News
Keys to Success with Mark Gangloff Mark Gangloff is a two-time Olympian and a member of the 2010 U.S. Pan Pacific Championships Team. Here are the keys to his success. 1. Hard work. This one is always first and foremost. It’s plain and simple. You have to come to practice every day ready to get at it. Whether you feel good or not – it’s easy to work hard when you feel good – you have to push through it, especially on the hard days, and think, “Even though I...
Results Ryan Lochte won the first gold medal of the meet for Team USA, and U.S. swimmers took down four American records in the opening night of competition at the FINA Short Course World Championships in Dubai. Lochte earned the top spot on the podium after cruising to an American record in the men’s 200m free. His time of 1:41.08 lowered both the American and Championship records. The U.S. women's 4x200m free relay team also broke the American record Wednesday. In the semifinals of the men’s 100m breast, Mike Alexandrov...
Rotator Cuff Injury The rotator cuff is made up of muscles and four separate tendons that surround the shoulder joint. A rotator cuff injury can be caused by a direct blow to the shoulder; falling on an outstretched arm; repetitive overhead motion of the arm, as in swimming, baseball (pitching), or tennis; or chronic degenerative wear and tear on the tendons. Risk factors for a rotator cuff injury include participating in sports that stress repetitive overhead arm motion (swimming, baseball, and tennis); age (more prevalent in those 40 or older);...
Exercises to AVOID! While some lifts, like squats and deadlifts for example, are often mistakenly perceived as "dangerous", it's almost always faulty technique, and/ or using too much weight that is the cause of most weight room injuries. That said, there are a few lifts that even when performed correctly, can expose your body to potential injury. Whether it’s due to the unnecessary bio-mechanical stress they place on certain joints, or the fact that they contribute to the development of strength imbalances, the following are my top 5 lifts to...
Many young swimmers tend to lack mobility, strength and stability of the muscles that surround the ankles. And your coaches are exactly right; improving these weaknesses can definitely lead to a more powerful kick. The combination of being able to move your ankles through a larger range of motion, and exert force through that increased range, will stop you from generating your kick at the knee joint (by overusing your quadriceps and hamstrings), and instead, put the emphasis on your hips where you want it. The following drills can be...
Muscles Trained: Upper body and core. Importance to Swimmers: Helps improve rotational strength and range of motion through the upper body and core. Execution: Stand with your back to a wall, with your heels positioned about 12 to 18 inches away from its base. Next, holding a medicine ball out in front of your chest with your palms facing each other, begin rotating to one side as you attempt to touch the ball to the wall behind you. As you turn to your right side, rotate the ball so that...
PST spent the weekend at the Coral Springs Aquatic Complex December 11 and 12 and showed off what PST will look like in the years to come. We had many swimmers compete for the first time, including Laura Garzon, Caitlin Mastroianni, Rachel Rosenthal, Adam Saryeldin and Natasha and Zachary Seletsky. Remember these names, as you will be seeing a lot more of them in the future! While PST showed its usual consistent best time performance, Yusuf Mousa dropped 16 seconds in the 100 Back and Leila Witcher dropped 11 seconds,...
Daily Nutrtion Needs Before and During a Meet Keep in mind that in order for nutrition to have an appreciable impact on your performance, you have to eat the right way on a year-round basis. Not that you can't occasionally indulge in some fast food, or sweets; just make sure that your daily diet follows the 80% rule, meaning that you make the right choices at least 80% of the time and reserve the other 20% percent for some of your favorite "cheat" foods. This way, you'll know you're supplying...
The Coach-Parent Relationship By Terry Laughlin Originally printed in Swimming World Magazine July 1989, Adapted and used with permission of the author The best analogy I can think of to sum -up is that of baking a cake. Take any individual ingredient flour, baking powder, baking soda, etc., and put it on your tongue during the preparation process and you'll likely grimace at the taste. Mix them all together with care, bake at the proper temperature for the right amount of time, and serve-the result is delicious. So it is...
