As a 62 yr old learner I started swimming from zero 3months ago. I am now swimming 40 individual lengths on a 25m pool (1000m total) every 2nd day. I could not have achieved that without watching these videos. I only watch this channel to avoid unhelpful contradictions. I have no idea what my times are. After each length, I think about the weakest, most flawed, part of my technique and work on that in the next length. Usually takes a couple of weeks to mitigate the leading flaw. Swimming is getting easier but a long way from being effortless.
@@yuk498 The problem with learning from all of these videos is the list of my technique defects doesn't seem to be getting any shorter. I am breathing tri-lateraly but I have figured out I am not breathing in on my left side. Don't ask me why that is. The effect is I am breathing 1 in 6 and running out of air. Application of core muscles is masking whether or not I am breathing with my diaphragm. I am practicing diaphragm breathing away from the pool. My timing is off. I am trying to do forward quarter with my arms but when I do the reach, my other arm naturally wants to stay beside my hip so I maintain a paddle wheel style (bad). So now I am trying to pretend I am climbing a rope and focus on my down stroke hand and getting it forward while letting the reach arm sort itself out. That is my hit list of defects, but there are more. At present it takes just over an hour to do 40 individual lengths (25m) but that time is decreasing. I feel that doing a self-review of every length is accelerating my identification and rectification of technique defects. So I'm just going to keep doing individual lengths until I don't need a rest. I can now get in the pool knowing I can swim +1000m. Swimming every two days is giving my body time to rest and repair, and it is working for me. I find it takes about 10 lengths to get my technique back where I left off two days prior. I now have a smart watch, but only because I can't remember my length count. I am still using my 3D printed tally counter. My target is 1000m continuous no later than June 2025 (12 months from ground zero) but I would like to achieve that sooner if I can. There is no way I could achieve that target without these videos.
I’m a 62 year old swimmer too. I’ve been watching Brenton for years and about 6 months ago something clicked in my stroke. How much force to apply and serape were stuck in my head for years before they came together. I joined a Master’s swimming group in a 25 yard pool recently and I’m the joint fastest at the moment at 15s for a 25 yard sprint. That time was with a push off and after 2400 yards of skill sets. Stick with him and all will come good.
@@open_water2411 Right now I am struggling with timing, trying to get to forward quadrant working. I figured out I am starting the catch too early because my head is too far out of the water. I start early to push down in the water to raise my head. OK so now I am keeping my head in the water and creeping towards getting the timing right. I have also figured out that the reach has the benefit of washing away bubbles from my arm. The force of the pull is a combination of the water pressure and water suction. If the suction volume is full of bubbles, total force will be less. I am finding that everything affects everything else. I have a long way to go before everything comes together. Without these videos, I wouldn't know how to get to good.
Discovering swimming nine months ago has been a huge thing in my life. Thanks again. Your videos have really helped me tremendously. I'm excited to see where I might be at the three-year mark!
Best talk I've ever heard about how to enjoy and get better at swimming at any level! I'm 66 years old and just learned to swim 3 years ago ................. you have made my day!
Great advice. I started my adult swim learning journey 4 months ago but I still struggle on kicking too much with very large sinky legs when doing freestyle but I'm sticking with it and being patient with myself
I've been watchin Brenton's videos for years and stealing ideas for my own coaching of masters swimmers (for about 8 years now), and this is hands down the best swimming video Brenton has done (and the best I've seen from anyone). What a great summary, and of all the best advice. There's not much in particular I haven't heard or thougth about before, but Brenton has got everything here in the perfect order. And this is the hardest thing to do, prioritising what to focus on and at what stage the swimmer is at. Hats off to you, you legend.
Swimming is hard (unnatural for many), progressive (can’t be rushed or muscled), and heavy on techniques. I had tried golfing and felt the same way. Dancing (any style) is another sport that is like swimming. I guess anything that us highly technical would take time to get it right and ingrained.
I love swimming. Started as an adult swimmer and learned how to freestyle from Brenton’s videos two years ago. He has helped me so much to improve my techniques. In no way I am a pro but I enjoy it and go three times a week. I go for 2.5km nonstop and my pace is 2 min 10 seconds per 100 m. It’s slow but I am hoping to improve with more practice. Thanks for everything Brenton. You are a great teacher.
Excellent tips! At the age 52, I decided to learn swimmimg- free style. Being adult learner, I hit all these mistakes- physical and psychological!😂 good vedio and it helps me working on these areas! I gave myself of goal- training for sprint triathlon in 2025!
After swimming for 8 years regularly, sinking legs had me reliant on fins and buoy between legs and slow as a gliding house brick.. I paid for a personal coach and amazed at the results. Consistent with information in this vid, seeing myself on video was a wake up call. Now with a guided change in technique my regular km is without the assistance of devices and feels amazing. The coaching also made videos like this make more sense. Thanks for your videos they are great, this one fantastic…convinced me to subscribe!
Absolute gold. Thanks for distilling this down. I swim for fitness and mental health reasons. I love listening and tunning into the water. Being mindful. I swim 2 ks in about half an hour. No swim watch and I swim the 2 ks straight freestyle with stopping. ..6 days a week.
Hi Brenton, Just to say your very thorough treatise of swim coaching is the best out there...I've studied lots and yours is, by far, the best. Keep up the fantastic work. Thank you. Best wishes for success in all your future developments. Dave
I appreciate this. I think the point of trying to focus on and be deliberate about one aspect first for a few weeks then move to the next is a good one. Also, nice lighting and setup! Very high production quality compared to your usual videos where you're at your computer webcam or whatever.
Very informative. I’m a 64 year old intermediate. Can’t do front crawl. The tip about Breathing, then Head & Shoulders , Rotation and then Leg is my takeaway. Thanks
Brenton, you nailed it. Everyone should take a swimming lesson. You don't know what you don't know and perception verses reality can be very informative.
I love this channel, but I also love just hopping in the water to swim a mile and get out. Same pace too. It's just to zone out and chill during my lunch break.
Very useful video Brenton! I must say even all the things that you told us here are the same that you repet all that time in your content, this time is like a how to do book, from A to Z. I’m 55 and I start follow your channel about 3 years ago, when I decided to progress in swimming, and from all the channels I start to follow I soonest focus only at Effortless Swimming because of all the informations, not always technical, about what feelings or sensations you should have in the water. Thank you again Brenton!
Great big picture video. I really like the watch-less swimming suggestion. Lately, I have been swimming without tech a few times per week and found it helpful. I would love to a video on aging and swimming.
I don't know if he will be similar to others, my aging experience has been work in a ways, but, it's a good rewarding experience as i learn again again and again, doesn't all feel great, but, it is
I applied your catch tips today and WOW! BOOM - swimming sub 2:00 per 100 yards (in repeats!!!) for first time in forever and it was quite literally - EFFORTLESS! I used to think more strain -= more speed. Quite the contrary! Just focusing on those 5 steps blew my mind! Can’t wait for my next race!!!
Things I have learned: - I had to force myself to bread less quantity air to get used to that I don't have to gasp all the air possible - If your arms are getting tired first you are doing something wrong. Back Muscles activation. - All fish and stuff are scared of us, no need for us to be scared of them. Get in the water! - To be concuss of any left/right movement that destabilize you. - 60% of the effort in the water must be on position. Swimming 2min/100m is like riding bike with 90km/h. Would you put more power or improve aero position in that case?
Thank you for this! I am new to swimming, and this was so helpful to remember I need to keep showing up and expect change over years, not days. I really appreciated your story about trying open water and being a beginner.
Great stuff! Thanks alot. Not a single line is wasted here in the whole video. Hard to understand at first hand why going harder is not the key. But finally learned that. Rythm over brute force. It does'nt seem like at first sight, but that also works for boxing too. Start out slow and try to feel the rythm before you move faster. One thing at a time! That's the key to me and also practice of patience. And I think you can put this to ANY type of activity: Twice a week is hardly enough to make a good progress, but to maintain. Just keep going and hang in.
My biggest issue is stroke rate. Its about 30 but if I speed it up it's too hard to pull the water. I have long skinny arms. Love answers to speed it up.
Been training for my first 70.3 Half IM and these tips have been super helpful. Went from swim team captain in high school 20 years ago, to trying triathlon in my 40's. I forgot how to even make a decent workout set. What helped me lot was making a workout on my Garmin, and just following it once I'm in the water, so it can count for me and let me focus. So back in the pool for maybe 3 years now and these tips have really helped. My first triathlon was more effort over technique. I have been training for over a year for this attempt in a few weeks and really focusing on technique has been very helpful. I am in the best shape of the last 10-15 years (of my life for running) but still felt my swimming lagging a bit. I have been listening to and thinking of these tips and some of them have really been clicking. There are a few times mid workout where it feels like a switch is flipped and I am being pushed by a motor. The keys for that have been head position, catch and glide, and kick, balance and rhythm. Working on my deep squat strength with leg press has helped unlock this. My left leg was super weak from a car accident 10 years ago, once I started working on this and playing with kick from thigh tip (Tracey!) and keep toes loose and pointed the speed really came through. I see folks next to me putting twice the power in the water and I am slowly gliding past them. Thank you for the tips. Taking time to slow down and work on one main thing for a week or more really helps. The breathing through nose between sets sucks, but is game changer. Your stroke video analysis are so good at bringing the point across. Also doing yoga with the wife has really helped tie in my core and get me to play with keeping the balance in the water. I am touching the magic here and hope I can keep it going once I finish my half IM and scale my workout hours way back. Hopefully I can do more slow drills and extra swim days to try to lock it in. Such gold on this channel, really well regarded by my running coach who does tri. Thank you!
Learning freestyle for one year. Your channel is the most important source of power for my training. Wish to go to Effortless camp when I go back to Australia.
I wear Forward WIP impact vest 50N for windsurfing and it makes swimming more fun ( after falling in and swimming back to kit ) The impact vest keeps me much higher in water so my head / face is out of water. Probably not going as fast as regular swimmer but i enjoy it more than i used to without, don't even need to do anything to stay above water.
So many valuable insights! 🙌 Thanks for sharing them with us, really appreciate. 😊 Distracting myself, I do it too often when I go to the pool. Trying too many things about technique at the same time. But got your points. Thanks again 🙏
Don’t chase speed is a really good advice. Yes it will just click, which is what it did for me last week. I’m finally feeling myself lifting out of the water. For sure this extra change I did I think is what did it, or maybe it’s been the years of swimming. Little more practice and for sure ill get my speed to under 30sec🔱🔱 for 50meters💪💪
Love this video deadly! U thoroughly addressed all that crucial keys which is not ever presented in 99% of other "swimming" videos. Learn alot from it, appreciate it and subscripted with 👍🏻~
Great advice, will need to watch this again in some weeks. Luckily I am a long term - focus guy so even with my (perceived) slow progress, I will eventually get my technique right.
Very useful. Mind you that running, cycling, and most sports, require variety in training to achieve significant progress, just as swimming does. Thank you for the great work.
Great video. I have been practicing for 2 years now but remain ar 1.15 minutes per 50 meters. I changed my technique since rhe beginniing and feel a bit more easy but think I ckearly miss breath. I never managed to breath everythird arm move. I strrugle with catch trchnique but ly arms ate so thin i do not think that makes such a diffetence. I al always at 150 bmp at 1min 15 and go to 190 at 1min 05 per 50 meters
I have struggled a lot with all aspects of breathing (timing, head/body position, breath quality). I recently discovered that a major cause of these issues was failure to finish the stroke on my breathing side such that i had an extended/streamlined position with enough rotation to comfortably turn the head for a breath. Aborting the stroke before hand exit left me contorting head and body for a breath and reduced the time for a breath, leading to tense breathing. This also inhibited the recovery and transfer of propulsion from one side to the other. I would basically be dead in the water at the end of the stroke. Loads more comfortable in the water since making this adjustment.
3 months in. 3-4 days a week. 1.5 hours. 2kms of designed routines. Smoked for 18 years and quit 7 months ago. One of the best videos ive seen. I'd say the only thing missing is Diet, and seeing how swimmer diets are a different beast it might be worth touching on. Otherwise, I obviously like the analogy of don't think 3 months think 3 years.. Baby steps. My strokes and times have seen considerable improvement since i started. Of course they would though because there was a huge gap with easy fixes... now its getting more nuanced and not hitting the milestones everyday/week like i was. I however didn't get into this cause i wanted better times, etc.. I wanted to hit a comfortable flow where i could turn my head off and in a sense meditate or let the world slip away. Now though, I also want to do this while annihilating every swimmer at the pool, which in my case is usually 70 something year olds wearing floaties.... Goals are still goals... Lets gooooo
How do I make 3 sessions per week and make sure I don't get injuries? I am an amateur swimmer that needs lots of improvements. I have poor stamina in the pool and I atm don't care about speed, I want to learn proper techniques. I swim 1hr per session.
Perhaps slow fast can be expressed as keeping the same pressure on your hand during the stroke, thus naturally accelerating. It is very similar to rowing.
regarding triathlon, it may hurt a pure swimmer but that part is just 10% of the full race. swimming is just there to get it over with :-) for some i guess its a fun beginning, but for most probably just a nuisance. so for me, im not looking for perfection in swimming. i just need to hold a certain pace and thats it. there is so much more time spent on the bike and on the run (also in training). also there is a very harsh diminishing in returns in swimming. if you have a decent pace and you want a very good pace, the training it requires does not justify the little gains you will get on race day.
But swimming is a good recovery sport for body beat up by running and biking. Being perfect in swimming for me means to use the technique that helps to sustain pace, energy output, and unexpected changes in water. The end goal is not to shave a minute or two. Since swimming has to be endured, might as well get it done right and enjoy being horizontal and supported in water.
@@33Jenesis ofc. thats the goal. but as i said, time invested in swimming to be great can be immense for some people. so its wise to accept not being a great swimmer and invest the time where it matters. its great if you are gifted in swimming. not all can say that.
For Olympic distance the swim is about 1/6th. I think the value of swimming more efficiently is that you can post the same time having spent significantly less energy. It’s nice to get out of the water still in Zone 2 heart rate.
Dont you think its more efficient to pull closer to the body? I see a lot of guys reaching very deep in their pull. I think you can generate the same force when pulling close to the body without disturbing the flow as much and also aiding the overall rotation in your pull and staying in glide easier. Would love to hear some takes on that
Back on focussing on one thing for several weeks, my coach can tell me to fix head position, harms position and other things in the same session. It really stresses me out. Should I tell him to focus on thing?
Started swimming 3 months ago and this channel has been a god send, i feel like i've learnt a lifetimes worth of technique in just a few months that would ordinarily be locked behind the pay wall of a trainer/coach except i can break it down and try it at my own pace for free, when i first started i couldn't swim 50m without being gassed, now i am doing 2-3k per session, 3x a week with my 100m time around 1:40-45. Thankyou for everything you have done with this channel. you're a fantastic tutor and i'm really excited to see how far i can improve thanks to your videos! P.S i enjoyed seeing you on Brody Searle's ironman series since i have a similar goal to him, was cool seeing you collab with him and improve his form so dramatically, so quickly!
I have a question: For reference,i am 21 and learnt how to swim last year. Since then,i have been swimming all round the year,5 to 6 days a week, for 1 to 1.5 hours a day, doing drills, swimming long distances, etc, and have managed to get to a 2 min or 2 min 10 sec pace. However recently i seem to have lost some progress. I used to be able to cover 50 metres in 35-38 strokes,but the past week i seem to have lost some speed and my distande per stroke has also gone down, to 40 to 42 per 50 metres. Any tips?
There's one thing that's stopping me from buying in to the idea of _"focus on one thing at a time"._ My fear is that if I try to correct only one thing by focusing on just that thing for 2-4 weeks and letting everything else go, e.g. focus on head position and forget about what's happening in the catch, I may be able to fix my head position, but *I'll fix it in the context of a bad catch* and the 2 will then be linked together. So when I move on to focus on my catch, the head position benefit will not carry over (and in the meantime I may have allowed my catch to worsen even more). Do you have any thoughts/advice about this?
Hi Ally, As a complete random student I understand that feeling absolutely. Can only speak for myself obviously but to deal with those feelings of uncertainty and frustration I landed on one aspect which I know is key for myself, something which I view as the bedrock to the structure. This one thing serves to reference body position, rhythm, breathing, catch, pull… all else basically and due to it being key I associate it with something familiar to me with from my work life. From the beginning of my apprenticeship shoeing horses I was taught that when shaping a horse shoe, if you. Reason being you can most easily adjust other elements of the shape but if the toe is wrong (ie too wide or narrow etc for the particular hoof) you’ll have a hell of a job on your hands. For myself with freestyle (crawl) “toe” translates to reach. When I fined myself out of shape I always return to the mantra, “reach…. reach…. reach…. “ being sure to reach for Brentons cookie jar and instantly I’m comfortable with my process and able to do an audit of other aspects as I cycle through the stroke. It’s such an individual thing so I’m sure others will chip in with similar tricks or areas of focus for what is not I suspect an isolated concern. Good luck!
I'm still quite new to swimming but I always find that I go too fast and I'm out of breath when I reach the other end of the pool. Is there any way that I can slow down my swimming so I can better pace myself and go for longer? I feel like I'm stuck at one speed.
As a 62 yr old learner I started swimming from zero 3months ago. I am now swimming 40 individual lengths on a 25m pool (1000m total) every 2nd day. I could not have achieved that without watching these videos. I only watch this channel to avoid unhelpful contradictions. I have no idea what my times are. After each length, I think about the weakest, most flawed, part of my technique and work on that in the next length. Usually takes a couple of weeks to mitigate the leading flaw. Swimming is getting easier but a long way from being effortless.
Wow! I am in my forties, and just about able to swim a breaststroke 10-20 meters at a stretch now. Started learning recently, I like your approach.
@@yuk498 The problem with learning from all of these videos is the list of my technique defects doesn't seem to be getting any shorter. I am breathing tri-lateraly but I have figured out I am not breathing in on my left side. Don't ask me why that is. The effect is I am breathing 1 in 6 and running out of air. Application of core muscles is masking whether or not I am breathing with my diaphragm. I am practicing diaphragm breathing away from the pool. My timing is off. I am trying to do forward quarter with my arms but when I do the reach, my other arm naturally wants to stay beside my hip so I maintain a paddle wheel style (bad). So now I am trying to pretend I am climbing a rope and focus on my down stroke hand and getting it forward while letting the reach arm sort itself out. That is my hit list of defects, but there are more. At present it takes just over an hour to do 40 individual lengths (25m) but that time is decreasing. I feel that doing a self-review of every length is accelerating my identification and rectification of technique defects. So I'm just going to keep doing individual lengths until I don't need a rest. I can now get in the pool knowing I can swim +1000m. Swimming every two days is giving my body time to rest and repair, and it is working for me. I find it takes about 10 lengths to get my technique back where I left off two days prior. I now have a smart watch, but only because I can't remember my length count. I am still using my 3D printed tally counter. My target is 1000m continuous no later than June 2025 (12 months from ground zero) but I would like to achieve that sooner if I can. There is no way I could achieve that target without these videos.
I’m a 62 year old swimmer too. I’ve been watching Brenton for years and about 6 months ago something clicked in my stroke. How much force to apply and serape were stuck in my head for years before they came together. I joined a Master’s swimming group in a 25 yard pool recently and I’m the joint fastest at the moment at 15s for a 25 yard sprint. That time was with a push off and after 2400 yards of skill sets. Stick with him and all will come good.
@@open_water2411 Right now I am struggling with timing, trying to get to forward quadrant working. I figured out I am starting the catch too early because my head is too far out of the water. I start early to push down in the water to raise my head. OK so now I am keeping my head in the water and creeping towards getting the timing right. I have also figured out that the reach has the benefit of washing away bubbles from my arm. The force of the pull is a combination of the water pressure and water suction. If the suction volume is full of bubbles, total force will be less. I am finding that everything affects everything else. I have a long way to go before everything comes together. Without these videos, I wouldn't know how to get to good.
❤️❤️❤️👌👌👌🏊🏊🏊👌👌👌❤️❤️❤️
Discovering swimming nine months ago has been a huge thing in my life. Thanks again. Your videos have really helped me tremendously. I'm excited to see where I might be at the three-year mark!
Best talk I've ever heard about how to enjoy and get better at swimming at any level! I'm 66 years old and just learned to swim 3 years ago ................. you have made my day!
Great advice. I started my adult swim learning journey 4 months ago but I still struggle on kicking too much with very large sinky legs when doing freestyle but I'm sticking with it and being patient with myself
I've been watchin Brenton's videos for years and stealing ideas for my own coaching of masters swimmers (for about 8 years now), and this is hands down the best swimming video Brenton has done (and the best I've seen from anyone). What a great summary, and of all the best advice. There's not much in particular I haven't heard or thougth about before, but Brenton has got everything here in the perfect order. And this is the hardest thing to do, prioritising what to focus on and at what stage the swimmer is at. Hats off to you, you legend.
Swimming is hard (unnatural for many), progressive (can’t be rushed or muscled), and heavy on techniques. I had tried golfing and felt the same way. Dancing (any style) is another sport that is like swimming. I guess anything that us highly technical would take time to get it right and ingrained.
I love swimming. Started as an adult swimmer and learned how to freestyle from Brenton’s videos two years ago. He has helped me so much to improve my techniques. In no way I am a pro but I enjoy it and go three times a week. I go for 2.5km nonstop and my pace is 2 min 10 seconds per 100 m. It’s slow but I am hoping to improve with more practice. Thanks for everything Brenton. You are a great teacher.
Excellent tips! At the age 52, I decided to learn swimmimg- free style. Being adult learner, I hit all these mistakes- physical and psychological!😂 good vedio and it helps me working on these areas! I gave myself of goal- training for sprint triathlon in 2025!
After swimming for 8 years regularly, sinking legs had me reliant on fins and buoy between legs and slow as a gliding house brick.. I paid for a personal coach and amazed at the results. Consistent with information in this vid, seeing myself on video was a wake up call. Now with a guided change in technique my regular km is without the assistance of devices and feels amazing. The coaching also made videos like this make more sense. Thanks for your videos they are great, this one fantastic…convinced me to subscribe!
My favorite swimming channel! Tip 26, enjoy it!
Thank you!
26 ?
Absolute gold. Thanks for distilling this down.
I swim for fitness and mental health reasons. I love listening and tunning into the water. Being mindful.
I swim 2 ks in about half an hour. No swim watch and I swim the 2 ks straight freestyle with stopping. ..6 days a week.
Hi Brenton, Just to say your very thorough treatise of swim coaching is the best out there...I've studied lots and yours is, by far, the best. Keep up the fantastic work. Thank you. Best wishes for success in all your future developments. Dave
Spot on as usual! He always finds the best way to describe what you should feel!
I appreciate this. I think the point of trying to focus on and be deliberate about one aspect first for a few weeks then move to the next is a good one.
Also, nice lighting and setup! Very high production quality compared to your usual videos where you're at your computer webcam or whatever.
Very informative. I’m a 64 year old intermediate. Can’t do front crawl. The tip about Breathing, then Head & Shoulders , Rotation and then Leg is my takeaway. Thanks
Brenton, you nailed it. Everyone should take a swimming lesson. You don't know what you don't know and perception verses reality can be very informative.
I love this channel, but I also love just hopping in the water to swim a mile and get out. Same pace too. It's just to zone out and chill during my lunch break.
Very useful video Brenton! I must say even all the things that you told us here are the same that you repet all that time in your content, this time is like a how to do book, from A to Z. I’m 55 and I start follow your channel about 3 years ago, when I decided to progress in swimming, and from all the channels I start to follow I soonest focus only at Effortless Swimming because of all the informations, not always technical, about what feelings or sensations you should have in the water. Thank you again Brenton!
Exactly right.
For me it´s the same, only I do enjoy "Skills´n Talents" the same, both great channels with comprehensive and detailed approach.
@@-esox-3714Skills’n Talents also very interesting!
This is incredibly helpful and generous. You have been my swimming coach for the last three years and you helped me tremendously. Txs!✋
Excellent advice again Brenton. These are must view videos for anyone looking to improve. Thank you.
Great big picture video. I really like the watch-less swimming suggestion. Lately, I have been swimming without tech a few times per week and found it helpful. I would love to a video on aging and swimming.
I don't know if he will be similar to others, my aging experience has been work in a ways, but, it's a good rewarding experience as i learn again again and again, doesn't all feel great, but, it is
I applied your catch tips today and WOW! BOOM - swimming sub 2:00 per 100 yards (in repeats!!!) for first time in forever and it was quite literally - EFFORTLESS! I used to think more strain -= more speed. Quite the contrary! Just focusing on those 5 steps blew my mind! Can’t wait for my next race!!!
I’m only 7 minutes into the clip and already loving it!
Agree with all your points! You are one of the 4 coaches I follow on RUclips. I learned so much from you and your guests.
who are the other 3?
@@user-vi4ox1cg2dI'm going with Fares (myswimpro)
Triathlon Taren
Brenton… thanks for putting this one together and INSPIRING us all as always! I’ll try using the things you talk about to reset my training. Cheers
Thanks Brenton! Your videos are so illustrative. Been swimming for four years now and had followed a lot of your tips ! hugs from Argentina
Loved your video. Very mature, deep tips. I took the most of connecting with the water thing. Going to apply it, as i feel i need work over there.
Things I have learned:
- I had to force myself to bread less quantity air to get used to that I don't have to gasp all the air possible
- If your arms are getting tired first you are doing something wrong. Back Muscles activation.
- All fish and stuff are scared of us, no need for us to be scared of them. Get in the water!
- To be concuss of any left/right movement that destabilize you.
- 60% of the effort in the water must be on position. Swimming 2min/100m is like riding bike with 90km/h. Would you put more power or improve aero position in that case?
Thank you for this! I am new to swimming, and this was so helpful to remember I need to keep showing up and expect change over years, not days. I really appreciated your story about trying open water and being a beginner.
Great stuff as always! Thanks Brenton!
Fantastic video. Your hints, tips and analysis have really helped me improve. Many thanks.
Great stuff! Thanks alot. Not a single line is wasted here in the whole video. Hard to understand at first hand why going harder is not the key. But finally learned that.
Rythm over brute force. It does'nt seem like at first sight, but that also works for boxing too. Start out slow and try to feel the rythm before you move faster.
One thing at a time! That's the key to me and also practice of patience.
And I think you can put this to ANY type of activity: Twice a week is hardly enough to make a good progress, but to maintain. Just keep going and hang in.
Excellent. Simply excellent distillation of key facts and methodology. Thank u!
As always, superb points from Brenton. Please keep up the good work. Unmatchable contents.
My biggest issue is stroke rate. Its about 30 but if I speed it up it's too hard to pull the water. I have long skinny arms. Love answers to speed it up.
You are the most helpful resource for my start in swimming. Thanks 👍
Been training for my first 70.3 Half IM and these tips have been super helpful. Went from swim team captain in high school 20 years ago, to trying triathlon in my 40's. I forgot how to even make a decent workout set. What helped me lot was making a workout on my Garmin, and just following it once I'm in the water, so it can count for me and let me focus. So back in the pool for maybe 3 years now and these tips have really helped. My first triathlon was more effort over technique. I have been training for over a year for this attempt in a few weeks and really focusing on technique has been very helpful. I am in the best shape of the last 10-15 years (of my life for running) but still felt my swimming lagging a bit. I have been listening to and thinking of these tips and some of them have really been clicking. There are a few times mid workout where it feels like a switch is flipped and I am being pushed by a motor. The keys for that have been head position, catch and glide, and kick, balance and rhythm. Working on my deep squat strength with leg press has helped unlock this. My left leg was super weak from a car accident 10 years ago, once I started working on this and playing with kick from thigh tip (Tracey!) and keep toes loose and pointed the speed really came through. I see folks next to me putting twice the power in the water and I am slowly gliding past them. Thank you for the tips. Taking time to slow down and work on one main thing for a week or more really helps. The breathing through nose between sets sucks, but is game changer. Your stroke video analysis are so good at bringing the point across. Also doing yoga with the wife has really helped tie in my core and get me to play with keeping the balance in the water. I am touching the magic here and hope I can keep it going once I finish my half IM and scale my workout hours way back. Hopefully I can do more slow drills and extra swim days to try to lock it in. Such gold on this channel, really well regarded by my running coach who does tri. Thank you!
Learning freestyle for one year. Your channel is the most important source of power for my training. Wish to go to Effortless camp when I go back to Australia.
Thanks Brenton for the great free tips. Much appreciated.
Such a helpful video. Thank you!
Fantastic video.
Awesome, thanks!
I wear Forward WIP impact vest 50N for windsurfing and it makes swimming more fun ( after falling in and swimming back to kit ) The impact vest keeps me much higher in water so my head / face is out of water. Probably not going as fast as regular swimmer but i enjoy it more than i used to without, don't even need to do anything to stay above water.
So many valuable insights! 🙌 Thanks for sharing them with us, really appreciate. 😊 Distracting myself, I do it too often when I go to the pool. Trying too many things about technique at the same time. But got your points. Thanks again 🙏
Don’t chase speed is a really good advice. Yes it will just click, which is what it did for me last week. I’m finally feeling myself lifting out of the water. For sure this extra change I did I think is what did it, or maybe it’s been the years of swimming. Little more practice and for sure ill get my speed to under 30sec🔱🔱 for 50meters💪💪
Thanks for summarising it so well. Will definitely keep these points in mind while training.
Love this video deadly! U thoroughly addressed all that crucial keys which is not ever presented in 99% of other "swimming" videos. Learn alot from it, appreciate it and subscripted with 👍🏻~
Great insight thanks
Thanks Brenton for practical advice, particularly as I am impatient in trying to improve, so your videos puts things into perspective..
Looks like good, practical advice . Keep it up!
This so tremendously useful and valuable to me. Many thanks!
Great vídeo!!
Great video, thank you.
Just for you, on point 'overthink', you use the word 'overthing'
Thank you this is really helpful
Thanks for a great video. I really appreciate the time stamps.
Thank you, Brenton. Great summary!!
Great advice,
will need to watch this again in some weeks. Luckily I am a long term - focus guy so even with my (perceived) slow progress,
I will eventually get my technique right.
This was awesome 😃👍🏾 Thanks!!!!
Very useful. Mind you that running, cycling, and most sports, require variety in training to achieve significant progress, just as swimming does. Thank you for the great work.
Thanks, Brenton!! 👋🏼👋🏼🏊🏼💪🏼
Thank you for all the advice. Good information.
Fantastic video, thanks!
Swimming wisdom collected in 20 minutes! I would only want to hear and an advice on reducing drag.
Thank you this is really helpful!
Great video!
Thank you very much for sharing all of these tips 🙏
Thank you very much!
Great video. I have been practicing for 2 years now but remain ar 1.15 minutes per 50 meters. I changed my technique since rhe beginniing and feel a bit more easy but think I ckearly miss breath. I never managed to breath everythird arm move. I strrugle with catch trchnique but ly arms ate so thin i do not think that makes such a diffetence. I al always at 150 bmp at 1min 15 and go to 190 at 1min 05 per 50 meters
Thanks!
Thank you Stuart!
I have struggled a lot with all aspects of breathing (timing, head/body position, breath quality). I recently discovered that a major cause of these issues was failure to finish the stroke on my breathing side such that i had an extended/streamlined position with enough rotation to comfortably turn the head for a breath. Aborting the stroke before hand exit left me contorting head and body for a breath and reduced the time for a breath, leading to tense breathing. This also inhibited the recovery and transfer of propulsion from one side to the other. I would basically be dead in the water at the end of the stroke. Loads more comfortable in the water since making this adjustment.
Thank you so much for this video
Thank you 🙏
Thx, very useful and to the point ‼️👍
thank you very much
Spot on observation.
Thanks!
Brilliant ❤
3 months in. 3-4 days a week. 1.5 hours. 2kms of designed routines. Smoked for 18 years and quit 7 months ago. One of the best videos ive seen. I'd say the only thing missing is Diet, and seeing how swimmer diets are a different beast it might be worth touching on.
Otherwise, I obviously like the analogy of don't think 3 months think 3 years.. Baby steps. My strokes and times have seen considerable improvement since i started. Of course they would though because there was a huge gap with easy fixes... now its getting more nuanced and not hitting the milestones everyday/week like i was. I however didn't get into this cause i wanted better times, etc.. I wanted to hit a comfortable flow where i could turn my head off and in a sense meditate or let the world slip away. Now though, I also want to do this while annihilating every swimmer at the pool, which in my case is usually 70 something year olds wearing floaties.... Goals are still goals... Lets gooooo
Greatest Olympian a swimmer
That is really a great video
Conteúdo sensacional!
How do I make 3 sessions per week and make sure I don't get injuries? I am an amateur swimmer that needs lots of improvements. I have poor stamina in the pool and I atm don't care about speed, I want to learn proper techniques. I swim 1hr per session.
thanks, great video watched 3times triathlon swimmer with 29:15 for 1.9 however where is the checklist you said will be in descriprion? 🤔
Perhaps slow fast can be expressed as keeping the same pressure on your hand during the stroke, thus naturally accelerating. It is very similar to rowing.
Thanks!!
regarding triathlon, it may hurt a pure swimmer but that part is just 10% of the full race. swimming is just there to get it over with :-) for some i guess its a fun beginning, but for most probably just a nuisance. so for me, im not looking for perfection in swimming. i just need to hold a certain pace and thats it. there is so much more time spent on the bike and on the run (also in training). also there is a very harsh diminishing in returns in swimming. if you have a decent pace and you want a very good pace, the training it requires does not justify the little gains you will get on race day.
But swimming is a good recovery sport for body beat up by running and biking. Being perfect in swimming for me means to use the technique that helps to sustain pace, energy output, and unexpected changes in water. The end goal is not to shave a minute or two. Since swimming has to be endured, might as well get it done right and enjoy being horizontal and supported in water.
@@33Jenesis ofc. thats the goal. but as i said, time invested in swimming to be great can be immense for some people. so its wise to accept not being a great swimmer and invest the time where it matters. its great if you are gifted in swimming. not all can say that.
For Olympic distance the swim is about 1/6th. I think the value of swimming more efficiently is that you can post the same time having spent significantly less energy. It’s nice to get out of the water still in Zone 2 heart rate.
whilst this I agree on , anything to make the swim less work ( not necessarily faster ) would be welcome
@@joefagan9335 indeed
although some of that could just be adrenaline
Brenton! Do you shave for swimming events? If yes did you check how much faster it makes you?
Dont you think its more efficient to pull closer to the body? I see a lot of guys reaching very deep in their pull.
I think you can generate the same force when pulling close to the body without disturbing the flow as much and also aiding the overall rotation in your pull and staying in glide easier.
Would love to hear some takes on that
CAn you please make one video for adult swimming by breast stroke at moderate pace.
And want to go up to masters swimming competition
How many hours or how frequent one should practice as a beginner.
Back on focussing on one thing for several weeks, my coach can tell me to fix head position, harms position and other things in the same session. It really stresses me out. Should I tell him to focus on thing?
Where's the freestyle checklist he mentioned? Can't find it here.
Send us an email at support@effortlessswimming.com
Started swimming 3 months ago and this channel has been a god send, i feel like i've learnt a lifetimes worth of technique in just a few months that would ordinarily be locked behind the pay wall of a trainer/coach except i can break it down and try it at my own pace for free, when i first started i couldn't swim 50m without being gassed, now i am doing 2-3k per session, 3x a week with my 100m time around 1:40-45. Thankyou for everything you have done with this channel. you're a fantastic tutor and i'm really excited to see how far i can improve thanks to your videos!
P.S i enjoyed seeing you on Brody Searle's ironman series since i have a similar goal to him, was cool seeing you collab with him and improve his form so dramatically, so quickly!
I have a question:
For reference,i am 21 and learnt how to swim last year. Since then,i have been swimming all round the year,5 to 6 days a week, for 1 to 1.5 hours a day, doing drills, swimming long distances, etc, and have managed to get to a 2 min or 2 min 10 sec pace.
However recently i seem to have lost some progress. I used to be able to cover 50 metres in 35-38 strokes,but the past week i seem to have lost some speed and my distande per stroke has also gone down, to 40 to 42 per 50 metres. Any tips?
There's one thing that's stopping me from buying in to the idea of _"focus on one thing at a time"._
My fear is that if I try to correct only one thing by focusing on just that thing for 2-4 weeks and letting everything else go, e.g. focus on head position and forget about what's happening in the catch, I may be able to fix my head position, but *I'll fix it in the context of a bad catch* and the 2 will then be linked together. So when I move on to focus on my catch, the head position benefit will not carry over (and in the meantime I may have allowed my catch to worsen even more).
Do you have any thoughts/advice about this?
Hi Ally, As a complete random student I understand that feeling absolutely. Can only speak for myself obviously but to deal with those feelings of uncertainty and frustration I landed on one aspect which I know is key for myself, something which I view as the bedrock to the structure. This one thing serves to reference body position, rhythm, breathing, catch, pull… all else basically and due to it being key I associate it with something familiar to me with from my work life. From the beginning of my apprenticeship shoeing horses I was taught that when shaping a horse shoe, if you. Reason being you can most easily adjust other elements of the shape but if the toe is wrong (ie too wide or narrow etc for the particular hoof) you’ll have a hell of a job on your hands. For myself with freestyle (crawl) “toe” translates to reach. When I fined myself out of shape I always return to the mantra, “reach…. reach…. reach…. “ being sure to reach for Brentons cookie jar and instantly I’m comfortable with my process and able to do an audit of other aspects as I cycle through the stroke. It’s such an individual thing so I’m sure others will chip in with similar tricks or areas of focus for what is not I suspect an isolated concern. Good luck!
I'm still quite new to swimming but I always find that I go too fast and I'm out of breath when I reach the other end of the pool. Is there any way that I can slow down my swimming so I can better pace myself and go for longer? I feel like I'm stuck at one speed.
But aren't Pull buoys good for everyone? If my technique is out of balance then the pull buoy lets me know.
Something is on fire behind you !!!
I will have to think of that one to i focused on trying to reach to my destination.
Do you speak about breaststroke as well?
Does height extremly matter in swimming.Pls reply
It matters, swimmers usually are tall .... what more matters is the ape index above 1 (more arm-width-span than heigh)