We are diving back into exercising through the pandemic! With public pools and local beaches still closed across Los Angeles and much of the rest of the country, we are sharing other ways you can benefit from regular aerobic exercise without access to a pool. Our hearts are always in the water, but quarantine is causing us to get creative. 

We started with an old favorite that requires no extra equipment – a brisk walk outside. Now let’s talk cycling. Don’t be intimidated by the thought of spandex or thousand dollar bikes! You can get the benefits of cycling without all the frills.

First, let’s review the benefits of aerobic exercise, whether it be walking, swimming, or cycling.

Benefits of Aerobic Exercise

Physical and mental benefits: There are many physical and mental benefits to be had from moderate-intensity aerobic exercise. These include, but are not limited to the following.

• Increased cardio efficiency (physical benefits) 
• Improved muscle performance, both in flexibility and strength
• Reduced levels of depression, anxiety, and stress. (Source)
• An overall reduction in body fat levels.
• And finally, an improvement in sleep. For many Americans, sleep problems have a crippling effect on their quality of life, as well as physical and mental health. But studies show that moderate aerobic exercise can counteract that effect. (Source).

Benefits of Cycling

So what are the specific benefits of cycling, on top of all that we’ve listed above? As far as the physical benefits, it’s another low impact exercise like swimming. (Not quite as low impact as swimming, and not recommended if you have a condition that affects your balance, but close.) Additionally, cycling can result in both increased joint mobility and improved coordination and posture. Not to mention, cycling is easy! No one is asking you to be Lance Armstrong here, just hop on a bike (with a helmet of course) and start pedaling. Depending on location and route, it’s quite simple to vary the intensity of your workout to adjust to your skill and fitness level. And finally, it’s also easily incorporated into a daily routine when you live in a city where cycling can replace commuting. 

The American College of Sports Medicine quantifies moderate aerobic exercise as 20-60 minutes 3-5 times a week. Don’t let lockdown keep you down. Whether you are fortunate enough to swim in a private pool, you are circling the neighborhood on foot, or masked up and cycling to get groceries; the important thing is to be moving! 

Stay tuned for more at-home ways to stay fit and stay quarantined.

Molly Huggins

Molly is a member of our creative team, mom of four water-loving babies, and a fierce advocate for CPR training and really early swim instruction.

The post Cycling Through Quarantine appeared first on One with the Water.

In the Speedo commercial, they say, “Even if you can’t swim, you can do this.” That’s probably true, and the fact that they’re mixing these dryland exercises with the water accomplishes several positive things:

• Creates a unique resistance on the movements,
• Changes the pull of gravity on your body and the toy, giving you a different perspective,
• Keeps your body cooler while working out, which is better for your body, as it burns more calories than any hot-room workout (hot yoga = heat exhaustion) that just makes you sweat, and
• Puts you into a medium that makes you “happier, healthier, and more connected…”

Ah ha! More connected and better at what you do, as Dr. Nichols would say. And in fact, my cousin, world-renowned coach and founder of Starting Strength, Mark Rippetoe, says the same thing about barbell training, well at least the part about being “better at what you do.”

The fact is, being stronger will make you better at doing literally everything. I don’t recommend doing it underwater for many reasons, finding a facility would be very difficult, and although we hold our breath while lifting, being under water would make it more difficult to do the repetitions properly with a breath after each lift, thereby ineffectively administering your program. It just makes it annoying after being entertaining for a few weeks.

One of my barbell strength clients commented to me just a few weeks after starting, “Hey, my briefcase feels lighter and I didn’t decrease the contents.” That’s how it starts. You get under the bar and within a few weeks it’s easier to walk, stand, sit, and carry your plate to the table. It’s easier to bend down to get that dessert off the bottom shelf of the refrigerator. I workout just so I can eat dessert.

Strength is not the only benefit of Barbell Training

There’s a hint of spirituality about being under the barbell and under water. After taking a few months off from my personal barbell training, I started back last week and realized that being under the bar requires more than just the right equipment. It requires, more than anything besides prayer and meditation, complete concentration and presence. When lifting a barbell, whether it be any one of the 5 exercises associated with the Starting Strength Barbell program: Squat, Press, Bench Press, Deadlift, and Power Clean, you have to fully concentrate on the lift while doing it. Concentration is required to perform a technically-correct and safe lift.

“The Starting Strength System makes use of the body’s most basic movement patterns – barbell exercises that involve all of the body’s muscle mass – utilized over the longest effective range of motion and loaded progressively, to force the adaptations necessary for increased strength.”

In addition to the concentration, much like meditation, you also have to control your breathing. In barbell training, the breath control valsalva manoeuvre is used to keep a rigid spine and apply pressure inside your body. That form of breath is the exact same used to achieve a level of subconscious meditation and if done properly, is held for a few seconds just like in barbell training. And this same breath technique is used while swimming! When swimming, you should be holding your abdominal muscles tight in order to produce power in your stroke. This is the number one skill new swimmers have to be taught because most people had no idea that was happening. Just take a look at the bodies of the Olympic athletes – their abs are very well defined and this is why! When we take a deep breath our sacrum slightly flexes backwards. (Becoming Supernatural, by Dr. Joe Dispenza. Page 126). This is another reason that when lifting we have to consciously reverse that effect, while holding your breath. Additionally, “your isometric contraction around the spine is what locks the back rigid and aligns it with the pelvis. This is what protects the spine, not a vertical back angle.”

“When done correctly, the squat is the only exercise in the weight room that trains the recruitment of the entire posterior chain in a way that is progressively improvable.”

In order to produce a more effective mediation, it might be said that one should also train with barbells, just to reach your full potential.

You can find the only expert source on squatting mechanics at StartingStrength.

What it Means to be One with the Water

Swimming is more than just a fitness activity or sport. Swimming is also a spiritual experience. When I am swimming, it is meditation as well as exercise. I completely shut off my thoughts and the outside world and I become one with the water by focusing inward. Yes, in the dream I had of myself swimming in the ocean as a dolphin, the dolphin as part of the wave being one with the water, that is how I came up with our name and logo; the movements of my arms and legs are secondary activities, like a natural instinct, one that I can observe myself doing. This level of meditation, where you observe yourself swimming, happens to me a lot when I am in the pool. My first experience was in college, at a U.S. national qualifying meet, while I was swimming the 100 backstroke. After the start, as I flew through the air, I felt like my spirit left my body and I watched myself swim the race. And I qualified for nationals! It was very surreal, having this experience, and a memory that I hope to never forget.

Swimming and barbell training are the two best physical exercises to help you become consciously aware of your body and self. And the recovery period is great for keeping you grounded in the present. For those of you that have “restarted” your program, you know what I mean.

In the words of a dear friend and colleague, Erik Hochstein, medal winner for the 1988 West Germany Olympic team in the 4×200 FR,

“If you want to swim fast, just swim. Oh, and do weights.” Erik Hochstein

I have twice completed the Starting Strength barbell training seminar and I currently practice and coach swimmers and lifters in Los Angeles, California. I have private clients for both barbell training and swimming.

Kenneth Rippetoe

Kenneth is a Life-time member of the American Swimming Coaches Association and holds certifications as a Level 4 Disability Coach & Level 3 USA Swimming as well as US Masters Coach. Coaching since 1985, Kenneth specializes in Swimming, Strength and Conditioning coaching.

The post Weight to Weightlessness with Barbell Training appeared first on One with the Water.

The Olympics this year were so inspiring to watch, despite the fiasco of the swimmers – Mr. Ryan Lochte! As we were watching the athletes, it became quite obvious that not all were properly trained and conditioned. This is so important for not only competition, but also for living a healthy life.

My favorite programs to teach and train are a combination of Starting Strength barbell training and the Invincible Athletes programs. Both are decades-old established programs that provide qualitative results, no matter your body type, size or shape. Before starting any training program, we like to start people’s training from the “inside-out.”

Here is our suggestion to proper condition yourself for living a healthy lifestyle:

DAY 1: Walk for only 5-10 minutes breathing only through your nose. Please count the number of steps/strides you take as you inhale and the number of steps it takes for you to exhale. It might only be a total of 3 – 5 steps in the beginning, per breath cycle. The goal is to work up to walking longer time periods (30 minutes to an hour) AND using 1 breath for 18 strides. That’s about nine strides during your inhale and nine to 10 strides for the exhale. Does this make sense? This is the quickest way to proper conditioning for your heart and lungs.

DAY 2: Repeat Day 1 exercise, 2 times in a day.
DAY 3 – DAY 7: Repeat Day 2
DAY 8: Repeat Day 1 exercise, 3 times a day. (3 x 10 minutes = Only 30 minutes)
DAY 9 – DAY 15: Repeat Day 8
DAY 16: Increase the 10 minutes to 20 minutes, 1 time only.
DAY 17: Walk 2 x a day at 20 minutes only.
DAY 18 – Day 25: Repeat day 17.
DAY 26 – Day 30: Walk 2 times a day at 30 minutes each.
DAY 31 – Rest of your life: Walk as much, as far you and as fast as you want, maintaining the 18:1 breathing pattern!

The really important factor here is that you maintain the breathing pattern through the nose, never the mouth, and to only add SMALL increments of time in order to increase your breathing and cardio conditioning. Take it slowly to reach that goal of 18 strides per breath cycle. You can do it!

When you reach the 18 strides per breath, depending on your motivation to achieve even greater levels of conditioning, we recommend that you start to pick up the pace and implement jogging, or running into the routine, but only if you are able to maintain the 18-breath cycle. This is where you’re really going to achieve nirvana in your workouts and that natural high that people allude to.  You’ll notice a huge difference in your resting heart rate as well as your working-out heart rate. It will be much lower than what you’re used to. And that’s the secret to living a long and healthy life!

The really important factor here is that you maintain the breathing pattern through the nose, never the mouth, and to only add SMALL increments of time in order to increase your breathing and cardio conditioning. Take it slowly to reach that goal of 18 strides per breath cycle. You can do it!

Please remember, 

• $180 a month provides a child access to the life-changing swim team preparing them for high school and college!
• $275 a month teaches a special needs child the lifesaving skill of swimming.
• $5000 provides education and credentialing for our coaches.
• $10,000 provides six months of pool access.

Donate now and be a hero in the life of a child.

Kenny

Kenny is a baby Bottlenose dolphin, of the genus Tursiops, one of the most common and well-known members of the family Delphinidae, the family of oceanic dolphin. He is very playful and friendly and loves to frequently leap above the water surface. Kenny plays with water toys, enjoys making bubble rings, and plays well with other dolphins or other animals.

The post Conditioning for Life appeared first on One with the Water.

It’s easy to look at their accomplishments and think, “Oh I could never do that.” It’s easy to discount our abilities, to never start because the end goal is so far away. But every journey has a clear, sometimes very humble beginning. (Remember Coach Kenneth’s first swim lesson!) We call it five-meter targets in our house – we set our goals in increments. Take five small steps on the way to 140 miles. Or the top of the mountain, or the weight to lose, or whatever your Ironman happens to be.

Open Water Swimming

At One with the Water, we want to give you the confidence to take the first step. (Or stroke!) For some of you, it may be an actual triathlon. The swimming leg of a triathlon is often the most difficult and challenging leg for triathletes. Our open water swimming program in Los Angeles focuses on proper swim technique, breath training and endurance conditioning in the open water environment. And finally, our specialized open water swim program gets you comfortable swimming in the open water and will help you feel more confident in the swimming leg of a triathlon race.

Open water swimming is rapidly increasing in popularity, not just in conjunction with triathlons, but as a sport in its own right. Open water swimming comes with all the same benefits of regular swimming. Increased endurance, increased muscle tone and strength, improved cardiovascular fitness, increased flexibility, weight control, and stress relief, to name a few. Plus, swimming in open water offers increased resistance when swimming in currents, is easier on skin and hair then harsh chlorine, and for many, it is mentally and physically refreshing to experience the changing environments. Whatever your reason, we can get you outdoors and in the water!

Start Your Journey

Maybe your first step isn’t toward the finish line, but towards conquering fear. Or anxiety. Or a healthier, happier whole self. Regardless, we have a program that is right for you. Let Coach Kenneth, Kenny the dolphin, his special friends, and our skilled staff of professional coaches help you to become one with the water.

Contribute

Want to help others start their journey? Want to help us make a child’s life better? Partner with us today to teach economically disadvantaged children, special needs children, and Service-Disabled Veterans to become One with the Water! Be a hero today! When you donate now, you can help reduce the risk of drowning for children by up to 88%! Be a hero and help us save the life of a child.

Kenny

Kenny is a baby Bottlenose dolphin, of the genus Tursiops, one of the most common and well-known members of the family Delphinidae, the family of oceanic dolphin. He is very playful and friendly and loves to frequently leap above the water surface. Kenny plays with water toys, enjoys making bubble rings, and plays well with other dolphins or other animals.

The post Open Water Swimming: Take The First Step appeared first on One with the Water.

After completing the article I felt compelled to immediately offer another option to the Swimmer readers and all USMS members. Offering a supplement to the current Physical Therapy education, Coach Mark Rippetoe has developed a method for training ordinary people helping them to gain extraordinary strength – what he has named Starting Strength. Coach Mark Rippetoe’s Starting Strength program “makes use of the body’s most basic movement patterns – barbell exercises that involve all the body’s muscle mass – utilized over the longest effective range of motion and loaded progressively, to force the adaptations necessary for increased strength. Unlike other popular exercise protocols, Starting Strength is a training system – a long-term process designed for getting stronger over time, not a random collection of exercises that just make you hot, sweaty, sore, confused, and tired today.”

Should you Lift Weights Before or After Swimming?

As most young swimmers do multiple workouts in a day, I think this would be considered a luxury for Masters swimmers. But if you do have the time, and you have not allowed yourself sufficient  recovery time, then your “second workout will be negatively affected by the first, assuming the first workout is more than a light warm-up.” Given enough recovery time, that typically is not the case with the proper coaching and strength training program.

It has been my experience, since 1982, decades as a competitive swimmer, coach and swim instructor, as well as a current candidate for the Starting Strength Coaching Certification, and of course a practitioner of the Starting Strength method, that lifting before a workout, with about an hour break before swimming, is enough time to recover and still have a very high quality swimming workout. Several swimmers here at One with the Water are doing the same program as I am, and we all feel refreshed and empowered after a Starting Strength barbell training workout. And if you’re like we are, then you will most likely swim faster than you did the previous swimming workout.

With the training regime of lifting and then swimming in the same day, but lifting with the Starting Strength Program, and then spending the next day building your muscle which you can only do by recovering, you will most certainly be refreshed to swim faster in your next workout. Ideally you would lift a minimum of two to three times per week (45 minutes to an hour per session) and swim at least three times per week. Allan offers a suggestion of swimming in the morning and then lifting during your lunch break or after work. That should be sufficient time to recover, however, I imagine that if your job is anything like my former j-o-b-s, then you might be too fatigued to hit your reps after swimming that day. But give it a try and let me know how it goes.

You will feel as though you are planting your hand and pulling yourself through the water as if it were a stationary object in space and you are in zero gravity.

If you do separate your workouts by more than an hour, I suggest that you digest something with high protein content, or if you’re waiting more than an hour, then you should ‘protein-up’ with a smoothie or large chunk of something, like a gallon of 2% milk. If you feel like your performance is impaired after lifting, then my guess is that you are doing the wrong kind of lifting. If you follow the Starting Strength method, then your feel for the water is going to improve immensely! You will feel as though you are planting your hand and pulling yourself through the water as if it were a stationary object in space and you are in zero gravity.

Intensity and Challenging Workouts

There is not much to say on this because if you are not adding weight progressively, because you are participating in a class such as yoga, pilates, crossfit, or something similar, then you most likely are wasting your time and energy. I know that the yoga fans are going to say something about flexibility, but strength training increases flexibility even better. If you are not able to add weight progressively in your current strength training program, and therefore not getting any stronger, then you are not doing the right program or you are not following the program. This same paragraph touches on striking a balance by having a “moderate session in the gym” so that your arms don’t feel like jelly. Frankly, a moderate-session-in-the-gym is an oxy-moron. If you are following the best strength training program, you will not be isolating your arms or body regions, and so your arms will never feel like jelly. If you are not adding weight progressively, then why are you even at the gym in the first place? You probably should have stayed home and spent an extra day recovering.

The last paragraph, I can live with and so I leave it to you. Go figure out what your seasonal body-type is and the best time for you to workout and get after it! After all, isn’t the goal of any dryland workout to help us to swim faster and more efficient?

About the Author: Coach Kenneth Rippetoe is a certified USMS Coach Level II, and Disability Coach Level III. He has been coaching and teaching swimming since 1993. He is a Texas-born and bred swimmer. He holds 14 USMS Top-Ten national swims and broke a FINA Masters World Record in 2009.

Kenny

Kenny is a baby Bottlenose dolphin, of the genus Tursiops, one of the most common and well-known members of the family Delphinidae, the family of oceanic dolphin. He is very playful and friendly and loves to frequently leap above the water surface. Kenny plays with water toys, enjoys making bubble rings, and plays well with other dolphins or other animals.

The post Should you Lift Weights Before or After Swimming? appeared first on One with the Water.

In addition to eight coached ocean swims (including one night swim) the camp includes a lesson in working with a support paddler, and discussions on training, nutrition, acclimation, and planning. For an additional fee, participants may also elect to have Mallory create a custom training plan for them or schedule a one-on-one advanced stroke correction session.

The dates for the clinic are April 24-27, 2014.

Cost of the camp is $1,250 for registration received on or before February 15^th. For registrations received after February 15^th, the cost of the camp is $1,500. These prices are for coaching services only and do not include accommodations, food, or transportation, with the exception being the trip to Palos Verdes/Naples.

Please contact Mallory to reserve your spot. Registration is capped at 8 participants. Additional sessions may be added upon demand.

Mallory Mead
424-672-0076
mallory@OneWithTheWater.org

About Mallory

With 17 years of open water swimming experience under her belt, Mallory is considered to be one of the foremost experts in the sport of open water swimming. In 2010, Mallory became the 39th person in the world and one of the youngest to complete the “Triple Crown” of open water swimming. In fact, Mallory completed her first marathon swim, the Manhattan Island Marathon Swim, when she was a green 18 year old. Hailing from Northern Indiana, Mallory now resides in Los Angeles, California where she is a full-time swimmer competing in the FINA Grand Prix, professional marathon swims over 10km. She also works in marketing for Malibu C, a US-based manufacturer of skin and hair care products, where she manages the company’s line of products for swimmers. She volunteers as an observer for the Catalina Channel Swimming Federation and jokes that she had been to Catalina Island a dozen or so times before she finally set foot on the island for longer than a minute. In addition, Mallory teaches open water clinics both locally and nationally where she works with aspiring open water swimmers and triathletes. For more about Mallory, visit www.mallorymead.com.

Accommodations

There are various hotels located within a short drive to Manhattan Beach Pier, some even within walking distance:

(Highly Recommended)
Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham Manhattan Beach/LAX Airport
1817 North Sepulveda Boulevard, Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
(310) 546-8942
hawthorn.com

Shade Hotel
1221 North Valley Drive, Manhattan Beach, CA 90266-4778
(310) 546-4995
(310) 546-4985 (Fax)
shadehotel.com

Sea View Inn At the Beach
3400 Highland Avenue, Manhattan Beach, CA 90266-3341
(310) 421-8344
(866) 483-4875

The Belamar Hotel
3501 N Sepulveda Blvd, Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
(310) 750-0300
larkspurhotels.com

Manhattan Beach Marriott
1400 Parkview Avenue, Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
(310) 546-7511
(310) 939-1486 (Fax)
marriott.com

What to Bring:

Swimsuits, goggles, (MUST have a pair of clear goggles for night swim), brightly colored swim caps (silicone caps are warmer – see the One with the Water Team Gear), 3 glowsticks, warm clothes (i.e. sweats, hats, gloves, warm socks, boots, etc), body glide/vaseline/grease, notebook, and water bottle/thermos. Nutrition that you plan on using during your swim or that you would like to experiment with.

Manhattan Beach Channel Swimming Clinic by One with the Water

Itinerary

Thursday, April 24th
First Ocean Swim (Introduction to Ocean Swimming), Meet and Greet Lunch, Ocean Swim

Friday, April 25th
Ocean Swim, Nutrition and Cold Acclimation Discussion, Ocean Swim

Saturday, April 26th
Ocean Swim, Training Programs Discussion, Optional Advanced Stroke Correction or One-On-One Training Program, Night Time Ocean Swim

Sunday, April 27th
Ocean Swim at Palos Verdes, Discussion on Planning a Channel Swim, Kayak Support Training, Recap

 Manhattan Beach Channel Swimming
Clinic 2013 Participants and Coaches

2013 Channel Clinic alums went on to swim END-Wet, Manhattan Island Marathon Swim, Long Island Sound, Catalina Channel, and the Swim Around Key West later that year. In addition to learning the necessary skills to be successful, our alums forged lasting friendships and are even planning to serve as crew members for one another in 2014.

“I want to thank you both again for the Channel Clinic. It was alot of information to absorb in such a short time, but after just having completed my longest swim (by double),with a kayaker, preparing my feeds, feed bag/rope, and informing the kayaker of how I wanted him to assist me- I always found myself relying on the information/advice you both gave me. SAKW was my first attempt to see if I am able to do the longer distances, with an eye towards Catalina. There was absolutely no way I could have done as well as I did in completing the swim without your Clinic. I reviewed my notes from your talks and arrived at the swim much more prepared than had I gone it alone. I felt that I had ‘a tiny bit of your experience and excellence’ backing me, and it certainly gave me a boost of confidence. ” – Gregg

Kenny

Kenny is a baby Bottlenose dolphin, of the genus Tursiops, one of the most common and well-known members of the family Delphinidae, the family of oceanic dolphin. He is very playful and friendly and loves to frequently leap above the water surface. Kenny plays with water toys, enjoys making bubble rings, and plays well with other dolphins or other animals.

The post Manhattan Beach Open Water Channel Swimming Clinic appeared first on One with the Water.

“In every weight room in all the countries of the world since the dawn of training with weights, the single biggest distraction from the actual task at hand has been abs. Or rather, an obsession with/ misunderstanding of the biomechanical role of/misunderstanding of the way to train abs. More people, including me, have wasted more time/incurred more injuries doing/gotten very little out of training the damn things than anything in the whole training repertoire except biceps. Some of the things I’m about to say will be met with a lot of disagreement by conventional wisdom exercise-science types and PTs, as well as virtually everybody that trains for appearance. I don’t care – I have to get this off my chest (Atonement? A guilty conscience for having trained lots of people incorrectly? An attempt to come to grips with years of having been wrong?) and perhaps in the process I can be of use to some of you.

First, by “abs”, I mean the muscles that surround the abdomen. I don’t just mean the rectus abdominis, the group in the front that everybody identifies with the term “six-pack” (that I never use), the most graphic visual evidence of both low bodyfat in most people and our remote connection to phylum anellida through its evident septa that separate the muscle into repeated segments. I refer to abs when everybody else refers to “the core” because I insist on being difficult, contrary, disagreeable and out of step with the infomercial people. This is the way I learned it, and I see no compelling reason to update. So in this article “abs” means the rectus, the internal and external obliques running across the lateral aspect of the abdomen, the transversalis (or transversus abdominis), and the muscles of the floor of the abdominal cavity.

Second, the abs stabilize the spine, meaning that they maintain stable if not rigid intervertebral relationships under compressive or shear (moment) loading – that is their primary physical function in a biped. We have been placed under the impression that the primary role of the abs is display to other humans in either courtship ritual or as a means of evoking envy, and this temporary cultural bias has not proven useful to many of us.

Stabilizing the spine is an extremely important thing to do when working or training… Mark Rippetoe

Stabilizing the spine is an extremely important thing to do when working or training, since the force generated by the muscles that extend the hips and knees is usually transferred to the external environment through the arms and hands (in the case of the squat the bar is supported by the trunk itself ), which means that the spine is the bridge connecting the force-producing musculature to the task to which it is being applied.” By Mark Rippetoe

Download the full 5 pages here:

At One with the Water, we focus on providing quality swimming lessons for kids and adults, with quality service. As part of our training to provide swimming lessons, we continually research the latest techniques and studies on the best and latest techniques to conduct fitness activities safely. We want to share our findings with you. Our research helps us to provide safe and effective swimming lessons to you and your child.

Kenny

Kenny is a baby Bottlenose dolphin, of the genus Tursiops, one of the most common and well-known members of the family Delphinidae, the family of oceanic dolphin. He is very playful and friendly and loves to frequently leap above the water surface. Kenny plays with water toys, enjoys making bubble rings, and plays well with other dolphins or other animals.

The post Strengthening Your Abs – By Starting Strength appeared first on One with the Water.

Most athletes cross-train during their “off season” while others cross-train all year long. With spinning becoming such a popular activity and exercise, we want to share with our members and followers the following article and information regarding spinning. A certified Mad Dogg Athletics, Inc., Spinning© Instructor and seasoned triathlon competitor, has submitted the following article to help you get the most out of your cross-training with cycling and spinning.

Cycling Tips For A Better Workout

You never forget how to ride a bike. But a few pointers can help you get more out of your workout. Olympian Alison Dunlap, who runs mountain-bike skills clinics in Utah and Colorado, offers these tips for elevating your ride to the next level.

PEDAL SMOOTHLY

Your goal: Cycle in fluid circles rather than jamming down on the pedals. With the ball of your foot on the pedal, push down, then pull your foot through the bottom of the stroke, then pull up and back around. Aim for about 90 rpm (to calculate rpm, count how many times your right knee comes up in 60 seconds). “A faster cadence works your cardiovascular system and doesn’t tire your muscles as quickly as slower, low-gear pedaling does,” says Dunlap. Your speed will naturally slow on hills and quicken on descents. In a cycling class, your instructor may call out specific rpms, and some studio bikes will give you a computerized readout. Though you don’t need cycling shoes, they help transfer power into your pedals while keeping your feet from fatiguing.

EYES ON THE PRIZE

Resist the urge to put your head down when you’re going hard or getting tired. It can slow your oxygen intake, tiring you out faster. (Not to mention it spells danger on the road.) Try breathing through your nose to control your heart rate and increase your cardiovascular endurance.

CORE PERFORMANCE

While your legs are busy pumping, keep your upper body still-don’t rock side to side, especially while climbing. Always maintain a flat back and keep your elbows bent and relaxed (it helps absorb shock when you hit a bump). Hold your arms in line with your body, not out to the side. Keeping your upper body relaxed will reduce strain on your lower back.

TAKE A SEAT

Your weight should feel evenly distributed, with 60 percent on the saddle (seat) and 40 percent on the handlebar. The saddle height should be positioned so there’s a slight bend in your knee when your foot is at the bottom of a stroke. Most of all, you should be comfortable. Your best bet? Get a professional bike fit at a shop.

GET UP

Sitting is the most efficient way to ride–you can use up to 10 percent more energy when you’re out of the saddle. But sometimes, like on a monster hill, you need extra power. When you stand, all of your body weight pushes down on the pedals, giving each stroke more oomph. If you stand, shift into a harder gear so your legs don’t circle too quickly, rise up, and keep your butt over the seat.

STOP SMART

“Brake smoothly and evenly, lightly squeezing and releasing the brakes to control your speed rather than grabbing fistfuls at once,” says Dunlap. About 75 percent of your stopping power comes from the front brake (left-hand side). But squeezing that one too hard can send you over the handlebar. Keep in mind that when you hit the brakes, your bike slows but your body keeps going forward, making it harder to steer. Shift your weight back to maintain better control.

Footnotes:
For more tips and training advice, please email us: Swim at OneWithTheWater.org.
WomensHealthMag.com. Last updated: March 8, 2013 Issue date: October 2011 © 2013 Rodale Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Kenny

Kenny is a baby Bottlenose dolphin, of the genus Tursiops, one of the most common and well-known members of the family Delphinidae, the family of oceanic dolphin. He is very playful and friendly and loves to frequently leap above the water surface. Kenny plays with water toys, enjoys making bubble rings, and plays well with other dolphins or other animals.

The post Cross Training With Spinning for Swimming appeared first on One with the Water.

It has come to our attention, by watching many professional and amateur athletes, that they are not properly conditioned for their workouts. So, starting today, we’re going to help the world become a conditioned body.

Before starting any training program, especially for those over the age of 16, we like to start people’s training from the “inside-out.”

Here is our suggestion:

DAY 1 – TODAY: Walk for only 5-10 minutes breathing only through your nose. Please count the number of steps/strides you take as you inhale and the number of steps it takes for you to exhale. It might only be a total of 3 – 5 steps in the beginning, per breath cycle. The goal is to work up to walking longer time periods (30 minutes to an hour) AND using 1 breath for 18 strides. That’s about nine strides during your inhale and nine to 10 strides for the exhale. Does this make sense? This is the quickest way to proper conditioning for your heart and lungs.

DAY 2: Repeat Day 1 exercise, 2 times in a day.
DAY 3 – DAY 7: Repeat Day 2
DAY 8: Repeat Day 1 exercise, 3 times a day. (3 x 10 minutes = Only 30 minutes)
DAY 9 – DAY 15: Repeat Day 8
DAY 16: Increase the 10 minutes to 20 minutes, 1 time only.
DAY 17: Walk 2 x a day at 20 minutes only.
DAY 18 – Day 25: Repeat day 17.
DAY 26 – Day 30: Walk 2 times a day at 30 minutes each.
DAY 31 – Rest of your life: Walk as much and as far you would like, as long as you are breathing in the pattern established on Day 1!

The really important factor here is that you maintain the breathing pattern through the nose, never the mouth, and to only add SMALL increments of time in order to increase your breathing and cardio conditioning. Take it slowly to reach that goal of 18 strides per breath cycle. You can do it!

Kenny

Kenny is a baby Bottlenose dolphin, of the genus Tursiops, one of the most common and well-known members of the family Delphinidae, the family of oceanic dolphin. He is very playful and friendly and loves to frequently leap above the water surface. Kenny plays with water toys, enjoys making bubble rings, and plays well with other dolphins or other animals.

The post Proper Cardio-Pulmonary Conditioning For Swimming appeared first on One with the Water.

At One with the Water®, we teach freestyle that is efficient as well as strong, fluid and fast. It can take anywhere from six months to a year to change your old swimming habits into a more efficient stroke. It will feel very strange to your body and muscles.

The power in swimming and particularly freestyle comes from your core and your hips. For correct hip rotation, think about rotating from your thighs. Using your core

(a) provides forward movement
(b) gives you momentum for the over-water arm recovery, and
(c) allows for the rotation of your body through/around the pivot point of your down stroking arm.

Using the above, it is imperative that one arm remain ahead of you reaching with hard hands to the other side of the pool, with slightly downward fingers. This is important because it guides you and supports you on the “barrel” as it is most often called. The “barrel” is often the word used to describe your “catch or purchase” of the water, in which you move your body past that catch point.

The arm doing the pulling (as you breath to the opposite side), gets its strength from your latisimus dorsi muscles. This should feel like you are climbing out of the pool with arms wide, like a pull-up with your forearms flat on the pool deck. This is tricky to get at first, but it is much more powerful than moving the arm with small muscles of the shoulders. There is a lot of power that comes from the hand sweeping in toward the centre line. We can teach you some sculling drills to help you find this powerful sweep.

Your core muscles are the largest group of muscles in your body and should be used the most so that you can save your arms and legs for the cycling and marathon run.

For the open-water swimming events, we recommend only occasionally lifting the head for sighting, and in conjunction with a breath. The rest of the time one should be swimming and breathing by rolling onto your side, maintaining the barrel hold.

Grants and donations to One with the Water® pay exclusively for pool space, insurance, and instruction for kids and families with limited financial means. During California’s budget crisis, many schools lack the financial resources, personnel and facilities to provide athletic programs or physical therapy for children with special needs. One with the Water® aims to fill that need, with specially-trained instructors and a nimble, low-overhead, non-profit model of operation.

Tax-deductible donations through the “Pay-It-Forward” scholarship program of One with the Water®, a 501(c)(3), can be made at the organization’s website: OneWithTheWater.org

Kenny

Kenny is a baby Bottlenose dolphin, of the genus Tursiops, one of the most common and well-known members of the family Delphinidae, the family of oceanic dolphin. He is very playful and friendly and loves to frequently leap above the water surface. Kenny plays with water toys, enjoys making bubble rings, and plays well with other dolphins or other animals.

The post Off-Season Swimming – Strengthen Your “Core” Skills appeared first on One with the Water.