On The Water

For all of my friends who know or do not know me. My physical therapy is going well, a little slower than expected but we are moving forward, slowly and steadily. My right diaphragm is more or less restored and my pelvis is moved to its correct posture (read here: My chronic abdominal pain ). I will stop running for 45 days (oh-my-gosh! it sounds sooo long!) in order to let my abdominal and peripheral muscles recover from the chronic multiple injuries. In the meantime, I can swim (yeah!) and bike (yeah again!) and focus on restoring my ... posterior mediastinal expansion or back breathing. If you still don't get what I mean, check the video below...you will get the memo! It is almost like an advanced yoga "cat pose". It is really really difficult to do it right. But, it is worth the time. Most elite cyclists breath with their whole diaphragm and back resembling a turtle back...here you go my friends, start practicing! Or visit this awesome physical therapist who can...

For most of us, who did not grow up swimming, technique is the key to faster swimming times in the future. I learned to approach swimming with a long-term perspective, work systematically and be patient! I had been swimming a little for some years but I really started swimming three years ago. This is a picture from a swimming analysis video after my first competitive year. What do you see? My elbow enters the water first, my whole body is literally submerged in the water, and I am dragging myself with zero body rotation. BAD. This is a similar picture from a swimming analysis video today, two years later. Things that have changed: More body rotation, almost no elbow drop in the entry and pull stroke phase and high elbow in the recovery phase. Not good yet but certainly BETTER. Lots of things helped me improve. Things that have worked for me may not work for you but here are the four must-dos that improved my swimming technique: 1. LOTS of kick-sets!!! Especially s...