Coach Dan’s useful swim vid clips from You Tube:

I am I have put togethera couple of links here that I want you all to check out. Some of these are better than others, but all are worth a looksee here.

Sculling (the theme of our last few clinics):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GiM-t6nGehA

Butterfly:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=zmiyhPop6GI

Breaststroke (it gets good at the 3:00 mark):
http://youtube.com/watch?v=T2YN3irK1N8

Backstroke (short but slow mo underwater of Olympians):
http://youtube.com/watch?v=vNghL7scVZ4

Freestyle:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=CIzBaSiWdRA

Kicking (Dave Scott hosts):
http://youtube.com/watch?v=2OsfFjdnzGc

Probably the most helpful videos will be the Freestyle and Breaststroke.

Coach Dan

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Coach Dan’s detailed Santa Clarita race report:

I woke up this morning at 7:00 am. A bowl of cereal and I was out the door with directions in hand by 7:20. Driving up Golden Valley road I would have almost guessed that I made a wrong turn based on the scenery. I felt like I was in the middle of nowhere. Tentatively, I continued on and sure enough found the Santa Clarita Aquatic Centre. I staked out a team area and took a seat as I awaited the arrival of our mile swimmers, Shawn and Sea Monster. Sea Monster was the first to arrive. After we talked for a few minutes, he got in and began his warm up. Shortly thereafter, Shawn and his wife Ashley showed up. With about 15 minutes left before the first heat took off, Shawn warmed up. The officials blew the whistle, everyone cleared the pool and Sea Monster was up. First heat, first race. Sea Monster was entered into the mile with a time of 40 minutes. This time put him in the first heat with two ladies who were more than twice his age. (85 an 89 year old ladies swimming the mile?!) Holding 2 minute miles for the majority of the race, he blew away his entry time and finished his mile in 32:07:00 minutes. A personal best for the monster. However, it should be noted that the 89 year old lady that swam next to sea monster finished her mile in 34 minutes! Sea Monster congratulated the women and got his picture taken with them after the race (picture link at bottom of page - keep reading before you look!)

The four of us were hanging out in the team area waiting for the second heat of milers to finish when riding in on her cyclic chariot came the goddess Diva Tracy. Diva Tracy biked to the meet from Northridge at 8:00 am just to cheer on her team! Graced by her presence, we greeted the Diva with hugs and smiles as she put down her wheels and helmet and joined us on the sidelines.

Shawn was in the third and fastest heat of mile swimmers. Shawn came hot out of the gate and took his first hundred out in a 1:07:75 and gradually leveled out to holding 1:20:00 hundreds by the 5th hundred of the race. Shawn swam the race exactly how you want to swim a mile. Took it out hard, leveled out at a strong pace, held that pace for the next 1,000 yards and then kicked it up into a higher gear for the last two hundred and brought it home sprinting. Shawn’s final time was 21.41.00. A great swim from Mr. Saints! (BIG thanks to Ashley for helping with lap counting!).

By the time Shawn’s race was over Chris and Bob were poolside with our new swimmers David and Sarah. David, Sarah, Bob and I all got in and began our warm-up. While swimming, I kept popping my head up looking to see our swimmers coming in the entrance. Kelsey was the next to arrive. We all got in a full warm up session before the race whistle blew.

Our first event was the 100 fly. Sarah and I were entered to swim. Sarah, a former distance flyer, had not done a full 100 fly in 10 years but was mentally prepared to lay it down today. Courageously, she dove in as the starter box beeped. Her stroke stayed together the entire race and she finished her 100 with a time of 1:35:00. PVM swimmers and supporters cheered with joy and many with a hint of admiration. I was up next to swim. The second heat went by and I anxiously awaited my race behind the block. The started told us to “hold tight” for a few minutes which I thought wasn’t the best wording to use at a swim meet, but regardless I waited. And waited. And waited. After about 5 minutes of standing around in my swim suit I put my parka back on. A couple more minutes passed and they called me up to the block. The beep went off and so did my body from the block. I sprung out over the water, felt my hands meet over my head, and entered the water like a torpedo. I attempted to use a strong underwater kick to save my arms, but when the 4th lap came around I was severely feeling the affects of not having trained for the last month or so. I fought through extreme muscular fatigue and touched the last wall with a time of 1:01.65. A good time for me, beating my entry time of 1:02:00.

The 200 free was up next and Bob and Kelsey were there to represent. Bob was first to swim. His first meet back from a recovering shoulder injury, Bob threw down a studly time of 2.27.07. Kelsey was next up. Swimming in her first meet as a Porter Valley Master, Kelsey dominated the women’s circuit. With entry times faster than every other woman there, she found herself amongst stiff male competition (the competition, not the males). As anticipated, she held her own amongst the pack and pulled off a blazing time of 2.02.60.

Immediately following the 200 free our team size doubled! William, Erin, Caitlin, and Megan, Dave M, and family members showed up. Dave M, like Diva Tracy, rode his bike up from Northridge. A supporter in the meet we were happy to see Miller join the gang. William, an unexpected participant in the meet, deck entered and got himself into the meet. The Werner girls came to the meet dressed to the nines (plus they just came from a confirmation ceremony). They quickly changed into swimming garb. David was our first 50 free participant. David, as mentioned, is one of our newest additions to the team. An accountant by day, David has been pushing himself hard to become a better swimmer in his off time (he even quit smoking!). Often coming to twice a day practices, he is certainly one of our fastest up and coming Tritons, err, swordfi, ahh, whatever. He had never swam competitively in his life and had just learned how to do flip-turns and dive off starting blocks the few days prior to the meet! He swam the 50 free exactly the way you are supposed to; firing on all cylinders. He set a new personal best time of 00:36:82 seconds. Caitlin was next to swim. Not having any warm up time, she was scheduled to swim the 50 free. Having missed her 200 free she was bound and determined to get her meet going. She and Bob were in the same heat but were 4 lanes apart. Caitlin dove in the water for the first time that day and cranked out her 50 in 29.53 seconds, barely getting out-touched by Bob. So great to see PVM dominate a heat like that! 1-2 baby! William, also a newbie to the competitive swimming world (outside of triathlons) threw down a 00:29:65 in his 50 free and Kelsey a 00:25:66.

Next up to swim was Shawn in the supposed 400 free. When he signed on for it the race was a 400 yard free, however, at the meet they explained that the event was “intended” to be a 500 free… Shawn was a good sport about it and didn’t jump out after his 400 like I jokingly suggested he do, and swam a good race holding 100 splits averaging about 1:15’s. His final time in the event was 6.13.38.

Sarah, our lone 100 back-stroker nervously awaited her event as a crowd gathered at the end of her lane. The Werner girls, David, Kelsey, Tracy, Mike and I grouped up and prepared for cheering. The starting beep sounded and Sarah took off. As she made her turn and pushed off the wall we all held up our arms, jumped up and down, and screamed at the top of our lungs. I think it sounded something like Gooooo Saraaaagghh! but honestly I have no clue. We repeated this procedure on her third wall and helped her to bring home her 100 back in 1.28.93! Sweet race!

Our next event was the 50 fly. This event showcased the skills of Erin, Megan, and Kelsey. Erin , a former high school 100 flyer looking to get back to her old ways was pumped about her first Masters event. She swam a rock solid 50 fly keeping her technique sound for both laps. Her time, and new personal best since coming back to swimming, was a 00:35:04. Megan, not to be outdone by her elder sibling, posted a 00:34.00. Kelsey, a trained freestyle sprinter recently branching into the fly circuit came strong with it and swam a 00:29:30 earning a first in her age group.

Our next and most populated event of the night was the 100 free. Swimming this event was William, David, Bob, Kelsey, Erin, Caitlin, and Myself. David, again as a first for himself, competed in the first flight. David swam his fastest 100 free ever with a time of 1.27.48. William, also competing in his first masters meet threw down a 1:10:43. Erin and Caitlin posted 1:09:09 and 1:07:09 respectively. Kelsey and I took blue ribbons in our hundreds with times of 00:53:90 and 00:55:52 respectively. The story of the day, however, belongs to Mr. Bob. Bob, and ex-high school swimmer and team jokester stepped up on the blocks to swim the 100 free with a clear view ahead of him. But the day was overcast?! What made the view so clear was that Bob forgot to put on his goggles! Immediately looking down to make sure he had remembered to wear a suit he stood reassured. Upon realizing he was not standing there naked, Bob refocused and got his head in the game. After all was said and done, Bob touched the last wall only to find that he had crushed his previous masters 100 times. He went a 1:03:22 beating the majority of his heat including two of our youngest swimmers! Way to go Bob!

The last individual event that we were entered in was the 100 IM. Kelsey and Megan swam the event and recorded times of 1:06:45 and 1:19:30 respectively. Following the IM we waited through what felt like hours of 200 backstroke to get to our relay. The relay consisted of four sisters. Well, three sisters and there foreign exchange sister… The relay was Kelsey on backstroke, Erin - breast, Megan - fly, and Caitlin - free. After a long days work at the pool, all four girls swam great and contributed to a final time of 2:23:88.

The meet wrapped up, we all packed up our stuff, and we called it a day. There were tons of pictures taken from today and thanks to our tech wizard Sea Monster you all can check them out right now!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/portervalleymasters/sets/72157604303794490/

Anyone who has swum before knows what it is like to have muscles quit. Muscular fatigue feels miserable in the pool. Your stroke shortens, you catch less water, and as a result you lose efficiency and speed. Maintaining good form over the long run requires that your muscles can endure for the duration. Engaging in weight training will improve your muscular strength and endurance. This in turn will improve your ability to hold your form and lower your times. So, with all of the possible options, which exercises should you do?

Well, what muscles are used in swimming? Just about all of them. However, I am going to give you specific exercises for the main muscle groups. Legs, chest, back, arms, and of course CORE. Core consists of your rectis abdominus (6-pack region), obliques (side abs), and lower back.

As a note, it is important to mention that getting into weight training should be a gradual process. Start light and easy and work your way up as weeks progress. A general guideline would be doing 1 set of 15 reps on each of the following exercises for the first two times to the gym. For the next two or three visits, up it to 2 sets of 15 reps. After about 4 or 5 times to the gym finally get up to 3 sets of 15 reps. Workouts should be completed 2 to 3 times a week giving yourself at least a days break in-between.

Without further ado, here are Dr. Dan’s prescribed exercises:

LEGS

Leg Press (Easy to moderate difficulty level) — Primarily works quadriceps and glutes

Squats (Difficult – proper form is a MUST) — Primarily works quads, hamstrings and glutes

Leg Extension (Moderate difficulty) — Primarily works quads

Leg Curls (Moderate difficulty) — Primarily works hamstrings

CHEST

Chest Press (Easy to moderate difficulty) OR Bench Press (Difficult – having a spotter HIGHLY recommended) — Primarily works pectorals

Pec Deck / Butterfly Machine (Easy to moderate difficulty) — Primarily works inner chest muscles

BACK

Lat Pulldown (Easy to moderate difficulty) – Primarily works latissimus dorsi muscles (high outer back muscles)

Seated Row (Easy to moderate difficulty) – Primarily works rhomboids (inner / upper back muscles and lat muscles)

Bent over rows [Using free-weights] (Moderate difficulty) – primarily works lat muscles

ARMS (biceps/triceps/deltoids)

Bicep curls [Using free weights] (Easy to moderate difficulty)

Tricep pulldowns / extensions [Using free weights or pulldown rope] (Easy to moderate difficulty)

Front raises [Using free weights] (Easy to moderate difficulty) – Primarily works front deltoid (front of shoulder) muscle

Lateral Raises [Free weights] (Moderate difficulty) – Primarily works side deltoid (shoulder)

Overhead press [Free weights] (Moderate difficulty) – Primarily works top deltoid (shoulder)

CORE

Crunches (try feet flat on floor, knees and feet up in air, and legs straight up in air as variations)

Side crunches – Lie on side, raise top leg and crunch upper body toward leg

Back crunches – Lie on stomach, extend arms out in front of you, raise arms and legs simultaneously (legs will rise by pushing hips into mat – squeeze those glutes for support!)

Swiss ball rotationals – hold a medium to small size swiss ball between your hands. Sit down with your knees bent and lean back (keeping your back straight) until your feet rise off the ground. You should be in a balanced position that requires your abs to be engaged. Once balanced turn your shoulders until the ball touches the ground next to you, immediately following touchdown turn your shoulders hard in the other direction until the ball touches the ground on the other side of you. Continue turning side to side rapidly touching the floor beside you with the ball each rotation. Shoot for 20 touches starting out. Then push it to 25, 30, 50 and beyond! THIS IS A GREAT AB EXERCISE FOR ANY SPORT THAT REQUIRES CORE TURNING – SWIMMING INCLUDED!

These are just a few examples of possible exercises that you can do. Ask me for others if you wish to do more or just to change up your program!

Best,

Dan Sigafoos
Head Coach
Porter Valley Masters

Goal setting is one of the best ways to get motivated and push your skill level to, well, the next level. Many people decide that they want to get better, but make their goals vague that there is no tangible way of ever achieving them. An example would be someone that would say, I want to get better at swimming in 2008. It is great this person wants more for himself or herself, but this type of goal is far too ambiguous. Good goal setting follows the S.M.A.R.T. principles (Acronyms are totally in right now, vague goals are so not)

Goals should be: S = Specific, M = Measurable, A = Attainable, R = Realistic, T = Timely.

A SPECIFIC way to get better at swimming in 2008 could be to dedicate to, for example, coming to 3 masters practices a week and going to the gym twice a week (assuming that you were doing less than this before of course…) This goal is also MEASURABLE. To determine if your goal would be measurable, ask questions such as, How much? How many? How will I know when it is accomplished?

To determine if your goal is ATTAINABLE ask yourself, Can I do it? You can attain just about any goal by setting up a step-by-step plan and establishing a time frame that allows you to progress through those steps. Goals that may seem lofty or out of reach will eventually move closer and become more attainable, not because your goals shrink, but because YOU grow and progress to match them.

To determine if your goal is REALISTIC ask yourself, Am I truly willing to do what it takes? High goals can very well be realistic. In fact, high goals are often better than low goals because low goals won’t give you much motivation. They are easy and therefore not all that exciting to go for. It is totally up to you how high the goal, but do not be afraid to shoot for goals beyond what you have achieved in the past. The past does not mean anything about what the potential is for the future!

Finally, set goals that you can achieve within a timeframe that will not be beyond the burnout threshold. An example would be if you wanted to do an Ironman Triathlon. If you are a beginner or in bad shape, this is a long-term goal that will take a substantial amount of time to prepare for. Without smaller steps and achievements along the way, you increase your risk of falling victim to the dreaded burnout. Short-term goals that lead up to your long-term goal will sustain your motivation and have the potential to build on it. A sprint triathlon might be a more timely, short-term goal for a newbie.

A final note:
When you list your goals and share them with other people you are building your self-image. You see yourself as worthy of these goals, and develop the traits and personality that allow you to possess them. Make your goals real by writing them on paper, sharing them with friends and you will likely gain support and admiration, which are great motivators for success!

- Coach Dan