DECEMBER 2015 Newsletter

Dear Swimmers and Triathletes:

I hope you noticed the addition of a topic in my subject line on the monthly newsletter? O2 has had several requests for this and my hope is that it will cause more of you to open up my newsletter and gain some useful insights - always my intention :-)

My monthly theme for December is :

Going Old School ~

I realize that many of my younger swimmers may not have a clue where this may lead, but my “over 30” kids will get it right away. Several events in my life recently have cause me to once again rethink my own plan and strategy….. It is important to look both UP and DOWN the levels of swimming around you to better evaluate where you actually are and how you can improve your lane assignment. ****Notice they rarely put Michael Phelps against the wall in races? It is because he swims fast enough in the qualifiers to get his spot in the faster middle of the pool.

The bottom line of GOING OLD SCHOOL is to do more. Traditionally, swimmers swim a lot - more than many of you might think. I have 10 year olds swimming 5000-6000 yards a day and they do it 4-6 times a week (without crying about it). Interestingly, in that age group, their average race is 50-100 yards. How long is your average race?

My high school swimmers are doing 6000 - 10,000 yards a day and my collegiate swimmers are just above that - plus dry lands ! As the longest race in high school swimming is the 500 and in college it is the 1500, this is a ton of yards.

Much of swimming is based on speed filtered in with distance; there are many crescendo and decrescendo sets. We do not swim whole practices at the same speed.

So here is my December challenge to ALL of you:

To Swimmers ~ RACE every day. Pick one or two spots in practice to go for gold. Teach your body every day to break the last limit. Get ugly. Get fast. Everyday. Keep it to a maximum of once or twice, but they must be serious. Your “world record swims”, not just a little push. Go old school !!

To triathletes ~ I know of no one that swims too much…. Go old school = double your distance. Go one more day a week. Over the winter, here are my weekly guidelines to send you rocketing into the 2016 tri season:

Sprint kids = 4,000 yards per week minimum

Olympic kids = 8,000 yards per week minimum

Half kids = 8,000 yards per week with more speed work and some distance pushes every 3 weeks. MINIMUM.

Iron Men = 10,000 yards per week with some speed work every week. Do your crescendo and decrescendo work. Swim FAST sometimes. Even a 3000 - 4000 yard workout is only 1 - 1.5 hours of swimming. Be serious with you time. Go old school !!!

My weekly goal has been 10,000+ yards a week for many years. I reach this goal 80% of the year, but have a HUGE variety in difficulty as I periodize my year. I swim 3 days a week 80% of the time, 4 days a week 10% of the time and less than 3 only when life interferes.

Go old school. Recognize you CAN do more. Once you do, it will help you get faster and break out of the plateau.

And now, my 12 Tips of Christmas:

1) Do your catch up drills every day - no exceptions !
2) Variety is the spice of life - look for better workouts…. ***I post mine on the O2 SWIMMING Facebook page, as do several of our better swimmers.
3) Use pool tools to add diversity: My bag contains all FINIS products now…. Z2 fins, Agility paddles, Infinity paddles, Axis buoy
4) Race Everyday !!!!
5) Monitor a time standard once a month. Has your 100 time gone up or down? 500 time?
6) Go play on You Tube and find a video of a swimmer you know doing it right, you might learn something !!!!
7) Swim slow in the warm up… FEEL the water early and learn to control it.
8) Stretch after your warm up - all great swimmers are loose, it is worth 2-3 minutes.
9) Get a friend. The clock can push some of us, but a pool buddy will motivate you even more.
10) Separate your buoy from your paddles - one of the best new things I have done in years… O2 no longer uses the 2 together…
11) Work in more crescendo and decrescendo work
12) Get the Axis buoy from Finis. Go on-line and get your O2 coach’s discount through my website. This new device rocks !!!

Enjoy your holiday. O2 is not scheduled out yet for the year, so call now to reserve your spot….!!!

And last, thank you for your support through the last 15 years - it has been life changing for me :-)

If I could ask for any recommendations through Facebook, I would greatly appreciate it. I try to ask for some comments about once a year so it looks like O2 SWIMMING is still around!

Enjoy your holidays and time with family.

PS. I started going Old School TODAY - why not !!!!!!

SwimStrong. SwimSilent.

Ken Holland
Head Coach
O2 SWIMMING
Doylestown, PA
267-994-0568 | www.o2swimming.net | www.o2nutrition.net

NOVEMBER 2015 Newsletter

Dear Swimmers and Triathletes:

This is the time of year I choose to split my newsletter specifically into two sections: Swimmers and Triathletes. I do this because I feel the need to reach out to you as distinctly different animals once in a while. It was sparked by on of my favorite athletes (Thank you, CK) who sent me a piece debasing swimming like a swimmer for triathletes.

The reasons these ideas are faulty are myriad, but to cite a few as concisely as possible:

1) An efficient human swim stroke can ALWAYS adjust and be made faster
2) Of course choppy water affects speed… that is just a “DUH” observation !
3) Walls are accelerators, but current can certainly be too. One of our swimmers did the Little Red Lighthouse 10km race in an hour a few years back…true story and congrats to RH ! Is he that fast? Well, yeah, with a 10 mph current surfing him down the Hudson River !!!
4) A choppy fast stroke will NEVER beat a smooth , sustainable long stroke because those with the more efficient stroke can adjust better than the one trick pony who feels the massive energy output is synonymous with speed. Effort will not correspond to speed in water most of the time (like 98%).

ENOUGH !

Moving on to my real topic for this month : FLOW

What is FLOW?
Do you have it?
Why you want it?

I see FLOW as sustainable and uninterrupted energy transfer making one propel forward. Note well each word in my definition.

To test your FLOW, slow down… YES, slow down. Do you feel ANY interruption in forward motion? Any sink? Or, do you feel fish-like? This is a huge reason why I ask all of you to warm up and to do it slow and easy. You are a vertically integrated animal. Going horizontal is a challenge for you. The warm up gives your brain (an essential organ) time to adjust to this linear motion. If you start slow, you will FEEL glitches in the stroke if there are any. Wrinkles will appear and you can work them out right away. How valuable is that versus the daily struggle that can morph into real problems.

YES, you want/need FLOW to sustain an uninterrupted forward progress. In the water, we need to be going FORWARD all the time, not accelerating and stopping. I am old, but swim a 13 SPL (yard pool) and can hold a 1:25 pace all day long AT THAT SPL. When I go to 14 SPL, I can go 1:15 - 1:20 pace but I pay for it. My max is 15 SPL where I have gone all the way down to 1:00/100 pace, but am done at the 100 mark :( I can FEEL where my sweet spot is and where it is sustainable.

And now to YOU specifically:

SWIMMERS ~ Let’s face it, all out racing can get ugly, but if you trained the body in a FLOW STATE in practice, your stroke will hold together during the race. Use the warm up. Check in with your SPL as instructed. In order to increase your speed BEYOND YOUR CURRENT CAPACITY, you must cross lines. Every practice should be a partial experiment in crossing over the edge of your own razor. Get ugly on purpose once a day. See what that line feels like, then come back. It is by pushing limits that we find new places. Don’t be afraid to get ugly once a day :) ***Be sure you know when and control the timing of this, as well as re-entry to your efficient self.

Triathletes ~ My best advice is to spend your off season working on stroke efficiency. What better way to spend some cold days than in the warm natatoriums of our wonderful world? Become a student of FLOW. Take your easy pace and lift it in small doses. Does it respond positively or negatively? If negative, do not think that you will overcome by beating water - you will lose. I promise. Observe other swimmers while in your local watering hole. Who looks good and why? Who looks bad? Why? I learn form ALL of you, you can learn by watching both good and bad. The world knows no good without knowing evil :)
Do catch up everyday. I do. Phelps does. No excuses here - make your aquatic time count.

And for those of you still shaking your heads (I already know who you are), I offer Andy Potts as proof of species…. He usually wins the swim because he is a swimmer. Why would you not want to be? Do not be taken in by the tri gang trying to reinvent science. Study swimming and you will see what I see.

Last, USE THE WALL. I get crazy when I see any triathlete pushing off the wall crooked and taking 1/2 the pool to get even reasonably straight again. AAARGGGHH. The wall is your opportunity to get perfect every 25 y/m. It is up to you to fail after the wall GIVES YOU a perfect streamline… Succeed !!! The choice is up to you. So, how about less junk miles and more focus? Train your mind and let the body follow…

Some housekeeping notes that I lay out there every year for you:

2015 scheduling closes at the end of the calendar year. If we are currently working together, get your sessions scheduled. As of Jan 1, we turn everything over to the accountant and start the New Year fresh - no carryovers since 2002. I always have openings, so let’s be respectful of each other.

As the holidays approach, keep in mind the awesome discounts offered through my web page. I only offer what I use and recommend and YOU get my coach’s discount. Great for holiday gifts. ***HIGHLY recommending the FINIS AXIS BUOY this season !! Every year, swimmers get really fast speed suits that are “so last year” for both the discounted old price and the discount on top of that. So, if FINIS has the “last year” model speed suit for under $100 - is that OK? Or do you need the new $400 suit? Depends, I do have one 12 year old who is looking to bring home a National Age Group Record… How cool is that !!!!! By the way, what are your goals? This young man should inspire you to think about it for a minute…… :-)

PROBIOTICS !!!! As most of you know, I am pharmacist, nutritionalist and swimmer. I truly believe that probiotics are ESSENTIAL for chlorine poisoned swimmers. And, to be crystal clear, all supplements are not created equal. I use only GMP certified supplements and you can find that link and discount on my web page too under Emerson Ecologics. Discounts are good, but superior quality is great too !!

Good luck everybody. Enjoy the water. Laugh. Play. Train. Get strong Take over the world :-)

Until next month…..

SwimStrong. SwimSilent.

Ken Holland
Head Coach
O2 SWIMMING
Doylestown, PA
267-994-0568 | www.o2swimming.net | www.o2nutrition.net

OCTOBER 2015 Newsletter

Dear Swimmers and Triathletes:

Thank you for the feedback I received through Facebook and directly concerning my request for what TOPIC you would like to see covered in this month’s newsletter. I am amazed at how many newsletters I have written over the last (almost) 15 years !! Thankfully, I am usually not at a loss for words - part of my Irish coming out, no doubt :)

So, the topic for October, as we finally enter the fall swim season and begin the wind down period for most triathletes - is:

Evolution !!!

1) One of the topics suggested by you was NUTRITION. Nutrition is very near and dear to my heart, as a Board Certified Holistic Health Counselor and with a lifetime of health sciences under my belt, this is very important - and very misunderstood. Some of you may have seen that I am on Day 10/10 of a Fall detox/cleanse today. YEAH! I started doing these upon graduation from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition and do them at the spring and fall equinox. They are NOT weight loss schemes, but the one I utilize is a “doable” athlete cleanse of the vital organs of the body. Liver, gal bladder, kidneys, etc are your filtration organs. As such, they are assaulted every day by all the chemicals in the modern world. You know what the ingredient list looks like on most items now : chemicals you can’t pronounce, fillers that should not be there, many ingredients… Simple one ingredient foods are the answer: chicken, carrots, apple - you get the idea.

I am in the “over 30” age group by more than most of you; yet, I have not been sick in so many years I can’t remember (30++). I have been within <10 lbs in weight since I was playing water polo in college. I take no RX medication. Not too bad ~ because I fight for my health every day. Exercise is a huge part of my life 6 days a week. We eat over 90% of our meals at home - most with single ingredients, just spiced up with more single ingredients: garlic, pepper, cumin, etc….more than the seasoning packages that often have MSG and other non essential ingredients.

Simple. Effective. Yet, the world confuses you at every turn. Don’t think too hard. Eat what you know is the better choice. Stick to single ingredient foods.
EVOLVE into the best you can be through nutrition. *****Any further questions on the detox/cleanses, etc., reach out for me directly.

2) Equipement EVOLUTION !! Below, you will see MY lifetime evolving though my pool tools:

From the left ~
a) The old school “tombstone” kick board. These are terrible and should be outlawed!! This archaic style calls the swimmer to put their goggles up on their head, take the head up and out of the water, and generally pull themselves down the pool via the lane lines :(

b) My pool buoy from high school - I bought it for $0.25 back in the 1980’s , as we were “upgrading” to larger models. ****Larger is NOT better, as a buoy is not helpful by causing lift, but by keeping the legs together - in streamline. Smaller is better !!! I used these until 2 weeks ago - not a bad investment….30+ years for a quarter :-)

c) FINIS alignment kick board. A GO-TO item for all the years I have been coaching. This tiny board begs the swimmer to keep their goggles on and extend full forward into the swim position. How novel !!! With this board, your hips and shoulders are both HORIZONTAL - the way you swim. Perfect. Love this!

d) FINIS small pool buoy. Since none of you could buy MY old buoy for $0.25 and most are too big, this version was our best option….

e) FINIS AXIS device. I call this a “device” because it is another genius product from our friends at FINIS ~ a company started by Olympic swimmers. Try calling there at noon….no one will pick up, they are all out swimming !!!
This new tool is THE BEST thing to have in your bag now. It is a small/comfortable pool buoy, a nice little kick board, and an awesome DRAG aid by clipping softly on your ankles. I was so happy that when I slid these onto my ankles to do a pull set that they were super comfy, stayed on during ALL my flip turns, and begged me to pull harder and work through the resistant drag off my back end. I WANTED to work harder. I love these.

Here is a great video demonstrating why YOU want one:

***Keep in mind you get my coach’s discount on all FiNIS products through my web page. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for all of us !!

3) YOUR EVOLUTION ~ you either evolve or you stagnate in this world. We move fast these days…. Get with the program. Get ahead of the curve. Are you doing the same things you always did? That would be Einsteins definition of stupidity. Evolution is a natural occurrence - let it happen to you! If you haven’t thought about YOUR process in a while, maybe it is time to advance. EVOLVE. Go forward.
Give me a call.

As always, I wish you all well this month. I hope you enjoyed this month’s edition of the O2 SWIMMING Newsletter !!

SwimStrong. SwimSilent.

Ken Holland
Head Coach
O2 SWIMMING
Doylestown, PA
267-994-0568 | www.o2swimming.net | www.o2nutrition.net

SEPTEMBER 2015 Newsletter

Dear Swimmers and Triathletes:

Monday was a very special, but sad ending to an awesome summer of swimming OUTSIDE for me, I enjoy the luxury of swimming under the sky more every year :-) It was good to see so many people at our local municipal pool (Fanny Chapman) - they were parked on the grass, double parked and even walking from other parking lots!! I took the day as just fun and had only one goal - not to stop swimming… I did the last open air mile for this year and enjoyed a long hour workout after that.

As we head indoors, it is time to buckle down and get serious about SWIM SEASON. As I am in the “over 30” age group now, I have periodized my year into making the traditional swim season months - my short/fast months. From now until around mid March, I will swim mostly hard/fast sets that will not have too many swims north of 500 yards at once. By specializing in 50, 100, 200, 300 and even 400s; one learns to keep it moving. More repeats. More ladders. More focus on going fast and resting less. All workouts posted on Facebook will still be in the 3,000 to 4,000 neighborhood, but you will notice the lack of big chunks of yardage within sets…. I have my reasons…

And now, the focus of our September Issue:

Front End Management ~

I wrote an article on “Hands in Swimming” several years back (OK, maybe it was 10+) that was published and embellished by an aerospace engineer…Ah, the science of swimming. My article was hopefully thought provoking to begin to change people’s mindset relating to HOW and WHEN the stroke is at its best. Humans are grossly INefficienct animals in the water. A DARPA study found that if we hold the dolphin to be 100 on a scale, humans are closer to 3-4, with Olympic caliber swimmers maxing out at 10. What does this really tell us?

There is really only one point in the stroke where we are close to perfection ~ when your body is balanced on the surface HORIZONTALLY, and your catch arm is exactly VERTICAL. How long does that last? This is why we are so inefficient; or at least a huge part of it.

So, how can O2 SWIMMING help you?

It all begins at the beginning….

In my opinion, the reason our best swimmers (Olympians) are so much more efficient than most of us is that they get the vertical vs horizontal equation and use the 2 articulations in the paddle to produce maximum force at this intersection. Are my engineers still with me….?

The wrist is a joint that CAN relax and let the catch hand begin to dangle - more vertical than horizontal. IF this happens, it is also possible that the elbow breaks long prior to the perfect vertical and helps catch water sooner. ******This all starts OR ENDS with the hands being open, relaxed, and slightly facing down at the inception of the catch.

And now, my triathletes are demanding proof…. OK:

Fingers Together Or Apart?
Take a look at these two pictures of Michael Phelps (left) and Ian Thorpe (right), two of the greatest swimmers of all time. How are they holding their fingers?

Arguably, these two boys “get it”. However, do not just dwell on the hands. The wrist joint allows part of the positioning to occur. Move up the straight arm and see the elbow on MP already beginning to break a bit and catch water early. This is one of the great secrets of swimming. If you have a stiff hand (do you ?) and push water down, you will only go UP, not forward very much. This all occurs easier only if the hands are soft and lead the way by FEELING the water and beginning to attain pressure.

Do you BOB a little when you swim? Slow down in the warm up and begin to FEEL this affect. Work harder at CATCHING water than at just moving it somewhere/anywhere out of you way. And now for the ultimate punch line ~~~~~~~~~ it all is measurable and definable by your SPL. Far too many of you feel “slow” if you have lower SPL numbers and miss the big picture entirely. Anyone who CAN get to the end of the pool in less strokes CAN swim faster. Efficiency is everything, as taught by our metric - the dolphin.

So boys and girls, what can YOU do to get faster? Think about the September Focus as you swim. My triathletes are mostly entering marathon season or down time = perfect for gaining efficiency in the front end. My swimmers will be back in the pool in a matter of days and expected to get fit and get fast in a short time. I assure you that your coach as dialed in the workouts to get you fit, but will you be FAST? I think this month is a key.

Thoughts?

See you soon…..

SwimStrong. SwimSilent.

Ken Holland
Head Coach

AUGUST UPDATE 2015 Newsletter

Dear Swimmers and Triathletes:

Summer is winding down and many swimmers are on vacation, but I’m starting to get wound up !! Hope you have had some time to click on a few links I have posted on Facebook showing a couple of old boys still getting it done ~ Lochte in Russia and Phelps here at home. Both veterans are swimming “fastest times in the world” and just kicking tail all over the pool. Ryan looks perfect as always: perfect stroke, transitions, plenty of speed. Michael is as ripped as I have seen him and is stamping his old mark on anyone making it to the A final with him. Worth a look, trust me.

Locally, we have many swimmers at Junior nationals and a crew of 4 who broke a National record in their quest to see just how far they can go…. Many of you reading this may have raced these boys, be proud of your pool time with them. Hard work pays off - for ALL of you :) O2 SWIMMING wishes them continued luck and success in their quest for an Olympic bid even as they just enter college !!

Inspired?

You bet I AM !!!!

This is also a good time of year to discuss Scheduling.

Right now, my schedule is “light”…. I fill up some weeks during that week - vacation time of year and no swimmers in “season” (other than the ones above!). So, if I owe you time - especially adults - between today and Sept 20 things will remain on the quieter side. Call NOW to get some time :) ****I am also closing Aug 26 & 27th to do a southern college tour loop with my daughter. After Sept 20, swimming will be in full swing and O2 SWIMMING will start booking 2 and 3 weeks out very quickly.

As has been my policy since 2002, all TRI PACKS purchased in 2015 must be finished up in 2015 (other than those swimming with me in Nov/Dec). There is no carry over into the New Year, as my books have gone to the accountant and I have no records of previous years…

Enjoy the last few weeks of outdoor swim time before Labor Day hits and we are all shoved back into the building.

See you soon…..

SwimStrong. SwimSilent.

Ken Holland
Head Coach
O2 SWIMMING
Doylestown, PA
267-994-0568 | www.o2swimming.net | www.o2nutrition.net

AUGUST 2015 Newsletter

Dear Swimmers and Triathletes:

The Kick and………… Overall body synchronization of power……..

Interestingly, I may have never formally written about this in our 15 + years together. But, I have my reasons today - thanks to some of you; and profiting all of you!

To be very, very clear, the legs are a core extension of the body in human powered swimming (fish have no legs). Legs are responsible for more drag than power in more than 99% of all cases. As proof:

1) During the 1972 Olympic year, “Doc” Counselman tested each member of the Olympic team and found that ONLY Mark Spitz had a kick that caused more propulsion than DRAG. ***These were ALL elite swimmers****

2) The greatest swimmers on earth actually live in the water (fish) and non of them have 2 legs… They have ONE tail.

So, I often hear strong/competitive triathletes ask a myriad of good questions about the kick. Most picture the kick of an Olympic swimmer on TV - an all out effort. The problem is that:

1) These are the best of the best swimmers in the world

2) They only race for under 2 minutes (on average)

3) No one prefers kicking drills over pulling drills… No one !! It takes 10X the effort and you still go fairly slow…:(

Modern training has taken us far past Mark Spitz’s level - for many reasons. One of the primary things we now understand to be true and therefor coach our athletes on is CORE POWER. I have taught each of you to integrate your core into a full body swimming stroke. The paradigm has shifted away from PULLING and KICKING. We (at least the coaches who understand swimming) now tell our swimmers that the body does have two halves ~ the right half and the left half. *****These two halves can be equal. The old school process of pulling and kicking taught us that you had 2 unrelated halves ~ the front half and that back half. The front and back CAN NEVER BE EQUAL. Hence, this old school thought process was doomed into oblivion about 15 + years ago…post Spitz era.

The more power you can harmoniously generate using both sides (right and left!) of your body, the faster you will go. I sometimes refer to this as ROTATIONAL VELOCITY. Some people call it Bilateral, or Symmetry, or Core Drive…

OK, what can we do to actually HELP ourselves incorporate legs into faster swimming? That is all you really care about, right?

KNOW when to transition between spending the cardio gas money on a fast kick and when to integrate it into a core body swim stroke. Technically, this can be a “2 beat” kick versus a “6 beat” kick. As stated above, this e awesome/fast Olympians only swim for (less than ) 2 minutes. My TRI gang, swims for north of 30 minutes in most cases.

TOOLS to help you further develop legs, be that an integration or a ballistically strong driving kick:

My partiality to FINIS continues because they are THE swimming innovators, they were founded by Olympic Swimmers, and they reward us with a great “coach’s discount” that I pass directly through to you.

For my TRI swimmers

These are the Z2 fins that teach LENGTH and integration. Z2’s develop a long distance, powerful body coordination. I use them for sets over 200 AND for purely dolphins off the wall. One of my favorite core sets in the winter season is a 500 where I try my best NOT to swim more than a few strokes for all 20 lengths…my goal is to use the fins to dolphin off the wall at maximum ACCELERATION for as long as my lungs hold up. This is very cool, very challenging, and very rewarding !!

For swimmers

The old standard ZOOMERS still rock. These short fins make even me feel like Michael Phelps ! I use these under 20 and try to go mostly ALL OUT when wearing these. You want your HR up? These will do it !! There IS a cost to doing 100s on about .65 seconds when you are in my age group (over 30….).

These 2 cover all bases. They should be standard in all swim bags - at least one of them per your discipline (swimmer or pure triathlete).

So, over the next few weeks, how about committing to improving your overall power by focusing on your legs as extensions of your core body?
Let me know.
I hope this clears up some of the “opinions” posted by other sources….

Would love to have a few more of the 600 of you post up on Facebook once and a while…..:-)

Also, keep in mind ALL of your team discounts available through my web page - they are all yours. ***I buy everything I need from these companies!

SwimStrong. SwimSilent.

Ken Holland
Head Coach
O2 SWIMMING
Doylestown, PA
267-994-0568 | www.o2swimming.net | www.o2nutrition.net

JULY 2015 Newsletter

Dear Swimmers and Triathletes:

LOVE THIS !!!!

Men's 4 X100 free relay - Best Swimming in history !!!!

SwimStrong. SwimSilent.

Ken Holland
Head Coach
O2 SWIMMING
Doylestown, PA
267-994-0568 | www.o2swimming.net | www.o2nutrition.net

JUNE 2015 Newsletter

Dear Swimmers and Triathletes:

Its raining today - which is water - which is good !!! The weather made me swim back inside again, but the Endless Pool does present additional challenges…. Been thinking about the ancillary aspects of competition recently: the start, the finish, cramps, sight tracking, etc. So here we go ~

The start: The warm up matters. Each swimmer needs to know what their best warm up feels like. Develop it. Change it. In practice, treat some days like a race day: do your race day warm up, then get after the distance. Get your HR up prior to the event. In both Scholastic swimming and triathlon, I can’t tell you how many times I see athletes standing around just prior to the race that are as still as a statue with a heart rate as close to zero as possible (thinking conserve energy). This is wrong :( Get your party started, get the HR up - BE READY. When the gun sounds, you will ask your heart to race - do not ask it to go from 55 to 200 !!! Get the HR over 100 so it CAN make the jump.

The Finish: If you are a swimmer, tuck your head, hold your breath and HAMMER to the wall - no looking around. Your best is your best! For my triathletes, start kicking about 100+ yards out. You most likely have not used much leg over the last mile or so. Two benefits will immediately occur:
1) You will get faster (always the goal)
2) You will wake up the legs so you can STAND and RUN to T-1. ***Do not underestimate this. Ever see the competitor in front of you shaking side to side going up the swim ramp? Only every race!!! Kick it baby :)

Cramps: What do you do when you cramp DURING a race? Ever cramp in “practice”? What do you do then? Swim L-O-N-G some days…long enough to get a little crampy, then work through it during the remainder of your swim set. Go light on fluids and electrolytes to simulate this. Swim later in the day. Get the idea? Anything you can do to simulate an issue, then RESOLVE it (without stopping). I have learned by doing this certain things that help get me back on track WHILE I am still in forward motion. ****This is valuable. With all the heat and lack of rain this year, venues will be warmer… Be prepared !!!

Sight Tracking: As with anything, you simply must practice this. This is where I like my “pick a number” set. Simply pick any digit between 0 and 9. OK, you picked 6…. Sight on lengths 6, 16, 26, 36, 46, etc. Do this and gain skill. Here is a nice shot of a swimmer sighting in open water:

Open Water Sighting demonstration

Is this what you look like? What you feel like? Maybe you should practice it BEFORE race day !!!

In closing, I can not stress enough how good INFINIT Nutrition is…. Discount always available on my web page. If you do nothing else new this month, give YOUR OWN CUSTOM Infinit formula a try.

Keep me posted on your races this summer - see you around water soon :)

SwimStrong. SwimSilent.

Ken Holland
Head Coach
O2 SWIMMING
Doylestown, PA
267-994-0568 | www.o2swimming.net | www.o2nutrition.net

~ Summer hours are back....MORE time for you!!
Just a quick not to remind you that O2 SWIMMING always adds hours for you over the summer :) As of this friday (May 29, 2015), we will be actively coaching the following schedule:

Monday: mornings by mutual agreement and 5-6pm, 6-7pm
Tuesday: 5-6pm & 6-7pm
Wednesday: mornings by mutual agreement and 5-6pm. 6-7pm
Thursday: 5-6pm & 6-7pm
Friday: morning session only

My daughter, Summer, will continue with her branch of O2 SWIMMING…..”Summer Swim School” by request as her Fanny Chapman schedule allows !

No excuses for anyone doing Lake Placid IM, summer swim teams, or any other kids who need help….

May - Special Team Discount Addendum, Spring 2015!

Dear Swimmers and Triathletes:

Ken Holland
Head Coach
O2 SWIMMING
Doylestown, PA
267-994-0568 | www.o2swimming.net | www.o2nutrition.net

MAY 2015 Newsletter

Dear Swimmers and Triathletes:

We are knocking on the door of summertime - finally !! The kids are either playing “land” sports or swimming long course and the triathletes are beginning to race….life goes on :-) O2 SWIMMING has been nicely busy, not insanely overbooked, but once school lets out - all bets are off. That is my one and only HINT by the way.

When I look back at my workout posts on O2 SWIMMING’s Facebook page, I am amazed at just how many different plans I have come up with over the years. If you are doing Eagleman, Black Bear, IM Lake Placid, etc; you will find a nice selection of fun and challenging workouts. Yes, this is another HINT as to what you need to be doing….

Our focus this month is : The Catch

Everyone in the swimming community talks about the catch, but after many years of swimming and now coaching, I am utterly convinced that very few people know what it means. Human swimmers are hopelessly inefficient - compared to any aquatic animal. The only time during the freestyle stroke that we are “perfect’ is when our body is balanced horizontally on the surface and our “catch” arm is exactly vertical. Everything else is a compromise….. How best to efficiency catch water?

- Enter the water earlier than you probably think… If you are fully extended when you hit the water, you can only push water down - resulting in you going up, not forward.

- Soft hands catch water. A stiff or flat hand slaps water and will not bend when necessary.

- A soft/relaxed hand leads to a relaxed forearm and a relaxed shoulder that can move much faster than a stiff arm ever could.

- Try to FEEL the water during your warm up…read the direction of flow….do you feel like you are going forward? Bouncing? Up?

- A high elbow ABOVE the water will make a high elbow BELOW the water….. Angle of attack going FORWARD is important. *****FEEL the forward motion of your body that results from the drive forward more than the pull backwards.

- Swimming is nothing if not a constant state of FLOW. Everything keeps moving all the time - ever see a fish completely STOP?

Bottom line, lets work on our catch this month. FEEL the water. Be most deliberate in warm ups every day. Use the FINIS Agility and/or Instinct paddles to help you. My SWIMITTs are also very instructive - I do have some left in stock for $20.00.

It is time to swim L-O-N-G. There are less walls in long course….just swim. If you are a triathlete; get used to putting in yardage when you do show up. If you have a half or a full IM in 2015, there are no days under 3,000 - NONE! Have faith - if my 12 and unders are doing 5,000, surely we can set 3,000 as our bare minimum !!!

******Just to reiterate, I am in a nice scheduling season now. Once we get even close to schools letting out for the summer, life will change in ONE DAY. If you need O2 SWIMMING, reach out ASAP.

****** And last, keep in mind that we do rent out the pool alone - no coaching. $20/hour swim until you can’t !!

SwimStrong. SwimSilent.

Ken Holland
Head Coach
O2 SWIMMING
Doylestown, PA
267-994-0568 | www.o2swimming.net | www.o2nutrition.net

APRIL 2015 Newsletter

Dear Swimmers and Triathletes:

I hope everyone had a nice holiday; as we got both Easter and Passover out of the way on the same weekend - a new world order? It is closing in on 70F as I write the April Newsletter and about time too. This has been a long winter, but…..IronMan Lake Placid is only 111 days away !! Yes, it is time. It is ALWAYS time, kids :-)

My thoughts are that most of my TRI kids are a little behind due to weather, but ahead from the extra swimming when cycling and running were less available? April is a bit of a lull for swimmers too, with only some doing long course season is the shorty pool at CB South. So, in the interest of combining both subsets, we have a mutual theme this month:

Streamline ~

If we go all the way back to my first session with you, no doubt you will remember my “4 LAWS” of swimming. Just to refresh:
1) Balance
2) Active Streamline
3) Weight Shift
4) Traction

The main reason I am focusing on streamline this month is because I see so little awareness or respect for it…. Not good. My proof for the equation of streamline being worth MORE THAN power is that most of my under 12 girls can beat nearly all of my triathletes in the water. Sorry kids, just the hard cold facts. How, when the adult triathlete is SO STRONG, can a little 10+ year old swim so fast? STREAMLINE !!

What is streamline?

Very simply = your ability to swim through the smallest hole in the water, essentially, your shoulders.

Why are we so bad at streamline?

Very simple = humans have parts having off that aquatic animals do not have and we are oriented vertically.

What O2 sees that can help you?

1) Swimming long tightens the body profile, assisting streamline
2) Rolling the HIPS towards the air instead of your head and/or shoulders synergies the front and back ends to follow ONE line (stream….line !)
3) Use the walls !!!! PLEASE use your walls. ****One of the biggest freebies that the kids give away is the simple ability of using the wall (a hard surface) to push off STRAIGHT AHEAD. I witness over and over again the tri kids rushing at the wall, coming off all crooked and taking half the pool to get straightened out again - only to hit the next wall and RE LEARN how to be out of streamline. People who do this lose their streamline almost immediately in open water because the body is so used to feeling out of streamline. This makes me crazy!! You should have every bell and whistle in your head go off any time you are out of streamline…. That little 10 year old has that one skill :-)
4) Streamline is easier.
5) Streamline is faster.
6) In your warm up, swim SLOWER and FEEL your relationship to the water… Any drag? ADJUST !!!!!

If my long course swimmer use the extra space between the walls to develop better streamline swimming skills, it will be a win.
If my triathletes SLOW DOWN early and develop more feel than trying to overpower the water, it will be a win.

Questions?

Maybe you would like to see an example:

Is there anything more important than your streamline this month?

Keep me posted on the O2 SWIMMING Facebook page - this one matters….

And finally, the BIG Announcement!!

O2 SWIMMING has another coach ~ Summer Holland :-)

Summer finished up her junior year season at CB East at the district meet at LaSalle and was immediately booked out 2 weeks with the younger generation. Summer’s services are called:

Summer’s Swimming School

As much as I told her kids HATE summer school, she developed her own program and name and is doing great! Her services are “in water” and she charges half of my rate. Summer has been coaching at Fanny Chapman for several years and the little fish lover her! If you have a young child who needs to learn how to swim or is in the early years of swim team (7-8), then this might be the best answer for you… References upon request.

Enjoy the day.

It is time…….!!!!

SwimStrong. SwimSilent.

Ken Holland
Head Coach
O2 SWIMMING
Doylestown, PA
267-994-0568 | www.o2swimming.net | www.o2nutrition.net

MARCH 2015 Newsletter

Dear Swimmers and Triathletes:

First off, I’m not shaving until the taper is over !!! It has been a swimming tradition for decades to shave down… I am with you! I said I would not shave till districts, but I always knew some of you would continue on to STATES… Love the program. Taper well….

This is as relevant for triathletes as it is for swimmers, so hang in there with me.

Taper:

The act of intelligent recovery by decreasing workload so that you will perform at an absolute peak on race day. Simple enough? But how do YOU taper? You do not taper like me….I am not in your age group (over 30/under 30?). Some simple thoughts on the process so that each of you achieves the maximum benefit from TAPER:

1) Let the taper work - do not overburden your body to “catch up”. The work is done, let the taper work now….
2) The older you are, the longer the taper needs to be, but the better it works. Older kids have more mileage and more muscle to rest.
3) Some of taper should be RACEY !!! ***most of taper needs to be long/easy/loose….
4) Nutrition and rest are a huge part of taper - do you have a plan?
5) Taper is different for each individual. Even amongst 17 year old boys, each one needs a little special handling to squeeze the most of of taper for them… YOU must be involved, no coach knows everything…. ***Wake up call maybe? (I mean for the athlete, not the coaches)
6) Engage your BRAIN during taper. Read the water. Feedback is important now, as you have slowed up a bit…. I will never forget after M Phelps won everything at US Trails heading into Bejing where the world fully expected him to dominate; where he was interviewed and told Rowdy Gaines that HE HAD A LOT OF WORK TO DO…. Really? Modest? NO! But most people thought he meant workLOAD. He meant technique. Michael was feeling bad things that needed to be dialed in BEFORE the big stage. He knew he was solid, but not fully ready. He began to use every day of his taper to BE PERFECT. Nothing less. Winning takes commitment. Brain power added to a tuned body is awesome. When you witness a fully loaded animal peaking in a sport ~ it is legendary.
Now I ask you - ARE YOU READY?

This month, I also want to show you a video of a kid who WANTS TO WIN. This boy from Pedie School in NJ takes this 100 yard breaststroke race out as hard as anyone ever could:

Reese Whitley getting beat for 99/100 yards of breaststroke at Easterns - NB the turns from the Pedie Swimmer:

http://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/news/reece-whitley-breaks-25-year-old-meet-record-100-breast-eastern-interscholastic-championships/

No doubt Reese is an amazing kid, but look at the other swimmer continue to ATTACK for ALL 100 yards! He was ready. No one could ask more…..

So, whether you are still swimming or done, heading into long course or resting, or ramping up the swim leg of your tri training - get your head in the game NOW!

To my triathletes, you will not taper well if you do not train enough to benefit if you are light on workload. I have coached in several venues already this year and seen plenty of “light” swim sets. It is March and racing begins as early as April in some venues… The winter weather is deplorable, but inside, the pools are beautiful :-)

I am committing to a minimum of 10,000 yards a week now in my 3 workouts. I want more 12,000s than 10’s, so I really jump on mondays. Today is wednesday, I have 4,000 + 4,000 so far this week….can’t wait to kick friday over the top at 12,000 ! I am “banking” hours while the weather has kept my bike indoors. It will pay me back. I am already beginning to gain speed again. Sets closer to 1:20 pace than 1:30 pace are happening, and the work feels so good !! Enjoy your time in the water.
We will set the clocks ahead this weekend.
This crazy weather will end very soon.
Commit now.

As a final point this month, O2 SWIMMING is very proud to officially be affiliated with 360Run.org. David Pajer (head coach) is every bit as committed to the RUN and O2 is to the SWIM. Both of us share many common traits:
- long history in the sport
- still very active and competitive
- LOVE what we do
- thoroughly researched plan to deliver objectives to each athlete we touch
- personal interactions that make YOU the priority

So, if you need the level of help that I give each of you in the RUNNING area, we now have a superior option. Reach out for David through his website: www.run360.org And tell him I sent you - he is one of the good guys !

Keep me posted as you swim JOs and STATES next week kids ~ O2 loves it when you blow up his phone on the weekends with tales of glory…. NOTHING MAKES ME HAPPIER tun your success !

SwimStrong. SwimSilent.

Ken Holland
Head Coach
O2 SWIMMING
Doylestown, PA
267-994-0568 | www.o2swimming.net | www.o2nutrition.net

FEB 2015 Newsletter

Dear Swimmers and Triathletes:

I am a little late this month, but it is 8F now and plenty is still going on around here - in the water !! All swimmers are preparing for championship meets, districts, states, zones, etc and we are working with each one on strategy/game plan. Swimming is certainly not all physical….


O2 has been swimming a little more recently; mostly because I can’t get out on the bike (ice, not temperature) and no one likes a cranky O2!! The problem is that my shoulders are a little tenuous as I get in that 4th, and 5th day - and many are here in the Endless Torture Chamber we all know and love :) I have renewed my time with the ancient practice of yoga in hopes that I will continue to avoid any serious strains beyond my attitude. Yoga is a 5,000 year old “sport” that I can advise if by nothing more than the longevity of this near religious doctrine. If you are over 30, you owe it to yourself to give it a try. There are many teachers and guide books out there - all you have to do is “show up” and try something,,,,

My theme for this month is two-fold: Starting & Finishing !

Starting: the act of engaging in an activity.
1) How do you START a stroke?
2) How do you START your training?
3) How do you START the race?
4) How do you START each practice?

Finishing: of or pertaining to completing an event.
1) How do you FINISH a hard set?
2) How do you FINISH a race?
3) What have you learned from finishing that will help you START again?

Complicated? Can be… Swimming is a sport, but it is also supposed to be FUN - don’t lose sight of that aspect. A lucky man enjoys both his work and his sport - I am truly lucky :-)

Some O2 thoughts on STARTING……
- it is a mental game as much as a physical game
- it is never too late to start
- box jump training helps explode starts off the block
- some people should start in a more appropriate place in open water races
- the morning is a great time to start
- you only have to start again if you ended once

Some O2 thoughts on FINISHING…..
- it is not over until you put hands on the wall
- one must practice finishing to do it well
- you must want to finish well
- the finish matters
- learn from your last finish

My thoughts this month as I coach is that I spend so much time on details that occur from wall to wall; I must not forget to prepare for the act of starting and the results of finishing. I have noticed at several high school meets that over half of the swimmers need work on their start and many don’t finish like they WANT TO WIN. Winning is beating an opponent, but it is also about beating the clock. Most of us know someone faster, but each time we lower the standard on our own clock - we are victorious.

Here is a good example of STARTING and FINISHING:

Watch lane 5 ~ youtube

See the explosion and the drive? EVERY practice needs to have a time like this where you get up and dance. Get out of your comfort zone. Get ugly and push it. Only then will you ever know just how fast you can START, how well you can swim, and how strongly you can FINISH.

Last and hopefully least, I have redone some of my lists on a new computer and may have either added you inadvertently or subtracted you by mistake… Sorry! Please reach back to me with any requests to reconcile the O2 SWIMMING monthly newsletter and I will be happy to make things right immediately !!

SwimStrong. SwimSilent.

Ken Holland
Head Coach
O2 SWIMMING
Doylestown, PA
267-994-0568 | www.o2swimming.net | www.o2nutrition.net

JAN 2015 Newsletter

Dear Swimmers and Triathletes:

As I swam friday (Jan 2nd) and today (Jan 5th), I am reminded of many things: how healthy swimming is, how therapeutic water can be, how heavy H2O can be if you have not played in it for a while, and how much of a lifelong journey it is to master the art of swimming! These are all good things and I am always excited to see new faces in the pool - if only for the first few weeks of any new year...

So, what do YOU have planned for 2015? Not talking about "resolutions", but simply, what do you want to accomplish and how can O2 SWIMMING help you get there?
Going under :60 for your 100 yard event?
Feeling solid after your 1500 start to your Olympic Tri?
Setting a PR for your next IronMan?
Making Districts? Zones?
Qualifying for JO's?

There are many swimmers in our ranks, each an inspiration in their own right. We can all continue to learn from each other. The only mistake will be showing up and doing the same things (stroke, workout, etc) and expecting a different result. We CAN improve... The question is always - DO YOU WANT TO?

My theme for this month is:
Do not swim the square ~

Although this is another variation on a theme I have addressed in past Newsletters, I am observing and thinking about it is a different way today. I have been really working on DRIVING my hand forward as I swim faster sets over the winter swim season. It is apparent that as I go faster, it takes more energy to drive far enough forward that I get a decent rotation. As I observe many swimmers, they "swim a square", meaning that they extend forward only to that all-too-comfortable spot in front that leaves their shoulders square (wide and not streamline to the coming force of the water). Stand up (yes right now!) and extend your right hand forward into your preferred swim position. Now leave that hand there (oh God, he is preaching catchup again :) and bring the other hand forward - comfortably. What do you notice? Yes, you just made a perfect square in front of you where you are shorter (by not extending into the stroke) and are giving maximum resistance to the water by virtue of a square versus and angle slopping water away.... As a fly fisherman, I see very few perfectly square edges on the rocks FACING the current. They all get worn into rounded edges by the water. Conversely, many trailing edges of the rock remain much more square due to lack of force pounding on them. YOU are no different than that rock in the middle of my stream !!! Now, repeat the exercise (yes, you must stand again....see, I give you multiple opportunities to exercise every day!), but this time extend the right hand/arm uncomfortably forward as you REACH OUT. Did you reach far enough that your HIP TURNED also? If not, you are still too square.

Imagine this relationship in the water EVERY stroke you take. What is you SPL? There is never a day we decline to monitor this, as it is always YOUR WAY to seek and monitor efficiency. As you develop more strength, reach further forward and negate the square. Be long in the water. Swim on your edges. Never be flat. Ever hear any of this before, maybe in different explanations of smooth flow and streamline? You now have yet another focal point to think about as you count laps in 2015. Keep in mind, ALL OF THIS directly relates to SPL which translates into efficiency, which makes one faster. The end !

FEEL this affect early in your day by really improving your catch up drill.

Notes for swimmers: You have all survived the massive yardage of the holidays. While the whole world is getting fat, you got lean! Most of you are in the best shape of your lives so far and ready to step up on the blocks and launch !! What can YOU do better? Work on it NOW, as the end of the season will come quickly as the meets take up your schedule.
- Starts as good as you can do? *****Watch your fastest teammates and learn
- Reaction time as fast as your competitors? ***You can practice box jumps at home. QUALITY, not quantity!!
- How do you take out the first length? ***Are you waiting to see what happens, or taking the race to them?
- Turns leave you solidly in the race, or are you catching up after every wall?
- Breakouts feel strong or weak? ****Come off the wall swinging for the fence !!
- Finishing like a champion? *****By now, I have counseled each of you on picking a spot in the pool where you can put your head down, stop breathing, and FINISH HARD! Sometimes, it is not who swims "better" but who finishes harder that wins the tough races...

Notes for triathletes: Jan 1 ALWAYS brings a renewed sense of competitiveness to the tri community. The weather will often not be nice - outside. It is ALWAYS nice inside!! We live in a world that the average man can join and indoor, heated pool and swim from 5am till 11pm most days.... Are you getting it in? NOW is the time to think through your race calendar and put the time in the water. I can help you, as most of the tri community focuses on "surviving " the swim and then buying gadgets for the bike.... All good, but there is no substitute for focused hard work and you have resources. My workouts are posted on Facebook every week - let them be your guide. You do not have to do them, but they give you a clear understanding of how a swim workout is structured. Follow my lead here. Reach out for me with questions. Although I try very hard to keep my hours focused on competitive swimmers this time of year, we can talk and still get you motivated. Keep the faith, the majority of the kids wind up in the next 6 weeks or so.... Until then, you should get started and regain some strength. Have questions.... Swimming is a very evolutionary sport.

Housekeeping ~ Thank you all for a great 2014 (again, busiest ever!), looking forward to lots of PRs in 2015! As some of you may have noticed, I am not the greatest on email.... Sorry. No excuses, but it is not likely to change. I am old and have too much technology sometimes:( PLEASE call or text me when you really want/need to find me. I am always here!! ***I do not get emails on my phone - it helps me keep sane and still deliver more energy to those standing in front of me.

If you have not joined O2 SWIMMING on Facebook, I would much appreciate you sharing in our community with your stories, pictures, highlights, etc. We have a truly amazing group that keeps inspiring not only each other, but me!

Last, the not so fun stuff: O2 SWIMMING had a price increase as we entered the new year. I will continue to provide the maximum value for your money by dedicating time with you one on one in the Endless Pool and my written follow up reports. I use video both of swimmers and professional examples, as well as my knowledge from the Olympic Swim Coaches Conference(s). O2 SWIMMING really is a unique place and several major companies have stepped up over the years to support us with TEAM DISCOUNTS (available links on my web page).

2015 Rates:

Single hour session: $58
Tri Pack : $148
Pairs Coaching Package: $240
Pool time: $20/hour for distance swimming practice
O2 SWIMMING also has Summer Holland available for younger children to get them ready and legal for swim team and a 50% discount to my prices. She has no written follow ups, but gets in the water with each student. She has limited availability during her high school swim season (Nov - March).

SwimStrong. SwimSilent.

Ken Holland
Head Coach
O2 SWIMMING
Doylestown, PA
267-994-0568 | www.o2swimming.net | www.o2nutrition.net