That’s A Wrap
And so draws to a close an historical summer in London. Not that London is short of historical but this summer has certainly been one for the books. London 2012; Some of the most competitive and entertaining Olympic swimming ever, both in the pool and to my surprise the Serpentine delivered an amazing event in the 10km open water. The support and noise at the Paralympics has been at least equal to the Olympics. For us part time swimmers we have had a plethora of swim events, many unfortunately were postponed or cancelled due to the wettest summer in the last century; how ironic that...
Swim Equipment Tips
Having the right equipment when swimming open water is so important; I am regularly giving tips to swimmers on what gear they should be using. At the end of the day it’s all about comfort and personal choice. If you are racing don’t save any new bit of kit for race day, test it in training first. If you are a recreational swimmer having good equipment can still make the difference between a good swim experience and a great one. No you don’t need to spend a fortune on gear. Here are my top tips: Seeing where you’re going is so important. All goggles have anti...
Swimming Faster
Before I delve into the heart of this story I feel it is important to give you some context. I am not an elite level athlete; in fact I left full time training behind in 2000 after a decade of early starts and ten swim sessions a week. These days I am a full time swim coach, a coach who swims for health, recreation, social, fun and the odd competition. One of my foundations of coaching principles is practicing what I preach. I know my training principles, the equipment I use and the techniques I employ all work because I practice and use them myself. My...
Open Water Swimming: The Basics
I have been back in New Zealand for three weeks now and have been busy with the start of the Open Water Fitness and Technique series at the amazing Pegasus Lake North Canterbury, 1 2 1 open water swim sessions, providing swim support at local triathlon events, planning coaching clinics and also maintaining my own open water swimming training with a little bit of competing thrown in for good measure. I have had plenty of opportunity to talk to swimmers from a wide level of experience and background and have been finding a common theme amongst those who are preparing for their first open water swim. These areas...
Fit&Abel On The Move
Christchurch born swim coach Dan Abel has returned to his home city in New Zealand for the Southern Hemisphere summer of 2011/2012 with his swim coaching company Fit&Abel Ltd. Dan is normally based in London and has a unique swim coaching specialisation of ensuring swimmers are comfortable and competent for open water swimming. ...
Cold Water Adaption
Years ago as a youngster I was a member of an outdoor swimming club, I still have not so pleasant memories of the early spring and the autumn; turning blue as I attempted my laps in the not so warm water. These memories put me off cold water swimming for many years. It was my interest in surfing that got me back into cold water and then an English Channel swim relay that finally brought me back to face those bad memories of childhood. Sure I am heavier now than I was as a youngster. Extra insulation certainly helps in the cold water. But I also...
Open H2O Swimming: Managing the Risk
Having just completed a month of nothing but open water swimming the topic is fresh in my mind. There are plenty of hazards out there; the obvious such as jellyfish, hypothermia, sharks, sea urchins, currents and tides, boats and jet ski traffic, pollution, wind and waves....
Calling All Swimmers
On 16 June I wrote about a journey back to New Zealand to support my dad who was diagnosed with prostate cancer. The brilliant news is following surgery he has been given the all clear. Only yesterday on the front page of the Daily Telegraph I noted an article on the dramatic increase of reported cancer in the UK. Part of this is actually good news as a proportion of the increase is attributed to better screening and earlier detection, unfortunately that does not account for all of the increase in cancer rates. Exercise and healthy living have always been and will continue to be one of our...
Open Water Swimming Technique
The best place to learn text book freestyle or crawl technique is in the pool. Open water swimming is much more than just simply following a line on the bottom which is why it is so exciting, whether you are just swimming for fitness or training for a triathlon or ironman the following tips may help you out in the open water. ...
Fit&Abel heads to the Greek Islands!
I am very excited to be teaming up with SwimTrek www.SwimTrek.com for the month of July, I will be guiding their Greek Cyclades tour over the next four weeks. For those who have been following my FitandAbel.com blogs you will have seen my passion for swimming runs deep. My swimming background was primarily pool based for many years. I still love the challenge and the speed of pool based competitions however, that black line on the bottom of the pool can get pretty tedious after 20, 40, 80, 120 laps and it is always great to swim in different locations, away from the line on the...