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  Effective swimming can be broken into 2 simple categories: 1. Balance and Streamlining refers to the way in which you change your body position and shape, to more effectively slip through the water. 2. Propulsion refers to how you use your legs and arms to propel yourself through the water. In terms of which is more important, balance and streamlining will always come first. This is clearly evident in age group swimmers, there are lots of physically strong swimmers who travel very slowly due to poor body position. By contrast, swimmers with good body position will glide through the...

  'Stroke timing' refers to the sequence of your arm movement, in simple terms, what is one arm doing in comparison to the other at any given time. There is a whole spectrum of stroke timing but we commonly refer to 2 main types and categorise swimmers as either 'catch up' or 'windmill'. 1. Windmill stroke is when the hands/arms are at opposite ends of the clock face. As one hand enters, the other is leaving the water (9/3 o'clock) or as one hand pulls under the body, the other recovers above the water (6/12 o'clock). It is very easy...

We posted this blog a few years ago and had a lot of positive feedback, so we're recycling! It's pretty timely as the open water season is about to start and we've had lots of first timers asking about our regular sessions at 3 Sisters Waterski. When I first learned to swim, I'd be first to the local pool in the morning and as I walked through the changing area, I'd have only one thought in my mind "I hope that space is free by the wall so I can swim up and down without interruption". As I entered the...

Open water season will be upon us soon and shortness of breath, potentially leading to panic attacks are one of the most common issues amongst novice swimmers. In this week's blog, we talk about the physiology behind the problem. It's all about the CO2 Your breathing and heart rate are largely controlled by CO2 levels in your blood stream. In simple terms, when you start to exercise, you create CO2, which accumulates in your blood. You have receptors in your bloody system which detect the rise in CO2 and they send a message to your heart and lungs to 'speed...

As open water coaches we are asked "what's the most important thing regarding open water swimming" and the answer is simple. Firstly get a suit which fits you correctly, generally a correct fitting suit feels too tight to most people and as a consequence they get one which is too big. The second most important thing is putting it on correctly, if the suit isn't worn correctly, you are significantly increasing the resistance on your shoulders which very quickly leads to fatigue. People may tell you "it's easier when you swim in a wetsuit" and this is wrong. The resistance of...