A View from the Water:
TI at Multisport World Expo

By GREG SAUTNER

The Multisport World Expo was my final stop during a visit to Boston after three days competing in the New England Masters Championship at Harvard. Feeling a little tired from racing, I was uncertain about my ability to instruct in a large natatorium with challenging acoustics, but my energy was renewed as I sighted about 500 athletes eagerly waiting to enter the sports and fitness complex.

I was to conduct five one-hour swim clinics as a “taste” of TI. Each session was open to 20 participants, but many were turned away as our sessions quickly reached maximum capacity. Enthusiasm was high: we had swimmers showing up a session early to observe and spectators sitting in the bleachers hoping to learn by watching.

I was assisted by NH-based TI Senior Coach, Celeste St. Pierre, who provided in-water demonstration plus hands-on instruction when needed. We began each session by introducing the TI philosophy and the idea of dividing the body down the long axis, emphasizing a “left streamlineable side” and a “right streamlineable side.” After the students entered the water, each was asked to swim two lengths counting the number of strokes per length (SPL) and rate their perceived level of exertion (PLE). We then led swimmers through “focal points,” each intended to address specific adjustments to the stroke.

Try these the next time you’re at the pool:

1. Hang your Head - Don’t push it down; just release its weight.
2. Lead with your Laser Beam- Imagine a laser projecting from your “head spine line” out the crown of your head. Always point your laser where you’re going.
3. Laser your Breath - Where does your laser beam point when you take a breath? Always try to aim in the direction of travel.
4. Be a “Tree-Hugger” - Keep your hands away from your centerline by “tree hugging.” Visualize a large tree trunk in front of you and aim hands outside the girth of the trunk.
5. Lengthen your Body - Use your hands to extend your body line forward rather than to push water back. Give your full attention to the hand spearing forward…but don’t overreach.
6. Patient Lead Hand - Maintain a “mindful overlap” between the hand about to enter and the one about to stroke. Always have a hand in front of you.

Demonstrating these focal points took only about 15 min. which produced a noticeable buzz from the lanes as our students felt an immediately beneficial change in their swimming. We then spent 30 min. reinforcing a streamlined body position (“Skating”), with the mindset of ”evading” drag. When we can learn to “do nothing” and feel weightless, we gain the freedom to make the mindful decision to move in more effective ways. Try these five steps to experience “moments of weightlessness”:

1. Push and Glide - Push off the wall, hands in front of shoulders, hanging your head. Don’t kick, just feel for the moment of support the water offers before legs sink – however brief this moment may be.
2. Flutter gently - Push and glide. At the moment you feel the legs begin to sink add a very light kick. Keep it gentle, only enough to counter sinking legs.
3. Hand in Pocket - Begin as in (1), when you add (2), reach one hand forward along its shoulder-width track and place the other on the inside of the leg, fingers reaching toward the knee as if reaching for change deep in a pocket.
4. Rotate Just Enough - Rotate that your shoulder is slightly exposed; your body should be neither too flat nor overrated. Engage your core to hold here.
5. Find Your Target - Position the extended hand on the shoulder width track so that fingers are below the wrist and the wrist is below the elbow. This hand position is your target.

As each student continued to imprint this body position, we began to add “pieces of” the stroke. By switching from one streamline position to another, students got a better feeling for how the freestyle stroke comes together as rhythm returns.

1. Single stroke - Beginning in “skating,” take a single stroke finishing on the other track. Pause to examine your streamline before each switch. Try to finish each switch with as much precision and accuracy as possible.
2. Linking strokes - Transitioning into freestyle occurs by eliminating each pause and rhythmically connecting one skating position after another. Try linking 3, then 4, then 5, and so on.

We concluded with a few lengths of “focal points” followed by a retest of SPL and PLE. It was overwhelmingly evident that nearly every participant experienced a decrease in stroke count, a decrease in effort or both. Observing the transformations that occurred after only one hour with each sizeable group left me with a buzz of my own. I was energized by the excitement each student displayed for TI, as many wanted to linger to ask questions or watch the next session. I found myself talking and sharing stories with fellow Triathletes long after the clinics had ended, reminiscing about what it was like to be “in their goggles” a few years back.