To Paddle or not to Paddle?
The Swimmer’s Ultimate Guide to Swim Paddles (This article was originally published in http://www.yourswimlog.com/ultimate-guide-swim-paddles/ and is published with the kind permission of Olivier, olivier@yourswimbook.com) Swim paddles are a staple in just about every swimmer’s training. Here is everything you need to know about making the most of this piece of equipment. “Fins and paddles!” coach called out. A chorus of smiles and cheers swiftly followed. Some things are totally universal in our sport, and one of them is the pleasure in getting to Mach-1 while wearing equipment that throws our swimming into hyper-drive. Paddles are one of those pieces of equipment that are found in just about every swim bag across the world,...
Touch or Tumble?
One of the things open swimmers love most about swimming open water is the ability to get lost in the continuous rhythm of the swim. This Zen like state is less likely to occur when we train in a pool. It is even less likely to occur when we train in a short course pool. *The term ‘Short course’ meaning 25M in length as opposed to long course which is 50M....
The Open H20 Swim Journey Continues
On Monday FitandAbels Dan Abel will head north to the UK for the Northern Hemisphere season; "It is time once again leave behind wonderful family and friends and to head north to visit many friends who have become like family....
The Performance Triangle
It is really important to remember in open water swimming that your performance is based on three core ‘foundations’. Athletes regularly fall into the trap of focussing purely on Fitness when there are most often equal or sometimes easier gains to be made in Technique and Open Water Skills. For any program we recommend you make sure that each side of the Performance Triangle ; Fitness, Open Water Skills, Technique are given specific and equal attention to ensure you achieve the best possible gains in your open water swimming....
Share the Love
As most of our readers will be aware we run RealSwim Adventures Cook Islands twice a year. The warm welcome with which we are treated from everyone we come into contact with in the Cook Islands makes it a place we simply love to return....
Swim Kit Additions
The Aquaflex goggle becomes available in New Zealand from July 2016.We think it fills the gap perfectly in Zoggs range of goggles that we recommend for our swimmers....
Action for Freshwater
Last month we attended a NZ Government Consultation evening in Christchurch hosted by The Hon Dr Nick Smith, Minister for the Environment. It was pleasing to hear him acknowledge that "Freshwater is New Zealands greatest natural resource"....
Chopper Swim Challenge
Some of Auckland’s based swimmers have taken on-board Olaf Adam’s idea to raise funds by swimming from Waiheke Island to Mechanics Bay (the rescue helicopter base). It is a cool 20km. While this may be a short stroll in the park for experienced open water swimmers like Dan Abel, it is a big ask and stretch for some of those that have signed up for the swim, which is scheduled for the 31st of March....
Zoggs
A big thanks to Zoggs for their support this season; sponsorship of the KPMG RealSwim race Series and FitandAbel swim coaching. Plenty of swimmers enjoyed the quality of their goggles not least FitandAbel’s Dan Abel using the goggles to good effect taking out First non wetsuit Epic Masters 2.5km / First in Age non wetsuit Ocean Swim 3.3km / First open teams division Wanaka Challenge 70.3 . Zoggs was also the goggle of preference in some of the NZ Big3 swims this season. Thanks Zoggs for making a great open water swim goggle – most preferred by F&A swimmers....
New Zealand’s Big3 On The Up?
Let us start with a short paragraph on NZ marathon swim background and history; The top three recognised marathon swims in NZ (The NZ triple crown) are the Cook Strait , Lake Taupo and Foveaux Strait. The Cook Strait is probably the most recognised and certainly the most conquered of the three swims. ...