New LZR Racer Suit

Well, I haven't really been posting in a while (my apologies) as I've been traveling around the world and still am for a few months, but this news I had to share with some folks or actually more get your input on what you think. Some of you have probably already read the articles or saw the results from the recent competitions where a lot of world records have been broken. The speculations are just to say that these records were set due to the new Speedo LZR Racer body suit which was warn by all the record breaking swimmers.

Speedo says that their new LZR Racer body suit cuts drag in the water by 5% and what is even more out there is that it increases oxygen uptake by 5% as well. Wow, I can't even imagine how that is possible, but I guess that is why they called NASA to help them out with this one. However, I do have to admit they do look very slick as depicted on the included image which was taken directly from the Speedo website. The suit has no stitching and has bonded joints like the space shuttle.

If you want to own one of the beauties, well, get in line as you can only pre-register for a "chance" to own one :).

I must admit, I am a bit on a border on this one. On one hand, I am all in favor of modernization in sport, but on the other with this suit supposedly fitting like a corset which aids your body into a streamlined position, is this really a necessary addition? I guess as long as everybody has one it should be a good advancement in the world of swimming. What do you think?

Note: All images were taken from the Speedo website as to show the

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Coaches Still Like Toys

I was just surfing the web and found this very cool fin. It is not a regular flipper. Instead of putting it on as a shoe, a swimmer attaches it to his/hers shins. This way, it releases the stress on the ankles and the achilles tendon (this is very bad with the monofins). No more lost fins after a strong pushoff from the wall. You can even be creative and have you swimmers get out of the water with them to run to the otherside of the pool or do push ups.

According to the inventor's website, diving in is also easy. I can't say, I have tried them yet, but would definitely willing to give it a try. They do ship to the entire world and come in all different sizes. I am very tempted to check it out.

Another slick device is this streamline kickboard. You can have your kids put their hands fingers underneath the strap and keep their arms in streamline while kicking. This way, flipturns and follow up streamlines are made easy :). Make sure though, you are not going too crazy with these, so your kids do not get some shoulder injuries from having the muscles tight all the time. Here is some more info about the board.

Last item, I'd like you to have a look at is this peculiar looking paddle like item. It is actually quite brilliant. Some swimmers have an issue with raising their fingers upward when starting their strokes, thus lessening the amount of water they are pulling.

This fulcrum lets them keep the hand straight and if they do it wrong the paddle will fall off. So without doing it correctly, they won't be able to swim :).

If you have any experience with any of these devices, can you please share them with us?

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Sprint Breastroke Workout

One of you have asked me to give some workout advice in your comments, so here it is. A few tips for your breastroke 50s and 100s and I am sure it could come handy for longer events as well. First, keep in mind that breastroke is a combination of leg power with good timing, so focus on this in your workout (apart from strenghtening your arms and improving breathing).

The best and fastest way to improve in your swimming is to make your technique better, so you can move through water with less energy. Here are some breaststroke sets that might help you with your kick and arms. Note: You should not do only breast in your practice as that can be quite stressful on your kneess, so put other strokes in between.

- 8x100 (25 breast arms with six beat free kick, 25 free easy and repeat the first 25) - Focus on extending your arms very fast forward when you bring them together and do not let your head go down under the water.

- 8x25 (odd - underwater in a streamline + eggbeater kick, even - easy free)

- 5x1 min(30 sec on, 30 sec off) - Vertical Kicks. Hold a medicine ball above your head while kicking breast or eggbeater(this is best done in a pair where you can throw the ball to each other)

- 400m - Two Pulls. Take two pulls after each turn (if too tough to start with, feel free to alternate two and one or decrease the distance)

- 5x1min (30 on/30 off) - Wall Kick. Find a wall and align yourself vertically against it, feet down. Then put your arms either above your head or behind your back and start kicking short breast kicks. The idea here is that you should stay vertical, pressing your chest to the wall, but your knees should hardly touch the wall. This will help you to be more streamlined and it will stop you from bringing your knees too far underneath your chest when you swim.

- 8x25 - Kicks on back. Arms are in a streamline, heels go down almost to your butt. Knees are NOT coming out of the watter and pevlis stays at the surface. Should have same effect as the wall kick above.

- 4x100 Sculling (each 25 differently) - front, on your back, in 90 degree angle, on one side.

Obviously, all these sets/intervals should be adjusted to your own liking/level. To get a good power in your legs a weightroom work is always suggested :).

For helping your breathing, you can use Power Breathe (just 2 times 30 breathes a day and you'll see a difference within a week).

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Body Balance and Swimming

As most of you might already know body balance is one of the key aspects of fast swimming. You might be thinking, what kind of balance do I need in a water, I just float. Well, that is true, but it matters how you float and how much effort (energy) you consume with floating :). In this post, you can see a decent video of one good drill that is great for balancing your body in the water. Watch the video and below you will find my comments




Ok, as you can see, this drill requires constant kicking and a lot of core body strength. Keep your hands at your side, like you have them in your front pockets (don't move them). Your eyes are looking at the bottom of the pool or at the sky (not to your sides like in the video). Your body rotates on an axis that goes through the top of your head and comes out of your toes. The swimmer in this video does a good job of rotating, however, he is a bit too jerky. The rotation should be very smooth, trying to minimize the visual effect of tightening your muscles to turn. Also, it is nice to turn on your back, however, I'd keep the rotation only from one side to the other across your front, so you never end up with your belly up. Start on your side, looking down, then rotate to your belly, head still down, then rotate to your other side and now you can rotate your head to breath in the same axis as described above.

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