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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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    VI. Advanced Training With Finding Freestyle

    Basic Concepts
    Finding Freestyle Advanced Training Group (ATG) Online is a web-based swim development and training service, currently open only to persons who have already completed the Finding Freestyle course.  This program will lead the athlete through a full years worth of workouts, starting with the winter time swim focus, and progressing through the spring training and summer/fall competition phase, with special modules for final race preparation, and for focusing on specific technical objectives, such as the "kick forming" cycle, and the "distance per stroke/stroke rate balance" cycle.  This program acts as a stand-alone web-based service for remotely located athletes, as well as a companion program to the live ATG that meets once per week with Finding Freestyle coaches.   In addition to the workouts, we will also be developing content to teach triathletes what they need to optimize their swimming performance, harmonize their swim training within the multisport context, and ultimately be able to direct their own program.  This is a work in progress, athletes that join now will get a reduced, introductory rate as well as the ability to influence the programs direction and final content. Click here to register.

    The basic program components are as follows:
    • A weekly presentation of workouts that contains 4 workouts per week: one (1) drill progression-based workout, similar to the original recipe FF, with some review of skills, and some more advanced drills; two (2) longer workouts that are customizable between 3,500-5,000 yards; and one (1) "high-density" workout that is of approximately 45 minutes of activity combining relatively high intensity conditioning with drilling and technical swimming skill work.
    • Techniques for learning to integrate swimming into your own personal training schedule (weekly tips for balancing the run-bike and the swim)
    • Workouts that are designed to help you to walk that fine line between improving/maintaining technique and achieving optimal fitness and race preparedness
    • A support forum for asking questions about the weeks technical foci, the drills, what to do if you are tired, injured, etc.  This will be a focused, on-topic web forum staffed by Finding Freestyle coaches.
    • An expanded drill and skill glossary which builds on the drills from Finding Freestyle, and adds video and explanation for new drills and skill progressions.
    • Learn to use "Swim Power Profiling" and zone-based swim pace training.

    The (semi) Self-Coached Athlete
    The advanced training group of Finding Freestyle is a unique approach to structured group training, in that it attempts to lay out a simple, yet thoughtfully integrated framework for concurrent swimming technique and peak fitness development.  We provide a weekly workout schedule as well as specialized workout blocks for an athlete to engage in on their own when peaking for an event, resuming training after a layoff, or exploring a high volume swimming block. During this process we provide forum support for the current weeks workouts as well as support for athletes that are engaging in one of our specialized blocks. This support, combined with the resources on this web site aim to assist an athlete in developing their own sense of how a training block can be structured, how given types of training fit into their personal training schedule, and how to make the most out of a given workout. Through all of this, we combine the principles of "Passive Technique" introduced during the basic Finding Freestyle course by devising activities that stimulate the bodies acquisition of basic motions (physical vocabulary), rhythm, body awareness and relaxation in the water. We hope to assist each athlete in their development into a more self-aware, capable, and intelligent athlete.

    Is Kicking and Drilling a Waste of Valuable Training Time?
    We try to show the athlete that drilling, kicking, and preparation for an open water, long distance race can be successfully integrated, and in fact can produce better performances than a program which simply focuses on swimming as much volume as possible. Drills and kick sets are not simply inert fillers in a workout that waste valuable endurance building time, but rather, they are components of preparation that can very effectively build endurance, while simultaneously training the body to acquire new, more useful motions, and teach them to optimize their ratio of effort-level to swimming output.  

    Balancing Volume with Intensity
    Elevated training volume has always been the mainstay of endurance swimming (at least since the dawn of the "Goggle Age"), and we don't necessarily disagree with its effectiveness or necessity in reaching the highest level of endurance swimming performance. In fact, as life-long swimmers, the Finding Freestyle coaches also feel that engaging in a long, intense workout is nothing short of an exhilarating experience! Of course, not every athlete has the time to put in large volumes of pool training, especially those athletes that are trying to balance the demands of training for triathlons. For these athletes, identifying a "sweet spot" of training intensity and duration becomes essential. Thus, our weekly program contains 4 workouts, each integrated with the other, but also functioning in a stand-alone fashion for the athlete that is forced to pick and choose amongst their options.