Crossover Kick

We all know the standard 2 beat, 4 beat, and 6 beat kick patterns in swimming. If you don’t, for every right and left pull you kick 2, 4 or 6 times in correspondence to the arm strokes. Notoriously, a two beat kick was for distance and a 4 beat kick middle distance and a 6 beat kick reserved for sprinting. In the last few decades a sprinters’ kick (6 beat) started to be infused in some distance events. But there is one kick that is rarely taught in swimming that could be the key to your success in open water and triathlon. This kick will make you wonder why you never learned it. It’s called cross over kick.


I generally categories swimmers into two different types: strong swimmers and rhythmic swimmers. Strong swimmers- slow stroke rate, very efficient, strong in the gym. Rhythmic swimmers- high stroke rate, not overly efficient, weak in the gym

I always suggest my rhythmic swimmers try crossover kick to see how it feels for the following reasons:

1. Rhythmic swimmers have a higher stroke rate so the upper body sits slightly higher in the water, in turn making the legs sit slightly lower in the water. Performing cross over kick lifts the legs so the whole body position sits higher in the water.

2. Rhythmic swimmers swim fast when they have good rhythm and connection through their stroke. The cross over kick helps rhythmic swimmers stay connected through their arms, core and legs which helps with finding rhythm.

3. It saves energy!

Often you'll find rhythmic swimmers not reaching their full potential because their coach is telling them to use a normal 2 beat, 4 beat or 6 beat kick. Rhythmic swimmers can't find rhythm doing that and in turn can't swim fast doing that.

The rhythm is like a dance with minimal effort to find easy tempo and get a break or pause without compromising body position. For a 2 beat cross over; think of it like a waltz 1-2, cross. 1-2 cross…

Standard 2, 4 or 6 beat kicking is exhausting on the legs. In a triathlon or a distance swim standard kicking will not only exhaust the biggest muscles in your body that you will need to use later, standard kicking also does not keep them afloat with minimal or no added effort the way a cross over kick does.

Train smart,

Trent Grimsey

English Channel Record Holder
3 Time Australian Open Water Champion

www.grimseysadultswimfit.com

Open Water Tips for Triathletes

Start:

·        Always wear a new pair of goggles or a pair of goggles you know will not fog up (never race in your training goggles).

·        On the start line always position yourself directly beside someone you know is slightly faster than you.

·        When the race begins, get in the slip steam of that swimmer straight away (directly behind him or her) and stay there for as long as you can.

 

·        Don’t be aggressive (it wastes too much energy).

 

·        Think happy thoughts.

 

Pack Swimming:

·        Don’t be afraid of it.

·        Because most triathletes are inexperienced in open water swimming, packs will always be very tight and rough. If you’re a stronger swimmer you can get away with swimming on the outside of the pack, where there will be a little less drag. You will have a lot more room to move and will not have to be jostling with someone either side of you the whole way. If you’re a weaker swimmer it will be more beneficial to sit in the middle of the pack working as hard as you can to stay there. Getting dropped can make it a long and lonely swim.

·        If someone hits you or is annoying you don’t hit or annoy them back - just swim away from them. If you get angry with them it will just take your focus and energy from your race. Don’t even try and look at who it is as it will only make you even angrier. Just swim away from them and pretend it never happened.

·        Conserve, conserve, conserve . . . 

·        When you’re swimming in the pack you shouldn’t have to lift your head to site buoys much at all. The person leading the pack will do that and everyone else just follows him/her.

·        If you’re leading the pack lift your head every 4 – 6 strokes just to make sure you’re keeping a straight line.

   

Sighting:

 

·        A big mistake a lot of swimmers make is trying to breathe while sighting.  This is a big no-no.  You sight then turn your head to the side to breathe.

·        When sighting, you only want the bottom of your goggles to be above the water. Lifting your whole head out causes your hips to drop, which causes drag and breaks up the rhythm of your stroke.

 

Drafting:

 

·        When drafting behind someone you want to be as close to them as possible without touching their feet (touching their feet will just annoy them and it takes away the element of surprise).  You’ll get more of an advantage and save more energy drafting off someone.

 

 Turning Buoys:

Turning buoys are the most important thing in any race. They’re where you can make up a lot of ground or potentially lose a lot of ground . . .

·        When turning a buoy you want to be as close to the buoy as possible (the closer you are to the buoy the less distance you have to swim).

 

·        Do not lift your head when turning a buoy (unless you want it knocked off)

·        15-20 meters before a turning buoy pick up the pace. You want to have fast momentum when turning a buoy.

·        Things will get rough around the buoys but hold your ground and you’ll be fine.

 

Things to remember:

·        Simplicity . . . keep it simple.

 

·        When you feel yourself starting to hurt or fall apart, whether it is in training or a race, go back to basics. Remember all the small things (the catch, the pull, touching your thumb on your thigh every stroke, high elbows, body position . . .).

 

·        Only worry about things you can control . . . you can’t control your competitors so don’t worry about them.

·        In open water swimming the fastest doesn’t always win or come out the water first, the smartest does. Race smart!

 

Grimsey’s Adult Swimfit conduct regular open water sessions.  We provide sessions via correspondence and also video analysing.

Check us out @ www.grimseysadultswimfit.com.

How to overcome anxiety in open water swimming

Do you suffer from anxiety or panic attacks before or during the swim leg of your triathlon or open water swims? You’re not alone. It’s actually pretty common.

Being a coach now the biggest question I get asked is: “How can I overcome my anxiety I have for open water swimming?”

First of all you need to break it down and work out exactly what you are anxious about. Is it the fact you can't see the bottom? You're worried about swimming in a big pack with people either side of you? You haven’t done much open water swimming in the past? Or is it the lack of water safety you are worried about? Once you know or have worked out what brings it on, you can start to address it.

1. Not seeing the bottom – This even freaks me out from time to time. Whenever you feel yourself thinking about how you can’t see the bottom or even wondering just what could be beneath you, think about your stroke (your catch, pull, push, thumb touching your thigh on every stroke). This will distract you from everything else. Also start off by swimming in shallow water, staying close to the shore.

2. Pack swimming - This can easily be practiced in a swimming pool. All you need is some other swimmers to swim side by side with. The more you can do this, the more comfortable you are going to become swimming in groups.

3. Open Water Swimming – Swim in the open water as often as you can. The only way you’ll get better in the open water is by swimming in the open water. Yes. It’s that simple. There’s no magic trick or special formula.

4. Water safety - Let the water safety officials know before the race that you suffer from this and ask them to keep an eye on you. Even wear a bright coloured swimming cap so it makes easier for them to see you.

If you are out there swimming and you feel a panic attack coming on, have a plan in place. Clear your mind. Take deep breaths. Remind yourself why you're doing it. Try to remember what you're doing is fun. When you finish you'll look back and laugh!

Remember to only worry about the things you can control. Think happy thoughts and have fun!

See you on the beach,

Trent Grimsey

English Channel Record Holder

www.grimseysadultswimfit.com

 

 

 

Knowing the Conditions

Knowing the water conditions on race day is critical for open water swimmers and triathletes. You can save a huge amount of time by using currents and rips to your advantage.

Last year I raced 15 marathons in 10 different countries.  The general rule of thumb was to follow the swimmers from the country in which we were racing.  If we raced in Canada, we’d follow the Canadian swimmers; if we raced in Argentina we’d follow the Argentinian swimmers.  Why do you think we would have done that? They have all the local knowledge. They have all swum there hundreds of times before and those of us from overseas hadn’t.

Asking lifeguards or locals about the conditions is normally a great way to learn more about where you’ll be swimming.  Some questions you might want to ask are:

1.      Is there a sweep or current?

2.      Are there are rips?

3.      Is the tide on its way in or out?

4.      Are there any sand banks?

Before every race do a warm up swim so you can experience the conditions first-hand.  When you’re in the water, pick a landmark on the beach and just float for a couple of minutes to see which way the sweep or current is going.  From there you’ll know where to position yourself on the start line and what line you’ll take throughout the race.

Obviously if there is a sweep running from left to right you’ll want to start on the left-hand side of the start line.  If there is no sweep, but a rip on the right side of the start line, you’ll want to start on the right-hand side and have the rip take you out past the breakers.

Using the power of the water is a smart way to race – and all it takes is a little bit of preparation.

See you on the beach!

Trent Grimsey

English Channel Record Holder

3 Time Australian Open Water Champion

Starts & Finishes (In's and Out's)

In the swim leg of a triathlon or even an ocean swim, what is involved? It’s not just swimming. There’s also a run into the water (the start) and the run out of the water (the finish).

Starts and finishes always get forgotten about in training. Why? Especially when focusing a little more on this area could make a big difference to your overall time. Being a weak swimmer, having a good start could be the difference between you swimming in the pack or having a lonely swim by yourself 30 meters behind the pack. Being a strong swimmer, having a good start could be the difference between you swimming at the front of the pack or you being able to make a break away from the front of the pack.

Starts and finishes are like any skill in life. The more you practice them, the better you’ll become. So make sure you get down to the beach as often as you can to do some in’s and out’s practice - running into the surf, taking 10 strokes, stop, turning around and returning to shore. Let’s break it down. There are three main components involved with starts and finishes, the running, the wading and the dolphin diving. When you’re practicing your in’s and out’s you need to remember you can wade faster than you can dolphin dive, and you can dolphin dive faster than you can swim.

You’ll wade (run into the water with high knees and out to the side) until it gets too deep, then you’ll dolphin dive (pushing yourself off the bottom of the ocean floor and jump/dive as far forward as you can until it gets too deep to be able to do this, then you’ll start swimming.

Most triathlon/ocean swim starts are on the sand so it’s important to incorporate some sand running into your training. It doesn’t need to be a lot but you need to be confidant you can run relatively fast on soft and hard sand. Running on sand is also good way to build up ankle strength.

In your next pool session try to incorporate some running around the pool into your workouts. Try to do it in the warm downs. For example if you have 8x50 for warm down, then do a run around the pool between each 50. After swimming for a long period of time our body gets used to being in the horizontal position. Swimming 50 meters, then running a lap around the pool gets our bodies used to going from the horizontal to the vertical position. The more we can get our bodies used to doing that the easier it will become race day when you are sprinting up the beach to the finish line or into transition.

 

 

See you on the beach!

Trent Grimsey

English Channel Record Holder

3 Time Australian Open Water Champion