Coaches Newsletter

Current Newsletter
July 2010

Achieve
May 2010 Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V | June 2010
Jan 2010 | Feb 2010 | Mar 2010 | April 2010
Feb 2009 | Mar 2009 | Apr 2009 | May 2009 | June 2009 | Dec 2009

PURE SPORT.com
(ordering online use our code: "RAO2S " when checking out to receive a discount of 20%)


A review from one of our swimmers
I’ve been coming to Ken Holland for swim stroke coaching for three+ years. Every time I visit, he’s got new ideas and suggestions for how to improve. With swimming, it’s all about efficiency in the water; Ken is an expert on how to achieve optimal efficiency and body alignment. On my last visit to Ken’s place, he had me try out a new technique in his dual Endless Pool (EP) facility that challenged my technique and endurance. Ken set me up in the pool with both EP currents flowing, one faster than the other. He had me start out in the “slow lane” and then drift over to the “fast lane” and stay there as long as I could — I then drifted back to the “slow lane” and swam until I recovered; I repeated this process for about 20 minutes. As any swimmer knows, it’s when we get tired that our technique starts to fall apart. This new training method Ken developed challenged me to not only work hard, but also keep my stroke efficient throughout the process. Having a “slow lane” to move over to, provided “active recovery” which is ideal for improving endurance. As I train for my long-distance open water swims this season, I’ll be going back for more “dual lane” EP workouts at Kens.
-Roger (Age 44)

SWIMMITTs

O2 SWIMMING designed the SWIMMITT to help all swimmers advance their technique primarily by forcing them to swim from their core and stop the endless arm cycling. Throughout the summer, O2 SWIMMING did testing of prototypes on various levels of swimmers and triathletes. One thing became clear - this is an awesome training aid that sharply increases the learning curve both with and WITHOUT professional coaching. By "hiding" the swimmers hands, we are able to lengthen them out on the water and engage the forearm as a paddle. Without the sensitive hand and fingers in the equation, the swimmer will swim slower initially as they build a stronger core - this reduces potential injuries by shifting the burden off the smaller arm muscles and onto the larger back and chest muscles (core power). As proficiency is gained, speed is a "free" byproduct. The SWIMMITT causes a hyper focus and shifts the mind off the clock and onto the technique. The best swimmers spend the most time doing APPROPRIATE drills. Our Olympic team does not just bang out thousands of yards a day, as a matter of fact MOST of the workouts are NOT whole stroke swimming !!
We recommend the SWIMMITT to any swimmer with a reasonable degree of competency and they are available in 3 sizes both with and without a sealed thumb. We designed the open thumb for the younger swimmers to increase their feeling of security by being less "restricted". To my surprise, half of the adults love the freedom on an open thumb as well to adjust goggles, etc.
Try a pair today ! They are manufactured here in Doylestown and available only at The Training Zone and O2 SWIMMING.

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SwimStrong. SwimSilent.

Ken Holland
Coach
O2 Swimming
267-994-0568