In episode 277 of The Physical Performance Show Brad Beer shares conversations with Brenton Ford;
Effortless Swimming: Optimising your swim stroke & performance in this Expert Edition.
Brenton has had swimming in his genes for longer than he can remember, he was an elite Junior swimmer making Nationals Finals before going on to start his now 14 year career in coaching and along the way having coached Masters Teams to 5 National Club Championships before commencing Effortless Swimming.
Effortless Swimming is the swimming technique platform for athletes looking to optimise their performance world over. Effortless swimming specialises in faster swim technique for adult swimmers and triathletes, utilising underwater filming, freestyle clinics, camps, and online coaching. There’s also a great membership that Effortless Swimming provides for those who are keen to optimise their stroke and performance. The central theme for this expert edition; optimising our swim stroke.
Brenton shares around the number one thing we can do to improve our swimming speed, he breaks down the constituents and the characteristics of a good and efficient swim stroke. Brenton shares around the rules of a good catch phase of the stroke, what to do with our kick, how to incorporate our breathing for optimal performance and issues a great physical challenge.
Listen in as we delve into the following:
- Introduction to Brenton
- Effortless Swimming
- The difference between a Coach and Trainer
- What constitutes a good stroke
- What is a “catch”
- Exit Stroke
- Finger positioning
- Tips on the “kick”
- Timing of the “kick”
- Breathing Insight
- Exhaling Advice
- Hydroxic Training
- Top tips for Turns & Underwater Work
- Feeling overwhelmed with advice
- Drill work
- Advice on frequency
- How to start navigating swimming improvement
- Best Advice
- Physical Challenge
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Quotes
“It takes a lot of work to make it effortless.”
“A good catch is a paramount.”
“Tips on the kick “
- Point the toes a little bit
- Keep the kick fairly small
- Kick should not be used in propulsion
“The majority of exhaling should come from your nose.”
“Keep your drill short, specific and do it as often as you can.”
“Doggie Scoop and YMCA drill.” – Favourite Drill
“Make sure your drill sessions are worthwhile.”
“Control your mindset through breathing.” – Best Advice
“Do 100m freestyle, see where you’re at and figure out your improvement from there.” – Physical Challenge
Resources
YouTube Effortless Swimming: Dan Smith Effortless 100m sub 1min freestyle
[vc_video title=”” link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3BsRGK9RSQ”]
4 beat kick video:
[vc_video title=”” link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdkSqzGCwTk”]
Timeline
00:00 Start
04:17 Introduction to Brenton
05:36 Effortless Swimming
14:17 The difference between a Coach and Trainer
17:43 What constitutes a good stroke
21:30 What is a “catch”
25:46 Exit Stroke
27:42 Finger positioning
34:38 Tips on the “kick “
37:13 Timing of the “Kick”
41:24 Breathing Insight
43:00 Exhaling Advice
45:46 Hydroxic Training
47:57 Top tips for Turns & Underwater Work
51:59 Feeling overwhelmed with advice
55:22 Drill work
58:05 Advice on frequency
59:45 How to start navigating swimming improvement
1:01:05 Best Advice
1:02:10 Physical Challenge
1:07:19 Finish
People Mentioned
Dan Smith – Australian Olympic Swimmer, Episode 137 of The Physical Performance Show
Mack Hawton – Australian freestyle swimmer
Rory Darkins – Psychology Researcher, Mental Skills Coach, Episode 252 of The Physical Performance Show
For questions and comments about this Episode
Send to the show host
@Brad_Beer (Twitter) or
@brad_beer (Instagram)
