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On DVD: Living Is Winning (2008) In the calm, cold water of Mirror Lake, the starting gun for Ironman Lake Placid is ready to fire. Andrew 'Drew' Johnston floats, waiting to battle competitors from all over the world as they swim over, under, and around each other on a quest to qualify for the Ford Ironman World Championship. But for Drew, a different struggle weighs heavily on his mind and in his heart. In 2004, a recurring leg injury forced his withdrawal with 10 miles left in this race, something he never imagined possible. This injury led to a frightening diagnosis of Leukemia (CML). One year later, after the oral chemo Gleevac put his disease in remission, Drew began competing at an elite level again, and winning. But he had unfinished business, and his emotional return to Lake Placid serves as the backbone of this film. Throughout the grueling 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and 26.2 mile run, Drew retells his inspirational life story. From his introduction to cycling and early struggles with triathlon to his diagnosis and successful comeback at the famous Ford Ironman World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Drew's story is one of strength, determination, love, family and friendship. Surprisingly funny interviews with family and friends provide more than the usual glimpse into the world of an elite athlete. And with every stroke, pedal, and step Drew takes, you not only root for him, you cheer for what he believes in - a nothing is impossible attitude and a day-to-day appreciation of life. Andrew Johnston overcomes the odds to challenge himself and to inspire others to live life to its fullest. He proves that our only limitations are the ones we set for ourselves. Written by Linda Burns and Jeff Keating.

Beginner's Guide to Swimming By Matt Bean, Men's Health   We're giving it to you straight: You're never going to swim like Michael Phelps. For starters, you're probably not 6'4''—and in the water, length means speed. Then there's your—by comparison —penguin like wing span. Phelps's span is 79 inches, and it propels him through the water like a nitro-fueled speedboat. And the 45 miles of practice he puts in a week? Great for him, but you have commitments.   Now, the good news: All of this had less to do with Phelps's six gold medals and three world records at the 2004 Olympics than one basic in-pool principle that anybody can learn: "The longer and more streamlined you can make your body, the faster you'll go," he says.   "It's that simple."   Phelps and swimming guru Terry Laughlin, president of the New York-based swimming think tank Total Immersion (totalimmersion.net), helped us put together a step-by-step guide to leaving your lane mates behind. If you're a beginner, our plan will keep you from flailing about like you're being attacked by piranhas. If you're a pro, we'll show you how to shave seconds without having to shave your knees.   We're focusing on the freestyle stroke here, not only because it provides a killer cardio workout, but also because it works the most muscles overall—building core strength and carving your V. And it shreds calories. Blows them right out of the water, in fact. Phelps is as thin as an Olsen twin, yet he eats 8,000 calories a day. His average breakfast: two egg-and-cheese sandwiches, a bowl of grits, a western omelet, French toast, and a stack of chocolate-chip pancakes ("for dessert," he says). Being 19 doesn't hurt, of course, but if Phelps can keep his abs well groomed despite eating enough for four, you should be able to make sizable strides with just a modest amount of effort.   Here's our seven-step plan for leaving everyone in your wake.   1. Swim tall. "Water is 1,000 times denser than air," says Laughlin. "So the single most important factor is to slip your body through the smallest hole in the water." Imagine a central axis extending from the top of your head to the opposite end of the pool. Rotate your body along this axis with each stroke, stretching your leading arm (the one reaching out front) as far forward as you can. Keep the muscles in your lower back and abs taut as you power through the water—doing so will keep the propulsion coming from both your arms and legs and stop your midsection from sagging like an old first-mate's belly.   2. Drop an anchor. Swimming with just your hands is like jumping with just your feet. Instead, grip the water with your entire forearm and hand, holding your forearm at a right angle to your upper arm and digging in like you're gathering sand with a shovel. Keep your hands broad, flat, and firm. You're not pushing your arm through the water as much as anchoring it and pulling your body over it.   3. Put yourself on heavy rotation. Each stroke begins with your leading arm having entered the water, and that side of your body—the low side—pointing almost at the bottom of the pool. The other side of your body—the high side—should be raised, with the arm that just finished its stroke getting ready to return to the water. Power is triggered when you drive down the high side of your body, Laughlin says, throwing your high-side arm forward along the central axis into the leading position and forcefully rotating your hips and torso. Meanwhile, your low-side arm becomes the pulling arm underwater, working with your rotating torso to provide acceleration.   4. Keep your head down. Freestylers used to hold their heads high. That forced the rest of the body to drop, turning it into a high-drag plow. "I look pretty much straight down at the bottom of the pool," says Phelps. Not only does this technique cut drag, it keeps your torso high, reducing strain on your neck and lower back.   5. Find your glide path. In the pool, fewer strokes is better. Your goal should be a high DPS—swim-speak for "distance per stroke." Elite swimmers like Phelps can easily traverse a 25-yard pool in seven strokes (each hand entry counts as a stroke). Try to keep yours below 20 by conserving momentum. Pull yourself over your anchor and continue to glide forward with one arm forward and the other back. "You'll travel farther and faster with your legs streamlined near your axis," says Laughlin. When you begin to slow, start the next stroke.   6. Drag your feet. "If you're a good kicker, you're a good swimmer," says Phelps. The secret is turning your feet into fins. Here again, leverage rules: Your legs should be taut, scissoring you through the water, while your feet remain flexible. This will help them snap at the downstroke of each kick, adding oomph and helping twist your torso along the central axis. If your feet don't flex well, buy a set of kicking fins (we like the Slim Fin, forcefin.com) to add flexibility.   7. Don't waste your breath. Gasping for air every time your head nears the surface is a great way to drown. Instead, make each breath count. Emphatically exhale the air from your lungs (all of it, not just 90 percent) before snagging a quick, full breath on the high side. Beginning swimmers need to breathe after each stroke, but as your endurance improves, try breathing on alternate sides—that is, after three strokes. It'll reduce the strain on your neck and shoulders that results from always breathing on the same side. Source: Men’s Health Yahoo Health This will be posted here thru 2016, refer to it as often as you like. 1.2 miles/2100 yards •Half Ironman-distance Swim = 1900m •Brain Work: 1900m swim as a steady, sustainable, non-stop effort. Your total time should go down as you get fitter; you might also find your time stays the same but you feel stronger at the end of the swim, an indicator of increased technique proficiency. Over time, add 100m to 300m to these swims until the full distance is covered. •Race Simulation: 1900m swim with varied efforts to simulate the early, mid, and late portions of the race. The first 50 strokes at a moderate to high level, the mid-portion at a moderate, sustainable level, and the closing section at a moderate to moderately higher level (not as fast as the first 50 strokes). At the end of this swim, check your heart rate; check it again at 30, 60, and 90 seconds. As you get fitter, heart rate should go down faster and/or your total swim time will get faster. •Technique Golf: Swim 10x 25m (or 50m) with: 15s-30s rest, count strokes for each length. Add stroke count and time n seconds. Aim to decrease total for each 25 (or 50) within a workout and over the weeks. •Sustainable Pace: The 50-50 workout. Divide the race distance into two parts (2x 950m). Swim segment at an easy to moderate effort, an effort that results in a time slower than segment two. Rest for 60s and check your heart rate at 0s, 20s, and 40s. If it is not going down, continue resting and re-checking every 20s until it starts to go down, then wait an additional 20s. Swim segment two at a moderate effort that results in a time faster than segment one. The pace for segment one should be consistent throughout that segment; the pace for segment two should be consistent throughout that segment. As you gain fitness, attempt to make the time (and pace) for each segment equal without slowing down the time for the second segment, then attempt to decrease the rest between segments. Don't try to do both at the same time, focus on increasing the pace for segment one first. Once the speed for segment one is about the same as segment two, you should be able to decrease rest between segments. Remember to use the heart rate check every 20s. •Hold a Pace: 10x 50m (or 10x 25m, 10x 75m, 10x 100m, 10x 150m, or 10x 200m; looking for a total time of about 20m), with 10s rest, at the fastest possible even pace. These should all be the same speed, with the goal of feeling like you might be able to do one or two more once you finish the set, but you could not do more. At the end of this swim, check your heart rate; check it again at 30s, 60s, and 90s. As you get fitter, heart rate should go down faster and/or your total swim time will get faster. •Count-down: swim 1900m as a 550, 450, 350, 250, 150, 100, 50; rest 10s to 20s between each segment. Aim to go faster as the segments get shorter. Over time, aim to decrease total swim time. •Hard-Easy-Hard: All of the repeats in this set should be the same distance. Swim 4x 25m at a fast, almost un-sustainable speed (or 4x 50, 4x 75, 4x 100, 4x 125, or 4x 150; looking for a total time of about 9-10 minutes for the 4 swims including rest), 2x 25m very easy focusing on technique (or 4x 50, 4x 75, 4x 100, 4x 125, or 4x 150; looking for a total time of about 6 minutes), and 4x 25m at a fast, almost un-sustainable speed (or 4x 50, 4x 75, 4x 100, 4x 125, or 4x 150; again looking for a total time of about 9-10 minutes) all on 20s-30s rest. At the end of this set, check your heart rate; check it again at 30s, 60s, and 90s. As you get fitter, your fast times should get faster, your speed fall-off between repeats will decrease, and your heart rate should go down faster. How often, and how fast, should you swim these workouts? Click here to read the the specifics on swimming speeds and the frequncy of doing these swim workout sets. Source: Swimplan.com 2.4 miles/4200 yards •Ironman-distance Swim = 3800m •Brain Work: 3800m swim as a steady, sustainable, non-stop effort. Your total time should go down as you get fitter; you might also find your time stays the same but you feel stronger at the end of the swim, an indicator of increased technique proficiency. Initially, non-stop efforts of shorter distances should be preformed. Over time, add 100m to 300m to these swims until the full distance is covered. •Race Simulation: 3800m swim with varied efforts to simulate the early, mid, and late portions of the race. The first 50 strokes at a moderate to high level, the mid-portion at a moderate, sustainable level, and the closing section at a moderate to moderately higher level (not as fast as the first 50 strokes). At the end of this swim, check your heart rate; check it again at 30, 60, and 90 seconds. As you get fitter, heart rate should go down faster and/or your total swim time will get faster. •Technique Golf: Swim 10x 25m (or 50m) with: 15-30s rest, count strokes each length. Add stroke count and time in seconds. Decrease total for each 25 (or 50) within a workout and over the weeks. •Sustainable Pace: The 50-50 workout. Divide the race distance into two parts (2x 1900m). Swim part one at an easy to moderate effort, an effort that results in a time slower than part two. Rest for 60s and check your heart rate at 0s, 20s, and 40s. If it is not going down, continue resting and re-checking every 20s until it starts to go down, then wait an additional 20s. Swim part two at a moderate effort that results in a time faster than part one. The pace for part one should be consistent throughout that part; the pace for part two should be consistent throughout that segment. As you gain fitness, attempt to make the time (and pace) for each part equal without slowing down the time for the second segment, then attempt to decrease the rest between segments. Don't try to do both at the same time, focus on increasing the pace for segment one first. Once the speed for segment one is about the same as segment two, you should be able to decrease rest between segments. Remember to use the heart rate check every 20s. •Hold a Pace: 10x 50m (or 10x 25m, 10x 75m, 10x 100m, 10x 150m, or 10x 200m; looking for a total time of about 20m), with 10s rest, at the fastest possible even pace. These should all be the same speed, with the goal of feeling like you might be able to do one or two more once you finish the set, but you could not do more. At the end of this swim, check your heart rate; check it again at 30s, 60s, and 90s. As you get fitter, heart rate should go down faster and/or your total swim time will get faster. •Count-down: swim a 900, 800, 600, 500, 400, 300, 200, 100; rest 10s to 20s between each segment. Aim to go faster as the segments get shorter. Over time, aim to decrease total swim time. •Hard-Easy-Hard: All of the repeats in this set should be the same distance. Swim 4x 25m at a fast, almost un-sustainable speed (or 4x 50, 4x 75, 4x 100, 4x 125, or 4x 150; looking for a total time of about 9-10 minutes for the 4 swims including rest), 2x 25m very easy focusing on technique (or 4x 50, 4x 75, 4x 100, 4x 125, or 4x 150; looking for a total time of about 6 minutes), and 4x 25m at a fast, almost un-sustainable speed (or 4x 50, 4x 75, 4x 100, 4x 125, or 4x 150; again looking for a total time of about 9-10 minutes) all on 20s-30s rest. At the end of this set, check your heart rate; check it again at 30s, 60s, and 90s. As you get fitter, your fast times should get faster, your speed fall-off between repeats will decrease, and your heart rate should go down faster. How often, and how fast, should you swim these workouts? Click here to read the the specifics on swimming speeds and the frequncy of doing these swim workout sets. Source: Swimplan.com

Open Water Swimming. By Tatjana Eggink This information will be posted here thru 2016 so that you may refer back to it at "reminder time." Lakes, Rivers, Ocean ”The water is your friend.  You don't have to fight with water, just share the same spirit as the water, and it will help you move." Alexander Popov Fears and Anxieties: They are natural. Admit them. Learn to overcome them. Identify: What is my fear? 1. The Madding Crowd 2. Murky water – What no lane lines? 3. The Food Chain. 4. The Unknown. 5. Water quality. 6. Water and weather conditions. 7. Temperature, waves, surf. Why? Because it is all so different than on land or the pool. What Happens?  Any fear or anxiety may lead hyperventilating at the start of the race. Breathing – breathing while swimming is usually the most difficult part of swimming technique. The breathing stroke, even in the pool, is the worst stroke. Technique, the ability to bi-laterally breathe and practice for open water swimming in the pool, if open water practice is impossible or impractical, will provide the skills necessary to breath properly and avoid hyperventilating due to anxiety. Pool Drills for Tri-Specific Open Water Swimming: 1. Get in the pool with a bunch of mates and share a lane. Practice following each other (drafting is legal).  Variation: Swim shoulder to shoulder. 2. Simulate wetsuit swimming – use a pull buoy to give yourself horizontal body position. 3. Get in the deep end where there are no lane lines, if possible, and make sure there are no divers – swim in circles there with out touching the walls. 4. Instead of pushing off hard, push off softly, or turn before the wall – there is no wall in the open water. 5. Do push-ups on the pool deck, then swim race pace for 50 yards. Hop on deck, repeat. Pay attention to your fatigue level and heart rate, please when doing this. 6. Get in the pool. Tread water, pretending you are at the start of your in water start race, then start as fast as your fastest pace for 50 yards, then settle down into a comfortable pace you can maintain. 7. Practice bi-lateral breathing. 8. Practice rolling over on your back to adjust your goggles. 9. Close your eyes while swimming the length of the pool. Do this in a lane by yourself. 10. Learn to sight while breathing. 11. Heads-up swimming – like the old Tarzan films. 12. Play water polo. 13. Serpentine swim with others. 14. Visualize your swim in the open water. 15. Practice swimming with the wetsuit in the pool. 16. Swim the distance of your race, straight-through, no breaks, - even go over-distance. The Goal: Relaxation! The ability to swim long distances and remain relaxed is a key to triathlon swimming.  Unlike competitive swimming in a pool, you will need to learn to conserve  energy and relax during your swim. When you finish the swim, you should feel race ready, not frazzled, exhausted or spent. You should feel warmed-up and ready for the bike. Equipment for Open Water Swimming: If the event is wetsuit legal, swim with the wetsuit…no discussion on this point. The best triathlete swimmers do this. Up to and including 78 degrees F. >78, but<84 degrees, you can still wear the wet suit, but you are not eliglible for awards.  (USAT Rules) Wetsuit: Shorty, Sleeveless, Full. Swim Cap, Brightly Colored. Neoprene Cap. Neoprene Booties. Body Glide, Cooking Spray. Goggles. The Event: 1. If there are practice swims prior to the triathlon, do them. 2. Check the course – the buoy set - as soon as you get there. Pick your  sighting landmarks. 3. Check out the start and finish of swim. 4. Understand the entry and exit points of the swim to bike transition. 5. Take your time putting on your wetsuit. 6. Don’t miss your wave start. 7. Line up according to your ability level. 8. If conditions are tougher than you expected, high surf, for instance, and out of your ability range, call it a day. That’s the smart and safe triathlete’s decisions. Safety, first:  Never Swim Alone!-Select a supervised area. A trained lifeguard who can help in an emergency is the best safety factor.  -Select an area that has good water quality and safe natural conditions. Murky water, hidden underwater objects, unexpected drop-offs, and aquatic plant life are hazards. Water pollution can cause health problems for swimmers. Strong tides, big waves, and currents can turn an event that began as fun into a tragedy. -Enter feet first, don’t dive in. Always look before jumping off a dock or raft to be sure no one is in the way. -Never swim under a raft or dock. Avoid drainage ditches and arroyos. Drainage ditches and arroyos for water run-off are not good places for swimming or playing in the water. After heavy rains, they can quickly change into raging rivers that can easily take a human life. Even the strongest swimmers are no match for the power of the water. Fast water and debris in the current make ditches and arroyos very dangerous. -Check the surf conditions before you enter the water. Check to see if a warning flag is up or check with a lifeguard for water conditions, beach conditions, or any potential hazards. -Keep a lookout for aquatic life:  Avoid patches of plants. Leave animals alone. -Make sure you always have enough energy to swim back to shore. -Don’t try to swim against a current if caught in one. Swim gradually out of the current, by swimming across it.  Source: American Red Cross Water Safety.  Other Resources: *Swimming to Antarctica: Tales of a Long-Distance Swimmer   Lynne Cox. *Triathlon Swimming Made Easy: The Total Immersion Way for Anyone to          Master Open-Water Swimming. Terry Laughlin. *DVD: Freestyle Made Easy. Terry Laughlin. *DVD: Swimming Upstream. (Against the odds, he found the strength to become a champion.) Movie.  *DVD: The Big Bad Swim. Movie.

Simple Strength Training for Swimmers From Mat Luebbers, An Easy To Follow Strength Training Program Weight training and dryland exercises can be used for many things, including injury prevention, rehabilitation, gain strength, build general or specific fitness, or to cross-train to improve abilities in other sports. Many training programs seem too complicated to follow. You may get discouraged, almost before you start. If this has happened to you, then perhaps you'll give this weight training program a try. This is a basic, simple program. You can adjust it as needed, but its central purpose is a quick, easy to follow plan. You can do it once a week for strength maintenance or two to three times a week to build strength and power. If done several times each week, separate workouts by 1-2 days to allow for full recovery.   Each lift has a minimum/maximum number of repetitions   During the early portion of the program (the first 6 to 10 weeks), if you can exceed the maximum number, then add 3% to 10% more weight the next time you do that exercise. Later in the program only increase the weight if you can exceed the maximum number two workouts in a row. If you cannot do the minimum number of lifts, decrease the load by 3% to 10% the next time you are doing the routine. If you miss a week, decrease the weight load for each exercise, building back to your pre-miss levels over the next few weeks. Start with a moderate to light weight load for the first workout and slowly add weight each subsequent workout until you reach a weight load that meets the minimum/maximum number of lifts for a specific exercise. Substitute different lifts Squats instead of a leg press machine, for example, if needed due to available equipment - or if wanted because you like one type of lift more than another. Control the speed of the lift Aim for a 1-2 second positive, loading, or lifting effort and a 2-4 second negative, unloading, or lowering effort.   Stick with the basic order of exercises Work muscles from large groups to more specific muscles.   Take minimal rest between lifts By alternating upper and lower body exercises, rest for general areas being worked is automatic, and your heart rate will remain slightly elevated for the entire workout.   Avoid plateaus Switch the program from one set of lifts to two sets at half the minimum/maximum level with an increased weight load periodically, as often as every four weeks. When you switch back to week 1-4 Min/Max, remember to use a lower weight than you were using during the weeks 5-8 Min/Max sessions. During the week 5-8 Min/Max sessions take 1-2 minutes of rest between exercises for the same part of the body.   Keep a training log Track weight loads and progress through the program.   Don't skip the warm-up or warm-down!   The Strength Training Routine: Warm-up: 5-10 minutes of aerobic work, like a spin on a stationery bicycle or an easy jog. Exercise: Leg Press Week 1-4 Min/Max repetitions goal:20-25 Week 5-8 Min/Max repetitions goal: 8-12 x 2 @ 1-2 minutes rest   Exercise: Rowing Week 1-4 Min/Max repetitions goal: 10-15 Week 5-8 Min/Max repetitions goal: 5-10 x 2 @ 1-2 minutes rest   Exercise: Leg Extension Week 1-4 Min/Max repetitions goal: 15-20 Week 5-8 Min/Max repetitions goal: 6-10 x 2 @ 1-2 minutes rest   Exercise: Push-ups (remember up on a 1-2 count, down on a 2-4 count) Min/Max repetitions goal: maximum possible in 60 seconds   Exercise: Leg Curl Week 1-4 Min/Max repetitions goal: 15-20 Week 5-8 Min/Max repetitions goal: 6-10 x 2 @ 1-2 minutes rest   Exercise: Bent-arm Pull-down (mimics the basic pull of freestyle or butterfly using the lateral pull-down machine) Week 1-4 Min/Max repetitions goal: 10-15 Week 5-8 Min/Max repetitions goal: 6-10 x 2 @ 1-2 minutes rest   Exercise: Calf Raises Week 1-4 Min/Max repetitions goal: 15-20 Week 5-8 Min/Max repetitions goal: 6-10 x 2 @ 1-2 minutes rest   Exercise: Rotator Cuff Exercises (light weights, surgical tubing, or stretch cords. Do several different types: internal rotation, external rotation, etc. - focus on smooth movements - intended to reduce/prevent shoulder injury) Min/Max repetitions goal: 10-15   Exercise: Back Extensions Min/Max repetitions goal: 10-15   Exercise: Abdominal Crunches (this exercise always has two sets of repetitions) Min/Max repetitions goal: 10-25 x 2 @ 1 minute rest   Cool-down: 5-10 minutes of easy aerobic work, like a spin on a lifecycle or an easy jog. That's it - a general workout for upper and lower body that should only take 35-60 minutes. I recommend doing body core work - abs, back, etc. - at least every other day. I also recommend that swimmers perform stretching every day following your workouts. Give it a try and let me know how it goes. I use this routine because it fits in my schedule. While I am not getting the same strength gains I did when using a more swimming specific, detailed weight lifting routine, I am still getting stronger - and in much less time than I formerly spent in the weight room. This workout will be posted here thru 2016. Refer to it as often as you like.

Yoga for Swimmers  - Yoga, with its emphasis on balance and alignment, is great dryland training for swimmers. By Baron Baptiste and Kathleen Finn Mendola  Gentle on the joints, forgiving of injuries and other physical limitations, and deeply relaxing, swimming and yoga, when practiced together, unite their strengths, making for a more balanced athlete. The minimal gravity effect of swimming is appealing to those who suffer from injury that precludes them from high-impact movement, as well as pregnant women, people with chronic joint pain, and the elderly. Logging laps in the pool undoubtedly provides physical and psychological benefits. But too much time spent in the water without counteracting or opposing activities can be detrimental, resulting in body misalignment and lack of bone strength. Body alignment, integral to all sports performance, is often thrown off kilter in swimmers, says Leslie Sims, a former national swim coach who is currently a yoga teacher at "now YOGA" and head coach at Club Swim in Los Altos and Palo Alto, California. This is due to overdevelopment of the front of the body, which occurs from chronic overuse in three of the four basic swim strokes—butterfly, breast, and freestyle. Because a swimmer's pectorals are predominantly in a contracted state, the opposing fascia (where muscle attaches to bone) of the rhomboids is weakened. Because the backstroke can counteract some of the repetitive stroke motions that lead to such muscle imbalance, Sims instructs her swim students to perform the backstroke at the end of every workout. Often just doing the backstroke isn't enough, however. Learning proper alignment through a consistent yoga practice can help tremendously, Sims says. The biggest drawback to a fitness routine based solely on water sports is that the body can't get stronger without gravity. Just as a coiled spring gets its force from resistance, the body needs stress to build strength in muscle and bone. Bone density, in particular, is developed through low- and high-impact weight-bearing exercise like running, walking, bicycling, dance, and yoga. This is an especially unfortunate drawback for women, who are most at risk for developing osteoporosis, a disease marked by a gradual weakening and thinning of the bones. Laps and Asanas Competitive swimmers call it "dryland training"—incorporating other sports into an exercise regimen to compensate for what is missing in a primary workout. A yoga practice can complement even an amateur's swim routine by introducing two legs of the fitness triad—strength building and flexibility. Asanas (postures) utilize body weight as a powerful source of resistance: Outside of the water, gravity helps to build strength and muscle. In addition, postures take the body through a full range of motion, encouraging flexible, supple muscles that are less prone to injury. Consistent practice of yoga also yields extended muscles, as opposed to the contracted, compact muscles associated with running or cycling. And extended muscles are physiologically necessary for a swimmer: To be efficient in the water, every stroke and kick demands a full extension of the arm and leg. When executing all four strokes, swimmers propel themselves by extending and contracting from the tips of their fingers to the ends of their toes. Many competitive swimmers run to increase aerobic conditioning—the third leg of the fitness triad—because effective aerobic training requires more than just a few laps in the pool. "If you just casually swim laps, chances are you'll be unable to bring your heart rate up high enough and sustain it long enough to gain significant aerobic conditioning," says Sims. "By incorporating the four basic strokes when you swim—breast, freestyle, butterfly, and backstroke—you can get a full body workout. However, achieving a cardiovascular workout in the pool is more challenging. You must use interval training—swimming laps at a vigorous pace against a clock." In Sims' work with swimmers, she focuses on key body areas and applies some of what she calls "universal principles" of asanas to help them ward off injury and improve performance: Shoulder Blades: In Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-Facing Dog) and Urdhva Mukha Svanasana (Upward-Facing Dog), your instructor may tell you that the shoulder blades need to drop down the back. The same principle applies in swimming, where the shoulders create the biggest problems. Rotator cuff injuries or shoulder tendonitis (also called "swimmer's shoulder") occur when the rhomboids are not held in place when the arm is raised in freestyle stroke. Instead of the muscle carrying the weight of the arm, the tendon bears the burden. Over time the tendon becomes frayed and aggravated. Hips: Baddha Konasana (Bound Angle Pose), with the soles of the feet touching together and the outsides of the knees flat on the floor, demonstrates a healthy external rotation of the hip. For many people, though, the hips remain locked and stiff. In a swimmer, this congestion can manifest in a faulty breaststroke kick. Without free, loose hips, it's difficult to complete this stroke effectively and efficiently. Ankles: In all of yoga's standing poses, it's important to place the foot on the ground in order to get full extension, and flexible ankles allow the foot to rest solidly on the ground. Similarly, swimmers use the ankles as the foundation of movement—propelling the body forward with a kick. The top of the foot should hit the water as if in Virasana (Hero Pose)—at 180 degrees. Sims will often work with runners who have such severe ankle stiffness that their kick literally pulls them backwards—"like trying to lift a plane off the ground with the flaps down." Swimming to Samadhi Both yogis and swimmers know about using the breath to move the body. Yogis use the breath to encourage the opening and lengthening of stubborn muscle groups, and the cleansing of physical and emotional toxins. Deep, full breathing enhances yoga asanas and increases circulation and cardiovascular capacity. Being immersed in the water makes this process easier, as water puts pressure on the lungs to expel excess air and allows fresh new prana to enter the body. "All breathing in swimming should be done in an open chest position," says Sims. Just as yogis often exert effort on the inhalation and relax on the exhalation in asana practice, swimmers inhale before submerging, then utilize the extended exhalation to follow through on each stroke, propelling themselves through the water. The stroke facilitates the cycle of breath, with the rhythm modified according to each individual. In freestyle, swimmers are encouraged to become aware of alignment and pattern their breath cycles so that the head turns to breathe on alternating sides of the body. Not practicing this "bilateral breathing," Sims says, would be like doing Trikonasana (Triangle Pose) on only one side of the body. It makes sense that breath awareness factors into good swimming. After all, swimming is a sport in which the senses are withdrawn and awareness is pulled inward. For some people, Sims adds, because "you are covered with water, with little sensory ability, little sound, little visual stimulation...it's a sense of the fifth limb of yoga—pratyahara," literally, a gathering toward oneself. Baron Baptiste is a yoga teacher and athletic trainer in Cambridge, Massachusetts, known for his work with the Philadelphia Eagles and as the host of ESPN's "Cyberfit." Kathleen Finn Mendola. This will be posted here thru 2016.