While many of our swimmers have been competing on the triathlon and open water circuits, few have decided that the pool would be where they would showcase their abilities this summer.  As the lone representative for Porter Valley Masters, Justin made his and PVM’s presence known, by dominating the men’s 25-29 year-old category, at this weekend’s SPMA Long Course Regionals.  After two long, hot days in the pool, Justin walked away with 6 golds, 1 silver, and the overall 25-29 year-old title.  Large margins of victory came in the 50,100, and 200 backstroke.  A former Cal State-Northridge swimmer and school record setting backstroker, Justin impressed with his technique, and versatility, also capturing wins in the 50 butterfly, 100 freestyle, and 200 Individual Medley, with his silver coming in an off event, the 50 freestyle.

Although he comes from a strong swimming background, Justin gave credit for his performances to the workouts and overall atmosphere he has been a part of while at Porter Valley, and he looks forward to continued training and success while swimming at PVM.  Be sure to check out the meet pictures posted on flickr to get a visual recap of the meet.

Next up for Justin and all Porter Valley Masters will be the Mission Viejo meet on October 5.

Kelsey is extremely excited about the prospects for PVM; she already has written the first year’s workouts! (j/k - she’s only written six months’ worth… ) She is looking forward to expanding the team’s focus on open-water swimming and triathlons, as well as making an even bigger splash on the local Masters competition scene by attending more SPMA meets.Kelsey will be inheriting a program from Dan that has grown from a small handful of swimmers to around 50 athletes in less than a year. We are very much looking forward to the coming year on the training and competition calendar.

Click here for a bit of background on Kelsey

Click here for more pics…

Good Guys Always Wear White

It’s no surprise that the Folks In White swept to victory in the First
Annual and Best Yet KIDZ n’ Codgers Meet last Saturday at Rancho Simi Park in Simi Valley.

The White Team took an early lead in the running events (after a three-way tie in the opening cycling competition), and never looked back. Final scoring showed the Red Team in a strong second place, with Blue coming in a very close third.

Running events included the 4 x 400-meter relay, the 1600-meter (mile) run, the Egg Relay and the 100-meter dash. Very few pulled muscles were suffered among the Codgers (all things considered), while the KIDZ demonstrated admirable land-based locomotion skilz.

Competition then moved to the Rancho Simi 50-meter (truly Olympic-size) pool. One of the highlights of the swimming races (besides the chance to see Coach Dan with his shirt off - swooon) was the chance to see PORT’s Meghan Hawthorne, who is headed to the Olympic Trials in three weeks, take on the 800-meter freestyle.

A delightful, eclectic potluck followed, with culinary contributions
ranging from Doritos to marinated flank steak and pizza.

Looking forward to next year’s event. I can already hear the Blue Team members: REMATCH!!

Meghan will be swimming during the following dates:

Sunday, June 29
400 IM (4:52:57)

Tuesday, July 1
200 IM (2:19:51)

Be sure to tune-in to watch Meghan compete with our Country’s elite swimmers!

TV broadcast schedule

Schedule of events

2008 Olympic swim team trials info

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

__._,_.___

By Bob O.

Entered in only their 3rd swim meet ever, the newly named Tritons were feeling jubilant with the results after their powerful showing at the Santa Clarita Masters meet swum at the Santa Clarita Aquatic Centre on Saturday March 29th.

10 swimmers participated in a total of 22 individual events and one relay, taking home ten 1st place ribbons, five 2nd place ribbons and three 3rd place ribbons in the various age groups in which they competed. Scoring points in nearly every event they entered, Team Triton finished 8th out 28 competing teams in the combined division. The men also placed 8th out of 27 teams while the women placed 6th in a field of 17 teams.

(Porter Valley Tritons Masters Swim Team, Santa Clarita, March 29, 2008)

Kelsey and Dan had exceptionally fast times and showed the rest of the team what the results of a lifetime of swimming workouts can do for you.

Mike and Shawn competed in the longest event, the mile swim and Shawn even returned to the pool for the 2nd longest event the 500 Free. Obviously, our triathalon performers are getting primed for their race season.

William, Sarah, David, Caitlin, Megan, Erin and Bob made up the balance of the squads point scoring, most setting personal season best times along the way.

Click here for coach Dan’s detailed writeup of the event!

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/

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

PVM vs Pierce Masters meet 10 Feb 2008, originally uploaded by portervalleymasters.

In an unseasonably warm and balmy So Cal Sunday, the Porter Valley Masters’ women’s team emerged victorious in a friendly dual meet –their first with crosstown rival Southwest Aquatic Masters.

Under the direction of Coach Dan, PVM outscored SWAM 28-27.5 at the Pierce College pool in Woodland Hills. PVM’s men were bested 70-12 by SWAM’s large contingent.

PVM’s women’s scoring was led by Susan, who won the 200-yard individual medley and the 50 freestyle, while also finishing in the money in the 100 free. Teammate Amy, meanwhile, took first in the 500 freestyle and racked up points in the 200 free and 100 breaststroke. Tracy rounded out the women’s effort with her finishes in the 50 and 100 free and the 100 back.

In the men’s division, Coach Dan set the pace with his win in the 100 free. Greg, though, got the team’s all-around honors, as he scored in the 200 individual medley, the 100 breaststroke and the 100 butterfly. Billy threw down against some heavy competition. Don and Mike each scored as well, Don in the 500 free and Mike - returning to the pool after a long hiatus - in the 200 free. Terry, Bill and Bob also contributed to the PVM effort.

Special thanks to volunteers Dave and Coach Chris. Dave, for his support and timing efforts; Coach Chris for providing PVM members with helpful racing techniques (including racing starts, flip turns, streamline form,  and strategy).

Coach Dan said he plans to bring the team to more such dual meets in the next several weeks.