Coke (thankfully that habit has gone away) and my rule was always one glass of water immediately following a soda. Now I drink coffee, and on some days too much. It is painstakingly clear that, as mileage rises, I have to be careful and add more liquids.
I guess a third culprit could be sodium loss and last night, along with drinking a ton of water, I pulled out my homemade Gatorade recipe of 1/2 water, 1/2 orange juice, and a little bit of sea salt. It tasted like ass, but I’m doing what I can.
So, I sit here less than a month away with a very sore calf and hope I can get this under control. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
We are doing a ton of work within Ironman training and the more I think about it, the more I believe the weekly open water swims could be the most valuable. I think of the Ironman swim in two ways:
1. It may be the shortest “time section” of the race, but it can absolutely wreck you if you’re not comfortable and ready. I’m on a continuum between insatiable and utter fear.
2. The faster you get out of the water, the fewer people you’ll have ahead of you on the bike course. You’ll also be with faster people who will naturally raise your game.
So, our Coach, Robbie Bruce and his swim clinics, have been a major gift. He’s there four days a week (Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday) ready to show us everything he knows about swimming in open water. Sundays are at 4 pm, all other days 6 am. He teaches mass starts, sighting, drafting, and anything else that will take your pool training to a completely different level. I’ve been in open water 5 times this year and it has given me unbelievable confidence, along with transforming my comfort and abilities. If you live in Nashville, I can’t recommend it enough. Here’s a video I made as part of the Crushing Iron series that gives you more information.
