The AGUA Masters intrasquad meet has been postponed until further notice. Thank you to those who participated in last week’s survey. I am grateful for your feedback, and while I am glad to hear so many of you are eager to race, I appreciate that we are still navigating trying times and thus, have made the decision to postpone.

 

For those who are itching to compete, I’m excited to note you are not alone. There has been a good amount of interest in some fun competition. That said, waiting for a more accessible vaccine seems like our best bet for keeping everybody healthy and safe. The tentative plan is to run a team event on or around Memorial Day Weekend. Stay tuned.

 

As we continue to rebuild from COVID-19, I’d like to assure all team members that my goal is to bring AGUA Masters to the next level through quality training, supplemental support for swimmer development, and a robust community filled with like-minded individuals.

Thanks again for your feedback, support, and interest. If you have questions, my door is always open. Please feel free to email me at [email protected].

If you are over the age of 35, you probably grew up being told by your coaches that in freestyle your hand should enter the water thumb and forefinger first, above your head, and pull underneath your body in an s-shape. Since then things have changed quite drastically.

Many of you reading this may be too young to know what the heck I'm talking about, but the rest of us suffer from old muscle memory from s-pull freestyle. Those affected often have what’s considered a crossover problem, usually indicated by sore shoulders at the end of a freestyle workout.

The crossover problem comes from improper hand entry, and it puts a lot of stress on the shoulders. Because we were trained to make sweeping s-pulls, our brains tell our arms to grab as much water as possible. This causes us to do a lot more work than is actually necessary. You can eliminate the crossover problem by taking the 11-train:

Imagine a straight line that divides your body in half, with two parallel lines running directly over each of your shoulders. These three parallel lines form a train track down the length of the pool. The center track contains the engine, guided by your head, while your legs power up and drive your body down the tracks. Each arm stays on its respective track, adding propulsive force to the kick. Seen from above, your arms held straight out would look like the number 11.

By jumping on and off these imaginary tracks with an s-pull, we exert more energy than we realize. That inefficiency can damage your body in the long run. When swimming freestyle, take the 11 train instead for your most efficient stroke yet.