My first ever swim lesson

So I was talking to my chiropractor Dr D last week and he mentioned that the man he had just seen was a swim coach...and then he said, hey maybe you should get his number. He charges a ridiculous low amount for 3 one hour swim lessons. Guess what? I did call him, and I had my first lesson last night. It was great. I was able to improve my stroke (or should I say completely rework it) in less than an hour just by doing a few drills that I have done before but never knew what they were for. Ill let him summarize the lesson for you...this is the email follow-up he sent me.

"Kelly

Very glad to get you in the program last night - thank you for coming! The Endless Pool is THE BEST teaching/training aid available and I think I have a pretty good system now.... Sorry I lost track of the early start time and kept you for an hour and a half!!!!!

Going forward, I will relate everything to my 4 LAWS of swimming. Please learn them, as they are it !

1) BALANCE - with it, you are literally sunk! You are starting from struggle OR you are like my stick....resting gently on the surface of the water. We took great pains to find YOUR balance point last night. YOU balance perfectly when your hands are fully extended directly in front of each shoulder joint and about 5" deep. Right now, nothing else really matters. Find that spot. Swim slowly and easily into and through THAT SPOT. It is YOUR balance position and therefor, mission critical. It is law #1 for a reason!!!!!!

2) ACTIVE STREAMLINE - the ability to swim through the smallest hole in the water. As I said, if I could levitate you and draw a nice oval around you, you need to be swimming through that hole - nothing sticking out... My current will make you painfully aware when anything breaks this streamline... Learn to love streamline - you will do FAR LESS work.

3) WEIGHT SHIFT - your ability to control gravity as you rotate around a central core...more later (don't worry).

4) TRACTION - the ability to HOLD the water so you can manipulate it. We discussed an open and relaxed hand.... That is it - open and relaxed!!

Going forward, please keep track of your SPL (strokes per length) 3 times in every practice (beginning, middle, and end). Your number should stay constant and not vary by more than 1 (2 max) strokes from start to finish. If you are deteriorating, refer to LAWS #1-4 !

You presented to me as a good and fluid swimmer, but we can help.... Initially, you reach very high out of the water and your hands travel in unrestricted places ! We will be reaching DIRECTLY from the rear of the stroke to the front - 5" deep and off the shoulder joint. Your legs split due to your subconscious feeling some instability - that will resolve as we fix the front. ***This is why you are faster with a pool buoy....your legs stay tucked behind you in streamline !!! The head rises and moves around too much on your breath and the left arm dives across your mid line over to the right side.... It does not track well at all ( yet !!).

We discussed and practiced "catch-up" drill where you are learning to swim OVER YOUR ANCHORED HAND. This is core (powerful) swimming, as opposed to arm cycling... You did this well and need to practice a drill / swim set each time you get in the water. Always be a notch slower while warming up and while learning. Keep your legs tighter in the back ----- Big Boat. Big Motor. small propeller !!!!

I gave you a -20% FINIS coaches discount card that is good forever.... Here is a list of things I like - you do not need any of them yet, but it is for reference:

1) Freestyle Snorkel - allows you to take breathing out of the equation so you can fully concentrate on stroke mechanics. This is the #1 device in the Olympic Training Village !!!

2) Alignment kickboard - makes kick = stroke

3) Zoomer IIs - the best fin for a triathlete... makes your legs long and the right degree of kick power

4) FINGER paddles - allows you to develop a feel for the "catch" phase or traction in the stroke - **MY personal favorite !!!

5) SWIMMITTS - designed by me and available at my house and at The Training Zone

Please watch and save the video below. This will be your best guide going forward and can answer just about every question you will ever have. Watch. Learn. Repeat.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJpFVvho0o4
**Best swimming demo video ever !!!

Always feel the water. Allow IT to teach you. If it feels good - it is !!! If it feels bad - it is bad !!!

SwimStrong. SwimSilent."

ps, I ordered everything he said, since I definitely plan to keep swimming for a long time no matter how injured I am and I want to improve as much as possible...it feels so good and definitely zens me out. I also ordered a waterproof mp3 player to make my swim time a little more exciting so Ill let you know what I think when I get it. Im definitely a gadget whore...