How to Use This Course??? The most effective use of this course, and in essence the passive technique approach, will involve a mindset, or set of "best practices", characterized by the following attributes:
How Much Will I Improve? This is of course difficult to mark, since improvements will range depending on how far you have to go. In the group classes where we have implemented the finding freestyle progression, we have recorded 300 yard timed swims as our benchmark at weeks 6 and 12. For those who had a 300 yard time when the course began (while many can NOT swim 300 yards at week 1, all participants have completed 300 yards continuous by week 12), we have recorded an average :15 second drop for a 300 yard swim - :05 seconds per 100. The second 6 weeks have seen an additional :11 drop for the 300 (average of nearly 4 seconds per 100). In terms of where athletes start, we have had substantial improvements from athletes who began the course with 300 yard paces that were below 1:20 per 100 -- this course really works for a wide range of people. What Should My Stroke Look Like When it is Finished? As this program places particular emphasis on the rhythmic timing of the hands and feet, and teaches athletes to do both 2 and 6 beat kicks, swimmers naturally begin to ponder their end result. Will I have a 2-beat kick? A 6-beat kick? Shouldnt I use a 2-beat kick because it will save my legs for the bike and run portion of my triathlons? Shouldn't I develop a 6-beat kick because that will be more powerful, and make me swim faster?? All of these questions are valid, but in some cases, premature, or perhaps irrelevant. I believe that the type of stroke you use is dictated by your own intrinsic physical properties, and if you engage in properly stimulating activities (passive techniques) you will "find" that stroke. Thus, I ask that you suspend your desire to predict or aim for a specific final product for the duration of the program. "Analytical Types" and the Process-Based Approach Some folks, I will call them "analytical types" (myself being one good example), have trouble just "letting go" of the drills and concepts when they get back to swimming. This is somewhat common for people who like to know the steps, i.e., thinkers. Other folks do a really good job of just focusing on the drills when drilling and then forgetting about them when they swim, i.e. letting nature take its course -- for what it's worth I will refer to these as "intuitive types". While the process occurs more organically and swiftly for intuitive types, in the end it is not a huge issue, since analytical types tend to really flourish once they get the full picture, which comes somewhere roughly around week 10. In the meantime, the analytical person should try their best to just swim naturally when swimming, resisting the urge to think about CHANGING their stroke. Instead, the analytical type should try to use what they have learned through the process to become AWARE of what is going on, and since they have a set of terminology, use that terminology to DESCRIBE to themselves (and us) that which they are experiencing. It is hard sometimes to think this way, but simply being aware of what one does naturally is an ESSENTIAL part of becoming better. Much more important than KNOWING what the RIGHT thing is. Following the Pace and Taking a Nap! At times you may be confronted by drills or activities that do not come naturally, and whose proper execution eludes you. Do not retard yourself by stopping the program until you master a given drill that may be vexing you. The skills needed by any single drill are echoed in a number of drills and activities, and the keys to mastering one drill may actually lie in moving on to another activity, or by simply stepping back from the activity for a time to alllow your subconscious time to ponder and process the activity. Often times when I am struggling with a particular work problem I will take a short nap, and many times the solution or a means of approaching a solution will manifest itself as I leave the nap. The sequences in this program purposely move from one activity to the next without spending an inordinate amount of time on a single skill, or requiring that you master a certain activity before moving to the next activity. This approach is a purposeful attempt to introduce a particular stimulus and then move on, in effect giving your body-brain time to take a nap in order to ponder its experience, and to formulate a solution to the problem that has been posed to it. Stand-alone Versus Integrated Drilling - Prix-fixe or a la carte? Phrases such as "Oh, this is a great drill!" are commonly heard around the pool deck, but what makes a drill or set of drills great? Drills tend to be viewed as great if they cause a specific desired shift in technique or if they exaggerate (therefore highlighting) a specific skill or approach to the swimming stroke. However, since there are many views on proper swimming technique, one persons trash drill can be another persons treasure. A drill is not a tonic, but rather, an opportunity to experience a given set of sensations, sequence of movements, or positional awareness. A drill may be very effective for an individual because it targets an aspect of swimming that is a particular weakness for them, or because they think that it will lead them to the stroke that they think they ought to have. However, unless you have only one single missing component in your approach to swimming, a single drill will not suffice to help you develop your optimal form. Also, in many cases, "we don't know what we don't know" - in other words, we may be predisposed to embrace or reject a given drill because of what we don't know we need. In my view, all of the drills in this program are "great" drills - but not as stand-alone tonics. The drills were selected because they convey specific stroke components or sensations (for example: Float and Paddle - the sensation of the torso dictating the arm motion), or because they cause skill integration (speed play is one potent example). It is best to take the plunge into this course as you would a prix-fixe menu - trust that the chef knows how to layer the flavors, and orchestrate the sequence for optimal digestion. The enhanced rhythmic skills that are developed using the 1 beat kicking drills will later be integrated by the Statue of Liberty drill, and then even later still by the use of the pulse-kicking swims. By introducing these and other drills in a specific sequence, and with measured doses, we are attempting to make your development and transition to new levels of swimming smooth and effortless - you just have to be willing to follow along. | Experience Finding Freestyle - Summer 2010 Group Classes in Richmond, VA
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"Finding Freestyle with Passive Technique" is a 12-week course with a different approach to developing the basic techniques for fast swimming. Finding Freestyle is available as an online, self-paced course, and also in a group class in certain areas.
Click Here to sign up for Finding Freestyle online - or click here to experience Finding Freestyle in coached group classes.