Free Diving - Details Revealed from the Deep

I just finished a great article in the Aug 24, 2009, issue of The New Yorker about the sport of free diving. It goes into tremendous detail about what happens to the body, mind, and of course, lungs, during a free dive. Excellent reading. Sorry, no link since it is available online only to New Yorker subscribers - I just found that out. Get this issue - you won't be sorry.

Underwater Rugby

Looks like a good way to train - I'm serious.

Check out the cool pics on the Moof.com website.

Using a wet suit to train? Are you as worthy as this guy?

How to get rid of cankles

I'm no physical trainer but I feel I've found a remedy for cankles.

What are cankles? --> ankles that don't slim down below the calf creating the appearance of a seamless area between the knee and the foot. Great name huh?

The remedy? Swim! Put an emphasis on kickboard work. Even if you can't swim, you probably can do kickboard. (No kickboard? Loop a pool noodle end over end and point those ends forward, hold the sides just like you would a kickboard.)

When kicking, try to point your toes higher than your heels as you swim your foot up toward the surface. When you draw down toward or into the water, flop your feet. Try to create a splash.

All this will work the ankle/calf region and tone that area. Do this several times a week for at least 10 minutes. Expect this length of time to be a bit difficult at first - build up to it if you must. You will quickly become accustomed to kicking for distance.

You should start seeing results in a month. Stick with it a year and your legs should start really looking in shape.

For expert advice, ask a physical trainer or swimming coach.

Scared of Swimming? A good reason to not feel bad about that

I found this link under the heading, "Why I'm Scared of Swimming".

Ordinarily I would argue, but in this case, I simply can not. The author has a pretty good argument (pics too).

How many lifeguards does it take to guard me?

Woke this morning to the wonderful pitter patter of rain on my west facing window. It's a sound I love and I would have preferred to lie there and just enjoy the sound but my personal drive to not allow much of anything get in the way of my workout won over and I found myself at the pool. The Masters group was just leaving as the sun was coming up and those people (if you can call them that) - like werewolves and vampires - disappear at first light. I digress, anyhow, upon my second lap, I found myself with my own 50 meter pool - just me and (get ready) six lifeguards surrounding the pool (yes I said SIX). I completed about 7/8ths of my workout (about 50 minutes worth) before another person dipped a toe in the water. I really regret keeping my face under water (doing freestyle) that whole time. It really was quite special. I just have to wonder, if I had had trouble, which guard would have jumped in first, or would they all just looked at each other and continued to hug their knees under their towels that was kept the rain off.

A Guy Takes His iPhone to the Pool and ...

Watch it to the end - that's where things happen. Ooops!

Pencil This In - How to Make Swimming Easier

I've mentioned the pencil technique in past posts, but it's been a while, so I decided to revisit the concept after overhearing a lifeguard give a struggling (e.g., splashing) middle-age swimmer some advice about stroke motion, that while correct, neglected the rest of his body and surely left the poor man wanting.

Using the pencil technique in a nutshell is akin to swimming like a pencil - nose-to-toes straight like an arrow (point forward), minimal friction (minimal water resistance) on all sides, and side-to-side rolling (as one would turn the pencil from the eraser end keeping the point in the same spot).

The pencil technique is only the start, but if all aspects of the swim stroke include maintaining this one dynamic, I promise you or your swimmer-trainee will find swimming easier than without it.

You too can use Echolocation

Wired Magazine is reporting a new way to tap into your inner dolphin. Scientists have confirmed that humans can learn echolocation or the ability to make sounds to detect objects in their immediate surroundings. Check out the article for more details.

No word if this would work underwater, so don't start thinking you are going to win all those Marco Polo games now.

Lifeguard!

Check out the lifeguard station in the bottom right corner. Click link for a huge blowup of the picture (no pun intended ... pretty good pun though, huh?).

Yard Art

This is just too cool for me to describe in words. Check it out.

Even shows good form!

Heavy Breathing Required

Here's a video of William Trubridge doing a freedive that will absolutely make you feel like a whimp, I guarantee. Awesome. BTW, I may have mistitled this post. He doesn't even look like he's out of breath at the end. Watch how cool he is in his ascent (where I would ... if I could ... be freak'n out to get up).

Craziest Swimming Pool Trick Ever - I Promise

I am guessing this guy understood the ramification of failure had he done this wrong. Scroll down to the fourth picture.

DO NOT TRY THIS!

How to Clean your Goggles

I get goggle glop, do you? Goggle glop is my term for the cake-like buildup that forms on the outside of goggles around the frame. If you take your fingernail, you can dig it off. If the goggles are wet, you can scrub it off with a firm finger (note, neither is my solution ... keep reading).

I imagine the glop is a buildup of sweat and other body crud (any other theories?). It's very odd, since I don't wear the goggles outside of the pool, aside from a quick trot to the showers. One would think any body excretions would simply wash away in the pool. But no, it cakes up.

My solution is to place the gloppy goggles in a bowl, filled with dishwashing detergent in water (lots of suds), and place the bowl outside in the sun (or a warm, sunny window). The glop, rinses off given a few hours in the solution. Sometimes you must rub it just a little. The sun is to keep the solution warm so there is more energy to break down the glop bonds. A warm lamp near the solution, might do as well (I do not suggest boiling your goggles or anything of that sort).

This works for me, what works for you?

Note: I still haven't figured out how to deal with discoloration (nice clear rubber turning into greenish/yellowish rubber over time - perhaps I need to keep the goggles outside in the light, rather than inside my bag all day).

Why the Phelps Phenomenon is Not for Me

If you were a kid watching the Olympics late last summer, I'm guessing you probably got at least a small itch to try swimming as your chosen sport. And it may have even stuck with you through the spring-time. How do I know this? Well the number of kids who have joined the premier swim team (the ones who build the Olympic athletes out of the XBox generation) in my city has grown by 25 percent this summer.

Good for them you say? OK, I'll agree, good for them ... but not for me.

I happen to work out at the same time the team practices - dawn - and the coach, flush with cash from his new arrivals, has bought the rights to an additional lap lane in the pool. Until this year, they had always used half the pool. Cool, right? We get half, they get half. Not any more.

Thanks to the Michael phenomenon, they're taking over our space. This forces us early risers (of which there always have been quite a few), we of all varieties of skill and speed, to move over, smile and pretend we loyal members still count for anything.

Thanks for your time and chance to rant.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Cause Linked to Lakes ... please, no!

Last year I posted a topic concerning a parasite that lived in southern waters that you probably want to avoid at all costs (very nasty). Now it's the northern lakes' turn.

It seems that there have been some clusters of ALS(Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), more commonly called Lou Gehrig's Disease, identified around a lake in New Hampshire. Scientists believe it is linked to Cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) blooms. This article goes into pretty good depth using terms a layperson can understand.

BTW, this makes me very sad.

Gulf of Mexico Swim Goal Complete

Yesterday I finished my 900th mile since I set a series of goals (about two and a half years ago) to keep myself inspired. Coincidentally that 900 miles is the same distance as it is across the Gulf of Mexico from St. Petersburg, FL (next to Tampa - see map) to Corpus Christi, TX. Google Maps shows the auto route - lots of turns. You can visualize my route on the map below by looking at the two cities (click on the "-" button in the top left corner of the map to see both FL and TX coasts). I went straight.


View Larger Map

Gives a Whole New Meaning to Kicking

I don't know if this is sad or really cool.

Any thoughts?

Check out the flutter kick!

How I Feel About Summer at the Pool

Summer is here. The 50 meter pool is open. This is how I feel.

Long Course Lap Swimming - First Thing, it's not Short

I'm starting my long course season on Monday when my outdoor 50 meter pool - also known to my faithful readers as "heaven" - opens for the season. If all goes well, I'll be out there until September 30th. This brief rest between Friday (yesterday), and Monday gives me pause to consider what changes I can expect. Making this switch from 25 meter indoor pool to 50 meter outdoor pool is not without its challenges.

One of the first things I always notice on day one in the 50 pool is that I feel every meter of it. There is a lot to be said for having a wall in front of you (when you are sprinting), that is always less than 25 meters away. I'm wondering how long it will take to adapt, or if I really will? No matter the pool length, I really look forward to those micro-rests that I get during the flip turns. In the 50, there will only be half as many now, and then they will be longer between them. Oh!

On the positive side, long course swimming is great for muscle building. You've got a longer time to be working a stroke before you have to pause.

A lot of people don't like 50 meter pools for the exact reason of the name - "50 meters". 50 is a long way for some people and they just plain, avoid them. I say, give it a chance. Take it a little easy and work your way into it. I think I'm a better swimmer because of 50 meter pools. I think you can be too.