Author Archives: Eric Neilsen

Dryland training: Freestyle Catch on Vasa Ergometer

Posted on February 4th, 2013 by

There are many drills to work on the freestyle catch and thru trial and error you will find the best ones for your current functional ROM in the shoulders and level of fitness. The Vasa Ergometer http://vasatrainer.com/ is a great tool for this. Set the Damper Door setting on Level 1 and practice the freestyle pull pattern slowly, focusing on the setting your catch about shoulder width. A good visual cue for this is the pulley's that the paddles run through on each side of the Erg. This may help with your arms crossing over center as well by having an entry point about shoulder width. Keep a firm wrist, fingertips pointing at the floor and a straight line from finger tips to elbow. This needs to occur before applying power and fully engaging your lats. You will notice my heading moves side to side and I find doing this form time to time helps me stay focused setting my "catch" because I am watching my hands/forearms before starting the pull.  




 Two additional drills to try:
1) you can isolate arms by doing a single arm drill leaving the non-pulling arm in the extended/forward position.





2) pulling both arms at the same time think butterfly pull or pulling yourself out of the pool. Plus, you can set up the Erg monitor to view/measure your power (Watts) for each arm. 


To transfer to the pool, I have found a very simple drill I got from Marc Evans works great, single arm swimming using a kick board. With your head out of the water, start stroking with one arm while the other arm is fully extended on top of the kick board. This lets you first see the entry point width, before you set the catch and then pull. Trying doing a 25 (1/2 of each arm) then swim a 50 to reinforce the drill. Repeat this sequence 4-6 times as part of warm up or integrate into main set. 
Good Luck! 

Just Try

Posted on January 21st, 2013 by

This past summer, the world turned its attention to the Games of the XXX Olympiad. Across the London area, athletes from all over the globe turned in amazing performances, captivating us with their skill, determination and sportsmanship.  People gathered all over the world in front of TV’s, computers, some even tuning in by radio to catch the latest news and cheer for their countrymen.  Was there a moment during the Olympics that inspired you to train a little harder, set a goal for an up coming event or try a new sport?  Maybe some of you were inspired to just start exercising.  Come to think of it, life is like a triathlon.

Now, by definition triathlon is “an athletic contest comprising three consecutive events, usually swimming, bicycling, and distance running”.  What if we looked at it from a slightly different perspective and called it a try-athlon.  Would that help take some of the fear out of it?  What is it that prevents people from getting out of their comfort zone and trying something new? 
I believe the answer is very simple.  The fear of failure is what stops most people from not only trying something new, but from leading the life they were meant to live.

This fear of failure paralyzes us from reaching our full potential as athletes, and experiencing some of life’s greatest moments.  We see this in sports all the time, but also in many aspects of daily life: work, school, and relationships to name a few, where fear prevents us from trying.  What are we afraid of?   Are we too worried about what others may think or say?  Too vain as to how we might look in spandex? Being the slowest in a training group or last in race?  Look clumsy or awkward when first learning a new skill? I guarantee you, the Olympians we watched had plenty of awkward moments when they first started off.

What’s that old saying, “If at first you don’t succeed, try again”.  The Front Range here in Colorado is an athlete’s playground with so many things to choose from. So, find a sport you like and just get out there and do it.  Life is far to short to be spending your free time doing a sport you don’t like. Give it your best shot and jump in with both feet and embrace the new challenge.  The only person you have to answer to at the end of the day is you so, do what makes you thrive.

The athletes we had the opportunity to watch during the Olympics failed on more than one occasion to reach the level excellence they are now at.  One of the reasons they are champions, regardless of their final outcome is that they have learned from these failures along the long journey to London.  It’s better to fail trying, than to not try at all.  Failing can be artistically beneficial and when we allow ourselves to become vulnerable by putting fear aside, we often times achieve the greatest growth.