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    Athlete Testimonials

    "
    “It was the most impactful money I've spent on the sport...and I'm not a new triathlete. I've been in the sport since the early 90's. They could double their price and I'd still make that statement.”

     Ron Gierut, Finding Freestyle Member since Fall 2010.

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    V. 12-Week Training Program


    Course Overview
    This is a 12-week course that will give the athlete an introduction to concepts, and skill based progressions, and contains options for higher levels of fitness and refinement. The basic framework is intended to provide the athlete with between 1-3 workouts per week session for athletes to master the basic components of body based propulsion and a rhythmic kick. The first session of each week (titled "Workout X" where "X" is the week in the cycle) is instructional and should be done in its entirety. By enabling the athlete to focus only one workout a week on basic instructional type activities, it can be easily integrated into a larger training framework that consists of multiple days per week in the pool without compromising fitness. The second session in each week is labeled as "Supplemental", and is to be done a la carte according to the athletes own needs and abilities. While the supplemental workout is not indispensable to learning the basic concepts, it can hasten the time to mastery, and therefore is highly encouraged. For athletes that need to focus there additional workouts on fitness, consult section "VII: Advanced Topics in training: Integrating Skills into Group Workouts" for ideas on how to reinforce the skills taught in this course during structured group workouts without compromising your ability to hold pace.

    Using Supplementary Workouts
    There are generally 3 “blocks” in the supplementary workouts given each week.  The intention is that you can do these blocks in an “a la carte” fashion, or, they can be mixed and matched to arrive at a single, complete workout.  The first block tends to have shorter swim lengths, and/or, basic and less strenuous activities.  The 2nd and 3rd blocks are more conditioning oriented, with the third block generally longer, and sometimes involving more complex activities.  For a coherent workout of between 2,000-2,500 yards, you can do the first, and then either the second or third block, followed later in the week by another session doing the first block combined with whatever blocks you did not do prior.  For a very long, challenging workout, you can do all three.


    Basic Technical Cycle Framework 
    The individual workouts will be strung together to form a cohesive, progressive 3 week technical cycle: 
    Week 1 – Introduction to drills and concepts for this cycle. 
    Week 2 – Refine drills and integrate into sets/finer points. 
    Week 3 – Finish the cycle by using drills in warmup, then perform a speed related activity, then use the drills in warmdown. 

    Technical Cycle Progression In A 12 Week Session 
    Each 3 week cycle will contain elements of the entire scope: body, leg rhythm, and timing, the cycles will focus on 1 of the elements in a primary sense, and the other elements will be delivered in a “seed-dropping” manner – an activity which brings awareness to the particular element, but without any specific “right way to do it” attached. 
    Cycle 1 – body alignment and body based propulsion 
    Cycle 2 – kick awareness and basic rhythm 
    Cycle 3 – kick/pull timing 
    Cycle 4 - integration of all skills, advanced speed play

    Workout Session Structure 
    The basic structure of weekly primary workouts is as follows (based on a ~1 hour session): 
    10:00 - warmup, drill review 
    20:00 - new drill instruction/ old drill refinement 
    25:00 - main set: drill and swim combo's - allows for aerobic development, additional time spent on drills at their own pace, and opportunity for the coach to see the drills in action, and give feedback if appropriate/necessary 
    5:00 - warm down/wrap-up

    Outline of 12-Week Session 
    • Week 1 – Float and Paddle (F&P) | Statue of Liberty (SoL) | beat kick w/board 
    • Week 2 – F&P | SoL | beat kick w/board | 1-legged kick no specific timing or count 
    • Week 3 - [SPEED] review drills from last 2 weeks | speed test, 4 x 100 on :10 rest 
    • Week 4 - 1-leg kick, 1 per cycle | 1-6 drill (basic statue of liberty series) | pull/swim pulse 
    • Week 5 - 1-leg kick, specific timing (2 pulls/1 kick drill) | 1-6 drill | pull/swim pulse 
    • Week 6 - [SPEED] 300 yard timed swim, review drills from last 2 weeks 
    • Week 7 - timing/integration - 1-arm freestyle, basic pulse kicking, 3 pulls/1 kick drill 
    • Week 8 - timing/integration - 1-arm freestyle, basic pulse kicking, bent-arm float and paddle, integration - specific kick timings 
    • Week 9 - [SPEED] negative splitting, review drills from last 2 weeks 
    • Week 10 - integration - specific kick timings 
    • Week 11 - [SPEED] 8 x 100 on :10 rest, timing, and advanced pulse kicking 
    • Week 12 - [SPEED] 300 yard timed swim, try to be better than last time

    "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.

    Experience Finding Freestyle - Group Classes in Richmond, VA

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    Subpages (2): Week #1 Weeks 2-12: Full Member Access to Finding Freestyle