Posts Tagged ‘Smashby Training’

Sunday Status Update 2/25/18

Posted: February 25, 2018 in CrossFit, Training
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Here’s last week’s recap and my goals for the upcoming week. Not a particularly successful week by “bullet point” standards, but it happens.

Last week:

  • Fitness
    • It wasn’t a particularly great week of training for me as I was “forced” to take an extra rest day because of an insane work schedule, but it’s alright. I moved when I could, and sometimes that needs to be good enough!
    • If I had to pick one thing, it’d be not missing a snatch up to 200lbs on Wednesday, but that’s really it.
    • The first workout of the 2018 CrossFit Games Open is in the books! I don’t think I could have done much better, and the energy around the internets will be crazy for the next four weeks. Good luck to everyone competing!
  • Sleep was alright, but certainly not great. I need to be more consistent.
  • My busy weekend of training clients didn’t allow me to get to the drywall in the garage. But due to a really successful Saturday of coaching, I added a class to train junior athletes to my weekly schedule, so that’s really positive!

This week:

  • I plan to record my strategy video for the second workout of the 2018 CrossFit Games Open. I got some really positive feedback from people on the one last week, and that always makes me happy!
  • I reflected on the goals that I set for February earlier today, and believe I hit NONE of them! It’s so crazy to realize how quickly time flies. Since this is the last week of the month, I plan to spend some time thinking about how to set more realistic short term goals for myself. Long term goals are important, but in the few days and weeks in front of my face, I think it’s possible to set mini milestones to help keep encouraging progress.

Alright, your turn. What’s going on with all of you?

The pic of the week comes from a concert we saw at the Fox Theater in Boulder, CO. The DJ’s name is Defunk, and if you’ve never heard him before, you should check out his Defunk Presents “The Funk Trunk Mixes” on Soundcloud. They’re great!

Let’s Talk About Practice

Posted: February 24, 2018 in CrossFit, Training
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The sentence “Practice makes perfect” is a lie. Yet, humans say it all the time, and usually to children. It’s simply not a fact. There are a number of things I could practice on a daily basis and see only marginal improvements over a long period of time. Today, we’re going to talk about practice.

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Let’s start by discussing just two of the many factors that could impede reaching perfection. Age can play a role in one’s ability to find success in a particular area. While I’m not saying it’s impossible, I do feel confident saying that very few humans in their 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s could train and compete at an Olympic level in most sports. No matter how often grandpa hits the track, I don’t see him beating Usain Bolt in the 100m Sprint, I’m sorry. Genetics can also play a major role in one’s athletic development and potential. If a person isn’t over six feet tall or incredibly explosive, the odds of being able to dunk a basketball on a full-sized hoop are not very good. (I still think that’s a bucket list goal of mine, by the way!)

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Actual footage of me currently trying to dunk

Aside from age, genetics, and a long list of other things, that logic doesn’t even address what “perfection” even means. In nearly every discipline, sport, task, or skill, perfection is often a subjective term. What looks, sounds, or tastes perfect to you, may taste far from it to me. So why work to attain this a title or status they may very well be simply unreachable?

Instead, let’s change that first sentence (Practice makes perfect) just a little bit. What if it read, “Effective practice will almost always help you improve at a given task.” In that case, I think a lot more of us would nod our heads in agreement. While we typically associate the word practicing with activities and skills like sports, music, and languages, there are so many other things in our lives that can also be improved through dedicated time and focus.

Want to be a better weightlifter? Find a decent coach and get on a proven strength program. Then lift. Often. Want to feel and show more gratitude? Start each morning and end each night by writing a list of three things you’re grateful for in your life. Keep that journal close-by to remind yourself on days where you struggle. Want to read more? Instead of surfing on your phone before you go to bed, read 10 pages. Not only is it better for your eyes and your brain (to actually allow them to wind down after the day), but after only a few weeks, it will become part of your routine. You will likely get better at whatever activity you chose because you devoted time to practicing in order to get better at it.

I’ve been trying to read more, and even with the book on my nightstand, it hasn’t become high enough of a priority for me. That’s one thing I’m going to practice more! To help yourself be more accountable, what’s one thing you want to practice more often? Let’s continue to hold each other accountable and support one another in our quest to be better than we were yesterday!

When I saw the video below, it really made me stop and think. We’re each already REALLY GOOD at certain things. Choosing to practice and develop those things that make us happy drastically increases our chances of becoming really good at being happy. Similarly, choosing to practice things that make us sad, angry, or resentful, will likely make us really good at being sad, angry, or resentful. It’s so powerful to realize that it’s fully in our control to intentionally choose what we nurture in and for ourselves. Think about that for a second… Practice doesn’t make perfect. But devoting practice towards things that improve our lives can make a profound impact on who we are as people!

Smashby’s CF Games Open Strategy – WOD 18.1

Posted: February 23, 2018 in CrossFit, Training
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Happy 2018 CrossFit Games Open, everyone! It’s finally here!

The first workout (18.1) was released tonight, and for the SEVENTH year in a row, I’ve recorded my strategy video with my advice for the best way to attack it. First, let’s review the workout:

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To watch my strategy video, click below. Otherwise, I’ll summarize this workout in a few sentences below. Enjoy!

Toes To Bar

There are some people who can do 8 Toes To Bars unbroken all day long. Most athletes, however, cannot. If you know that 8 reps in a row isn’t sustainable for 8-12 rounds, I would recommend breaking them up from the start. Depending on the athlete, that could mean doing sets as 5 reps, short rest, 3 reps… or athletes who do quick singles or doubles. Knowing your own limitations will be key for this, and not relying on adrenaline of the first few rounds pushing you to come out swinging and then crash and burn.

Hang Clean and Jerks

Your motto during this movement should be “No Missed Reps!” Stand all the way up and pause before your first rep. Make sure the dumbbell touches your shoulder after the clean. Control the lockout overhead before lowering the weight from the jerk. There are so many chances to cut a rep short during this movement. Remind yourself that 20 minutes is a long time, and pace your effort and speed accordingly. Push Press may work great for 5 rounds, but if your arms are wrecked after that, are you confident enough with your technique to switch to confident Push Jerks? I hope so! If you’re strong enough, I think hanging onto the dumbbells for all 10 reps should be a goal throughout the entire workout, even if it means pausing with the dumbbell at your shoulders or at the hang for a few seconds.

Rowing

This movement will feel REALLY EASY the first few rounds, and you’ll be tempted to pull at a much higher power output than normal. Resist the urge! My advice here is to be powerful and efficient with your strokes (longer and stronger versus short and fast) in order to conserve energy and keep your heart rate down. Most men will likely average out somewhere in the 1050-1250 calories per hour range, while most women in the 850-1050 range. Remember, you’ll spend half of your time on the rower each round! If you’re gassed by round 4 from sprinting too hard, you’ll probably have a bad time for the second half of the workout. I’d rather you start slower and build as you go, versus crashing and burning.

At the end of the day, I think this is a really good first workout for the 2018 Open. It is really inclusive, and allows for a wide array of pacing strategies based on where our individual strengths may fall. Let me know what you think of this video, and I’d love to hear how it goes for you!

The 2018 Open is coming – Celebration time!

Posted: February 21, 2018 in CrossFit, Training
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My philosophy on competitions of any kind is that once they’re done, a celebration should follow shortly thereafter. Win, lose, or draw. This is all well and good for most athletes who play on teams, or participate in long events, but sometimes people have a hard time seeing eye to eye with me because of the sports that I’ve competed in most. As a swimmer, I specialized in the sprint events, which means that on a good day most of my races were less than one minute long. At a typical meet, I’d swim a maximum of five events. If you’re as good at math as I am, you’ve already figured out that I’d train 20+ hours per week (oh hi, NCAA official… I mean to say I’d train just under 20 hours per week) in order to compete for less than five total minutes. Even worse, during big championship meets that last 2-3 days, I might swim a total of 10 minutes all weekend long! Swim a race in under 30 seconds. Wait a few hours. Repeat. For three full days!

Some of my friends who were endurance swimmers specialized in events that took anywhere from two to fifteen minutes EACH. That is a pretty big difference in total time spent actually throwing down. Those who played other sports like soccer and football had games that were hours long. Me, five minutes of total work. The worse part, is that even with that difference, I would still be completely exhausted at the end of each meet.

In CrossFit, it’s kind of the same situation for me. I’d sign up for a 2-day competition, compete in 5 or 6 total events, each typically falling in the 6-12 minute range, and feel absolutely crushed afterwards! Saying it out loud seems silly to me. How can my wife compete in Half IRONMAN triathlon where she’s moving for five HOURS straight and not even sore the next day, and I’m hobbling for the rest of the weekend after doing fifteen whole minutes of exercise racing?!

Regardless, when competition day comes and that huge flood of adrenaline kicks in, I find an extra gear that doesn’t ever show up during training. Pushing that hard for each those events takes just about everything out of me, so when I’m done, I feel like I deserve to celebrate surviving. Since so many of us are going to be “competing” in the same events for the next five weeks, I think we ALL deserve to celebrate! My celebration of choice usually involves beer (sometimes tequila) and pizza or burgers. What are your celebration treats to yourself after an accomplishment?

The 2018 CrossFit Games Open starts in a matter of hours. I hope you’re excited, and that you’ve got your post-workout or post-Open meals already planned out! Good luck out there, friends!

Why Are You Here?

Posted: February 19, 2018 in Coach's Corner, Training
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Fitness is awesome! Seriously. There are literally thousands of ways that we can improve our health and wellness, increase our ability to survive and thrive, and enhance our skills in order to perform particular tasks. It truly is all around us, and so many things impact our level of fitness at any given moment. It’s not just about lifting weights or going for a run. Nutrition, rest and recovery, and our mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being are also critical pieces of the pie that can make us not only happier, but more effective and powerful beings.

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While at any given moment, each one of us might be on a separate fitness path, I have found that asking my athletes one question can make a profound difference in their training: “Why are you here?” A lot of people don’t immediately know what to say, but spending some time reflecting on the answer can help in a lot of ways.

Some athletes want to get stronger, others are looking to gain flexibility, and some just want to be able to eat and drink whatever they want. To some, spending time in the gym allows them to improve their health markers, potentially reduce the amount of prescription medicines they need to take. If an athlete is just in the gym to have fun, that’s completely fine. Usually, however, I’ve found there’s more to it than that. Even if they don’t aspire to compete in a local CrossFit event, people usually at least have the goal to get that first pull-up or muscle-up, or they strive to hit that 100- or 200-pound clean and jerk! By identifying a few specific goals, a training plan can be adjusted to accomplish them much faster!

For me, personally, NOT having a specific goal is a cop-out. It relieves me from needing to commit additional time to get better at any one thing. If my goal was just to “look better naked” that would be fine. But honestly, it’s been too long since I’ve TRAINED with a purpose in mind. The more I’m asked if I’ll compete in CrossFit again, the more I struggle with deciding what I want do for my next challenge. Individual or team comp? Power lifting or Olympic Weightlifting meet? Masters swim meet? A running race like a 5k or 10k? Who knows?! The point is nothing has me fired up enough to throw down. I’m hoping I find something soon, though.

It’s completely normal and very common for motivation to change from year to year, month to month, or even minute to minute. I just want to challenge you to be more deliberate in your training, and not just go through the motions. Moving with purpose, as I said in a post last week, is critical, but moving with A PURPOSE can be a game changer. That said, what is your action item? It’s time to pick something to focus on for the next few days, weeks, months.

Figure out what fitness means to you, and why you’re choosing to spend time in the gym each week. Are you registered for the Open? Is that your focus? If yes, what is your plan to attack each week as effectively as possible? Are you training for an event this spring? What can you do today, this week, and next, to better prepare yourself to succeed? Want to get that six-pack for summer? How much additional core work will you do each week? Feel free to share your goal(s) with me in the comments. As many of you know, once you write something down, it typically helps us remain more accountable!

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Sunday Status Update 2/18/18

Posted: February 18, 2018 in Coach's Corner, Training
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Here’s last week’s recap and my goals for the upcoming week.

Last week:

  • Fitness
    • Metcons
      • Workouts have been all over the map for me lately in terms of feeling good or bad about my fitness, but such is life. I’m very curious to see how this year’s Open goes in terms of movements that I consider “strengths” verses “no so much strengths” for me!
      • A variation of Isabel (30 Snatches for time) was Wednesday’s workout, and I debated all day whether I would try the “Rx” version of the day (115lbs) or whether I’d give the “Competitor” weight (155lbs) a go. At the last minute, I decided that 155 was the right choice, did quick singles the whole way, and finished my 30 reps in 4:03. I’ll take it!
    • Barbell Work
      • Monday brought waves of Power Cleans; Min 7 – 3 Power Cleans @ 81% (230lbs), Min 8 – 2 Power Cleans @ 84% (240lbs), and Min 9 – 1 Power Clean @ 87% (250lbs), and some pause Front Squats (heaviest at 275lbs)
      • Built to a heavy single of Clean and Jerk on Friday and hit 280lbs. It wasn’t my prettiest lift, but I’m glad anytime I get to 275+
    • Calorie Challenge
      •  Since it was a short week (I left town Friday afternoon and just got back), I had quite a bit less time to sit on a rower or bike. I did, however, hit another 700 calories. That puts me at 3,000 for the month so far. I’ll likely reach 4,000+ by the end of February!
  • I did write one “The 2018 Open is Coming” post! The Open starts this week, I can’t even believe it!
  • Progress on the book (Discipline Equals Freedom: Field Manual by Jacko Willink) continues. Still haven’t given myself more than 10-15 minutes once or twice before bed, but I’ve already put more of a focus on reading in 2018 than I have over the last few years. I’m celebrating that.
  • Swimming Post is live! It’s fun to already have had some people reach out asking more details about my “Swim Better Now” clinics. Bottom line is that I want to help people get better, whether that means swimming faster, or just learning how to float safely in deep water. If you, or anyone you know, is interested please do not hesitate to reach out.

This week:

  • The first workout of the 2018 CrossFit Games Open is released this week. In the past, I have recorded “strategy” videos for each week. My goal is to try and get a video and post live by the time you wake up on Friday morning. Wish me luck!
  • I had a pretty poor weekend of sleep at the place where we stayed up in the mountains, so my goal is to get over 6.5 hours of sleep two days this week. No, that doesn’t normally happen. I was going to challenge myself to say 7 hours, but when I do reverse math based on the alarm, it’s just not realistic. Working on it!
  • I have a really big weekend of work ahead, with nearly 10 hours of client work accounted for between Saturday and Sunday. Even with that, I’d like to devote some time to continuing progress with the drywall in our garage!

Alright, your turn. What’s going on with all of you?

Here’s a picture from our weekend in Breckenridge. Have a great week, everyone!

Smashby Drops In: CrossFit Low Oxygen

Posted: February 17, 2018 in CrossFit, Training
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This weekend we got out of town and came up to Breckenridge, Colorado for a few days! The sun is shining, people are smiling, and while it’s not even noon, we’ve already had breakfast, got in a workout at CrossFit Low Oxygen, and now we’re posted up at a local coffee shop to get a bit of work done! One thing that we always try to do on our trips is make time to workout. Why? Because Em is an active and fit human who takes care of her body, and I would just sit and day drink on patios around the world all day every day if she wasn’t there to help me reel it in. A healthy balance of the two makes us a pretty good team when we want to be!

I used to do a “Smashby Drops In” series on this blog, and while looking through my archives, I saw that it’s been nearly six years since my last post of this kind. What better time to bring it back, than right now, that “the blog is back” in full swing! I have been to one other gym in and around Breckenridge (and that gym is CrossFit Breckenridge), so today I decided to check out a new box. Since I have several friends who had been to Low Oxygen before, and one couple who considers this their “home gym away from home” when they’re up at their mountain house, choosing it was a no-brainer.

The options for Saturday workouts I saw were a Partner WOD at 9am, and then a regular class at 10am. Since Em and I never get to work out together, I thought it’d be nice to choose the Partner WOD. We got there a little early, since I tend to be a “late person” (as Em calls me), so we had a few minutes to just move around a little on our own before class. The gym is cool, has lots of toys, and was really clean! I also go to try out my BRAND NEW DSX FLYKNIT METCONS I bought at the Nike Outlet store last night!!

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What are thoooooose?!

Once 9:00 hit everyone came together to warm-up, coach let everyone know that we were drop-ins, and introduced us to the class. While some people don’t like being the center of attention, I am a firm believer in making guests feel welcome. Thanks for that!

 

The workout (above) had rowing in it, so after some general mobility work, we did partner Rowling. (Alternate every 100m, your partner does the meters you’re over or under!, and go to 1,000) Over the course of the next ten minutes or so, we were walked through a Power Clean warm-up, and were shown proper range of motion requirements for balls slams and knee tucks. Once people got all set up, the clock counted down and we were off.

 

Em and I alternated 250m distances on the rower while the other one planked, and I was holding in the mid-1:30’s as my pace. It’s less than a minute, so I thought I’d be good. For the Power Cleans, I chose 135lbs since coach wanted them to be unbroken. Slam balls we opted for a 30lber since we were sharing. She would have gone up if I let her! (“What? I grew up with 30’s, they’re not hard!”) About halfway through the middle part of the workout, it hit me. I haven’t worked out at 9,000+ feet in a LONG time, and the shortness of breath was rough! On the Cash Out, you switched rowers every time someone lowered their legs, and I was barely able to hold a knee tuck on the parallettes for 30 seconds. Poor Em probably thought, “Dude! Let me row!” Our final time was 19:24.

Over the course of the hour, we interacted with every other athlete in the class, and they were all super friendly. Thanks for making us feel like a part of the family this morning, CrossFit Low Oxygen!

 

The 2018 Open is coming – One Week Out!

Posted: February 15, 2018 in Coach's Corner, Training
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It’s almost here, everyone! One week from today the first workout of the 2018 CrossFit Games Open is released. What does that mean for you? Well, here’s a quick list of 5 things you can do to make sure you’re ready for week number one!

1- Start training!

With only 7 days to go, now is probably a good time to get into the gym and start training for this year’s Open! 🙂

2- Take care of your body

I know what you’re thinking, and yes, we’re all busy. Sometimes we don’t drink enough water or get enough rest, but if the Open is really important to you, you need to make taking care of yourself for the next few weeks of a top priority. Since you’ll likely be pushing harder on these workouts, your body will need a little bit more TLC to recover properly.

3- Establish your “Event Ritual” ahead of time

For most gyms, Open WODs will be run a lot like regular CrossFit classes. Coach explains the workout, runs athletes through a general warm-up, then allows time for set-up, finding judges, etc. If you know you’ll want a little bit more time than that to get your mind and body right, plan for it ahead of time. Do you have a slew of pre- and post-workout supplements you take? Figure out how to organize them as efficiently as possible so you’re not distracted before an event trying to find your BCAA’s through a sea of people.

Some people show up early and stay late to cheer for their friends, and I love that about the Open! Keep in mind that you can use that time to be productive, too! Sit on a lacrosse ball to loosen up your hammies, attach a band to the rig and warm up your shoulders while your friends row. You can simultaneously help them and prepare yourself for when it’s your turn to throw down!

4- Breathe.

Hey you! We’re working out for fun, and none of this matters. And I mean that in the most sincere way possible! Relax.

5- Be a good person

You know number “4” above? The one reminding you to breathe? If you’re not one of those people that freaks out over these workouts, you’ll at least see a bunch of them start to creep up over the next five weeks. My advice is to be overly supportive to those around you. Some people need a pep talk before their heat. Others want to be left alone. Some will want a shoulder to lean on after they’re done. Be aware of what’s going on around you, ask people what you can do for them, and then do that thing! It makes the community so much stronger when groups of people just want to help one another.

One week until the madness starts.

And for the other half of you, only five weeks until it’s all over!

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Single Point of Focus

Posted: February 13, 2018 in Coach's Corner, Training
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Every single day you go to the gym, you should give yourself one thing to think about during training.

I’ll give a few specific examples below, but my logic behind that statement is simple. As someone who suffers from paralysis by analysis in my own life, it is so simple to get overwhelmed with details that you can’t focus on a single one properly. For example, I could sit here list over 10 things to think about in order to plank properly. Plank… you know, the thing where you hold your body at the top of a push-up? So imagine how many cues one could have when completing a workout with four different movements, many of which are far more complex than a simple plank.

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Instead, once you know what you’re going to do for the day, pick a one thing and hone nearly all of your energy on completing it as effectively as possible. Let’s discuss a few scenarios:

Heavy Strength Set

If you know you’re going to try and move mountains today, the anxiety and excitement leading up to those heavy reps can be exhausting. For a big squat day, make sure your core is tight throughout the lift. Or that you knees stay out. Or that you take a big breath at the top before beginning your descent. Even those three things combined can be too much to focus on at once. Keep your cue(s) simple, meaningful to you, and effective! The less in your brain, the more you can just move that weight!

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Long Workout

Let’s say it’s a 5 round workout with rowing, wall balls, deadlifts, sit-ups, and pull-ups. There’s a lot going on there, huh? Instead of trying to overwhelm yourself with pacing out your splits of how fast each round should be, you could say to yourself, “today, I’m going to do each round of 20 wall balls as a set of 12 reps, short rest, then a set of 8.” Many people believe that making a plan of attack and “visualizing” your workout is a great strategy.

If you’re in a competition, the stakes are different, and I completely agree! Planning out and rehearsing every second might be the difference between first and second place. But very few people have the time, energy, or desire to spend that much time getting ready for their 4-6 days of training every week! Pick a thing or two, and just breathe through the rest.

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Active Rest/Recovery

Some days you’ll show up to the gym feeling pretty beat up. Your body is sore, your mind is tired, and you haven’t been sleeping well. “But it’s Friday,” you tell yourself, and you “ALWAYS work out on Fridays.” That doesn’t mean you need to red line on the workout, completely wreck yourself, and hobble around all weekend.

If you make the decision that you just need to move for the day, that’s totally fine, and I support you. Even on those days, you can find something to focus on. Maybe on the rowing portion of the workout you focus on keeping your heels down and start to learn what your stroke rate is for repeat 500’s. If there’s snatching for strength, really emphasize making your receiving position as snappy as possible. You can always get better, even if you’re just there to move for the day!

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Now, this post is in no way implying that the rest of your training session should be done by completely checking out. Quite the opposite, in fact. I believe that everything in the gym should be done “with purpose.” Instead, I’m trying to help athletes narrow down a primary point of attack each day. Having a panic attack because you’re staring at the bar before a deadlift attempt thinking, “chest up, back flat, proper stance, breathe, chest up, knees back, push away the floor, grip it and rip it, etc, etc,” doesn’t help anyone.

We’re in the gym to get better every day. Try your best to narrow down your scope on the big things, and as long as you head out of the gym with a smile on your face, most of the time you’ve done alright. This fitness game of ours is most certainly a marathon, not a sprint.

“Swim Better Now” 2018 Clinics

Posted: February 12, 2018 in CrossFit, Training
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“YOU DID IT!!” I yelled, as she took the goggles off of her head, revealing the largest smile I had seen on someone’s face in a while. I was excited, too!

Rachael had just swam the entire length of the pool for the first time in her life without help. She is also 39 years old and up until a month ago, couldn’t even get close to the side of the pool without her heart rate going through the roof and her body tensing up. However, her 6 year old daughter has been taking swim lessons and “wanted mommy to play” in the pool with her on the weekends. Knowing that her little girl would soon be jumping off of the diving board in the deep end, she decided that the time had come to face her own fears and learn how to swim so they could swim together.

Stories like this are not at all uncommon. In fact, in my twenty-plus years of teaching individuals how to swim, I hear more and more adults say they share perspectives like this all the time. “I avoid beach vacations with my family because I’m scared to go in the ocean.” “My partner never wants to go tubing at the lake because she’s scared of not being able to touch the bottom.” “I had a really bad experience as a kid and almost drowned, haven’t recovered since.”

On top of being an incredibly effective full body workout and a great low impact form of exercise, swimming is also a survival skill. The ability to safely keep oneself afloat in water should be critical for all adults.

Motivated by wanting to help others learn and improve this critical ability, a few years ago I hosted my first “Swim Better Now” series, and it was a huge success. Since then, I’ve taken on dozens of new athletes in the pool; some were triathletes looking to improve their efficiency for long distance swims, but most were adults simply looking to gain confidence in the water.

Since so many people have been asking me to do them again, I’m bringing them back!

Each week of the “Smashby Training’s: Swim Better Now” Clinic will include practice sessions of up to three varying ability levels: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced. A more detailed description of these three courses can be found below.

The criteria for the Intermediate Course is as follows:

  • Swimmer should be able to complete 100 yards (or 4 lengths) comfortably without stopping
  • A basic understanding of proper breathing technique (either to one side or both) should be established
  • Athlete can efficiently tread water or float safely in the deep end of the pool when tired without touching the wall or lane ropes
  • For athletes who do not yet meet these criteria listed, the Beginner Course option should be selected. Athletes who easily meet or exceed the requirements for the Intermediate Course should register for the Advanced Course option.

Course objectives include:

Beginner Course

  • Basic Water Safety (how to keep oneself afloat safely in deep water)
  • Introduction of proper stroke timing of arms, legs, and breathing (for freestyle stroke)
  • Proper functional use of swimming equipment such as Kick Board and Pull Buoy

Intermediate Course

  • Increased efficiency of stroke technique and timing of breathing for freestyle stroke
  • Skills and drills using swimming equipment (Kick Board and Pull Buoy)
  • As requested, introduction to flip turn technique and additional strokes (backstroke, breast stroke, butterfly)

Advanced Course

  • Fine-tuning of freestyle stroke mechanics
  • Advanced speed, flip turn and technique drills
  • Technique work on additional strokes (backstroke, breast stroke, butterfly)
    Athletes in this group may also be looking to compete in an aquatic event (triathlon, swim meet, etc.)

Are you interested in attending one of these clinics? Here’s what you need to know:

Who should attend? Anyone who wants to improve their swimming

What are you signing up for exactly? One hour swimming clinic, programming and athletes grouped by ability level

Where will clinics be held? The Golden Community Center

When will these happen? Sunday mornings, date(s) to be determined based on interest (hoping for Mid-March)

PLEASE comment on this post, or email tomashbytraining@gmail.com if you’re interested in attending, along with which course level is best for you.

Pass along the word to anyone you know who might benefit from these sessions as well, please.

I hope to see you all soon!

SwimBetterNowIntro

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