1:1 swim lessons - Tri focused

NeedsTraining

Hey all,

Anyone know of or recommend swim coaches who can put a focus on triathlon swimming?

Most of the places/people I have contacted are purely pool focused with no experience of tri's.

Any information would be good.

Cheers,

NT

tunguska

NeedsTraining wrote: »

Hey all,

Anyone know of or recommend swim coaches who can put a focus on triathlon swimming?

Most of the places/people I have contacted are purely pool focused with no experience of tri's.

Any information would be good.

Cheers,

NT

I know a guy from Pulse triathlon club does coached lane swimming every monday evening in West park gym in Tallaght. I think you need to be a member of the gym, but im not 100% sure about that.

NeedsTraining

Hi Tunguska,

Do you know if he does 1 on 1 training?

Cheers

tunguska

NeedsTraining wrote: »

Hi Tunguska,

Do you know if he does 1 on 1 training?

Cheers

I dont know needstraining, sure I'll ask him and get back to you.

tunney

Peter kerns (pb coaching)

good swim coach, nice guy. Google him and give him a bell. He might be able to sort you out.

interested

some good ideas already

Just a question - what do you want to get from your time with a teacher or coach ? thats tri specific

- stroke analysis ? for freestyle since if you're swim training for triathlon there's only one stroke
- session plans (swim sets for you to do)
- tips for swimming in triathlons (beach starts, deep water starts, sea, lakes, rivers etc)

Its entirely up to you which way you go with this and if you want 1:1 then thats fair enough - but in the long term you might consider getting in touch with the various tri clubs in your area to hear from them what / who and where they use for swim training - and then approaching their coaches directly or joining the club.

For your own sake - have a clear idea of what you want to get from the coach or session before you hand over your cash.

dare2be

interested wrote: »

some good ideas already

Just a question - what do you want to get from your time with a teacher or coach ? thats tri specific

- stroke analysis ? for freestyle since if you're swim training for triathlon there's only one stroke
- session plans (swim sets for you to do)
- tips for swimming in triathlons (beach starts, deep water starts, sea, lakes, rivers etc)

Its entirely up to you which way you go with this and if you want 1:1 then thats fair enough - but in the long term you might consider getting in touch with the various tri clubs in your area to hear from them what / who and where they use for swim training - and then approaching their coaches directly or joining the club.

For your own sake - have a clear idea of what you want to get from the coach or session before you hand over your cash.

Interested.

I am starting 1-2-1 lessons with a swim coach for a tri club near to me (which i'm not a member of btw). It started off in a group session but i knew there would be stronger and more experienced tri swimmers going to be there and surely that was the case. After the class had ended i explained to the instructor that i am a weak swimmer and that maybe 1-2-1 sessions for a few weeks would be best. What in your valued opinion should a novice swimmer be asking from an instructor? My main aim would be controling breathing and getting the best from each stroke. Your comments would be most appreciated

interested

dare2be wrote: »

Interested.

I am starting 1-2-1 lessons with a swim coach for a tri club near to me (which i'm not a member of btw). It started off in a group session but i knew there would be stronger and more experienced tri swimmers going to be there and surely that was the case. After the class had ended i explained to the instructor that i am a weak swimmer and that maybe 1-2-1 sessions for a few weeks would be best. What in your valued opinion should a novice swimmer be asking from an instructor? My main aim would be controling breathing and getting the best from each stroke. Your comments would be most appreciated

imho I think the 1-2-1 thing can work well -> depending on the coach and swimmer - ensuring you get what you can for it for your cash and then employ that in the group scenario where your not paying optimum rates

The coach you asked that took the session should already have a good idea of what you're doing wrong since its (in my experience) inherently impossible not to analyse someone stroke when standing / sitting on a bank of a pool

The set of questions / thoughts below are based around - body position, legs, arms, breathing and timing ... to swim efficiently there are things that can be fixed with some work by a coach / teacher and swimmer ...

... to swim fast its often up to the swimmer and there are no shortcuts or silver bullets Im afraid. If anyone knows of where I can buy some if there are let me know where I can send the cheque to


Key Questions:
1) What is my *body position* like ? am I on top of the water ? are my legs / hips low in the water when Im swimming ? Is my head moving around when Im swimming and when I turn it to the side to take a breath ?

2) *Legs*: Is my kick sufficient (if your hips are dropping then Id guess the answer would be no) ? am I bending my knees too much ? am I pointing my tows ? am I keeping my legs loose and kicking from the hips (whip like action)

3) *Arms*: At the start of my stroke with my arms out in front am I catching the water correctly ? Are my hands too close together / crossing over my centre line ? entering the water slightly narrower than shoulder width apart ? is my hand position when entering the water right ? are my fingers closed ? am I 'cupping' the water as my hand moves ? Am I starting slow and finishing the full stroke faster down past my hip ? Am I flexible enough and confident in the water whereby I can rotate around my centre line when pulling with either arm ?

4) *Breathing*: Am I comfortable breathing to the side ? Do I poke my head up and move it around when I need to breath ? Do I need to learn how to breath to both sides ?

5) *Timing*: Can I keep a steady 4-beat kick going as Im moving through the water with efficient arm pulls ? Am I pausing after each arm stroke unnecessarily ? am I gliding and capable of 'catchup' due my kick ? am I maintaining a forward movement through the water at all times ?


Hope this helps you get your moneys worth - and dont forget - it shouldnt take more than 3 or 4 sessions to fix the basics to get you back confidently swimming with the group - you may need to compliment the time you spend with the coach with time on your own swimming any drills they have given you to help correct any issues ... you get out what you put in sometimes

dare2be

There's more to swimming than meets the eye with that response Interested. Yeah from reading previous threads on here i have assumed that 3/4 sessions should at least get the basics right. I intend to practice what i learn from the sessions on my own at least 3 times a week and then maybe go back in say a month/2 months time to get a refresher/analysis done with the coach.

interested

dare2be wrote: »

There's more to swimming than meets the eye with that response Interested.

It can be technical - but to get you started and enabling you to get the most from the hours you spend in the pool initially for the purposes of swimming in triathlons theres a really good chance i over did it on the potential questions if you know what I mean. If you can combine working on your own on your stroke with swimming in a group then you really should see signs quickly that any major stroke issues are resolved.

Yeah from reading previous threads on here i have assumed that 3/4 sessions should at least get the basics right. I intend to practice what i learn from the sessions on my own at least 3 times a week and then maybe go back in say a month/2 months time to get a refresher/analysis done with the coach.

Thats as good a plan as any and should definitely see you set for whatever events your taking on in the summer.