Tag Archives: Swim

Kevin Koskella Swim Guru – Live Video Workshop Now Available For Your Viewing and Learning!

Kevin Koskella has been coaching Masters Swim Teams in San Francisco and San Diego since 2001 and being an accomplished swimmer, has earned the highly prized All-American status at the college level. Kevin is a leader in aiding the beginner and experienced triathlete towards excellence in the swimming portion of the race.

He is also the owner of TriSwimCoach.com a highly regarded web site in the triathlon training world.

To watch now, just keep reading!

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How Hugging A Big Ball Can Make You A Better Swimmer

Is that big stability ball sitting next to your treadmill not getting much use? In this video, Ben Greenfield demonstrates how to use a stability ball to give yourself a better pull and catch in the water.

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How To Use An Electrolyte Bottle To Swim Faster

In this video, Ben Greenfield shows you how to use an electrolyte bottle as a crucial addition to your swim drills.

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Free Air: How To Breathe Easier While You’re Swimming

If I ask new swimmers what their biggest challenge is, most say it’s breathing. Many report experiencing one or more of the following symptoms of “airlessness.”

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Rock Star Swim Bag Of Tricks

In this video, Kerry Sullivan dumps out his swim bag and then explains all about swim fins, swim paddles and other swim tricks of the trade that would be a valuable addition to your Rock Star swim bag of tricks, and how to use each effectively!

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Should Your Goggles Go On Top of Your Swim Cap, or Vice Versa?

In this video, Kerry Sullivan answers the age-old debate of exactly how to wear your goggles and swim cap for maximum speed and efficiency during your triathlon training and racing.

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Q&A With the Fastest Fish In Triathlon – Mark Van Akkeren

In this call-in Q&A with fast swimming pro triathlete Mark Van Akkeren, the following questions are addressed:
Do you recomend a particular power meter?
Stewart – Fairfax

Hi guys, could you talk about a little bit about taking days off and how it can help or hurt my performance if I am going pretty hard the rest of the time?

Pam – Bala Cynwyd, PA

Everyone says the best way to improve on your technique is to keep practicing. But how do I know if I am practicing right? I guess the best bet would be to have a coach, but if that is not possible, what are other options? Is joining a masters class necessary? How do I know if I am improving if I am my own coach?

Bob –

I do sprint distance triathlons and when I swim I use the 2 beat kick (which one swim coach referred to as a lazy kick). Should I be working on kicking more often to help my times get better? I am afraid if I try to change my kick the rest of my stroke will fall apart.

Erin –

How beneficial are kick drills and what is the best way to do them? I have seen people do them on the side with one arm extended, or using a kick board arms extended, or using a kick board tucked by their chin.

Bret j – Cedar City

Not a swim question: I consider myself a rockstar and consequently love to rock out when I am riding or running. However, is it a good idea to depend on music when doing long rides/runs? I ask because you can’t use music in a race and I don’t want to become overly dependent on music for motivation. Make sense?

Bret j – Cedar City

Last night I was watching this dude swim who shared a lane with me. He had a rather interesting kick pattern and I am curious when they say have 2 kicks per beat what does that mean? He was doing 2 huge scissor kicks vs. small flutters…it seemed to work for him and he was much faster than me. When it really boils down to it, is swimming more about getting job done with the kick than actually depending on the kick for power?

Keep reading to download the audio or listen on your computer!

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The Best Swim Paddles to Use

In this video, Ben demonstrates exactly which paddles are crucial for force and skill building in the pool, along with a bonus tip on how to use a household object that you probably have in your garage, to make you a faster swimmer.

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Will Having a “Long Stroke” Help in Triathlon Swimming?

There is some debate going on in the triathlon world about whether it is important to have a long stroke in freestyle, and if so, how can this be developed?

Being long means extending your arm and gliding with each arm stroke. It also means getting more out of your stroke while saving energy (ideal for triathletes).

Don’t get me wrong, you can achieve a lot with a shorter stroke- in fact you could go very fast this way. However, for most people, especially the beginner crowd, this stroke is just not efficient enough to allow them to swim 1/2-1 mile, and still have a good amount of energy to tackle 20-40 miles on the bike, and an additional 5-10 mile run.

The mistake people make is comparing competitive pool swimmers who swim 50, 100, 200, or 400 meters as either an all out sprint or a controlled sprint, to triathletes who swim much further and have to complete a race lasting anywhere from 30 minutes to 10 hours!

Here are some ways to achieve a longer, more fluid, more efficient freestyle:
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Swimmers…Do You Have Runner’s Kick?

Do you have Runner’s Kick?
By Kevin Koskella
www.triswimcoach.com

Can you point your toes and straighten out your feet? When you kick on your back, do you tend to go very slow, stay in one place, or even go backwards? Do you have a tough time with swimming drills because your kick is not propelling you forward fast enough? Do you wear fins in workouts just to “keep up”? Did you start out as a runner and pick up swimming later to become a Triathlete?

If you answered “yes” to any of the above, you may have Runner’s Kick! Have no fear, there are things you can do. Even the worst of kickers can develop an adequate kick for freestyle, which is all you need for a triathlon swim.

Here are some remedies:
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