A nice piece of equipment to add to your home gym:

I received an email about a month ago from Craig Askins, the developer of the Halo swim training system, introducing his product to me.  I'm really sad that I just now took the time to check out his product...had I reviewed his product in mid November when he contacted me I would've had the time to be sure that the Halo swim bench was placed under my Christmas tree this year!

All I can say is "WOW, well done!"  The bench not only provides a great dry land training alternative, but it's also engineered to help the user to work on three core swimming competencies: high elbow catch, a stroke path that maximizes power output, and development of optimal race pace tempo.

The Halo swim bench offers great tools for technique development and improvement and it is also compact, portable and very reasonably priced at under $400 (USD).

The web site has some great demo videos including an endorsement and demos from Olympic swimmer and triathlete, and ITU World Champion Sheila Toarmina.

If you'd like some assistance in grooving an optimal swim stroke or you'd just like a good dry land swim bench be sure to check out the Halo...

For more info visit: www.HighElbows.com

In the Wetsuit survey 2007, tri247.com made its case for investing some cash into a high end wetsuit:

"The wetsuit market is fairly clearly delineated: entry-level, mid-price and pro. Entry-level suits are designed and constructed to hit a price-point which, for 2007 is pitched at between £150 and £180. The quality of the neoprene will be good – it’s probably what we would have called mid-price two years ago – but the construction, detailing and overall design are pretty basic. These suits are being churned out by the thousand in the Far East and, while they will certainly do the job, they are designed to be an introduction to what is possible rather than what can be achieved. In fact, and this may appear to be a bold statement, if you are planning on doing just one triathlon in your career then it’s probably better to hire a suit, especially  through one of the long-term deals that Tri-UK and the London Triathlon are doing, rather than buying.  As long as it fits properly, the suit that you’ll hire for your deposit and £25 rental is going to be just as good as the one that you’ll buy for £150.

And, to be honest, there’s the key to the whole wetsuit issue. The more you spend on the suit the better it will fit. And fit is the number one factor in determining whether the suit will work for you – or against you – when you get it in the water. Just as with running shoes (and even with bike frames) each wetsuit maker uses their own set of ‘patterns’ that determine the panel construction for the suits. And, just as with running shoes and racing bikes, some wetsuit brands will ‘fit’ and others won’t – or, at least, not as well.

And, why is ‘fit’ so important? A wetsuit is designed to work as a second skin – but a skin with added properties. To start with, a wetsuit adds flotation which helps your body position in the water. However, not all people need the same flotation and not all people need it in the same place. Custom made suits, Snugg and Terrapin both offer a custom suit service, are not only made to measure (so they are pretty much guaranteed to fit right) but they are also designed to float right. Off-the-peg suits, like those we review here, have to make a set of assumptions about ‘typical’ triathletes and where they will need extra (or less) flotation. That pretty much guarantees that the designs are based around a set of statistical ‘norms’ and if you fall outside those you’ll struggle to find a suit that works properly in either the fit or flotation department.

One interesting fact that you may not be aware of is that many of the wetsuits that you will see the Pro athletes swimming in may appear to be the same as your ‘off-the-peg’ number but the chances are that they have been heavily modified. Adaptations like reversed zips, different necklines or even whole panel changes are possible and, given the tailoring skills of someone like Malcolm Ball at Snugg, you’ll never be able to spot the changes unless you do a side by side check. These changes can make the difference between first pack and chase pack to a pro athlete and there’s no reason you can't have them done for you -- we have!

The second property that the extra skin has is that it has less resistance to passing through water than, say, your skin or a trisuit. In other words – it is designed to make you go faster for the same effort. The more expensive/technical the suit the more you’ll read about coatings and hidden zips – it’s all about reducing friction. This works with the extra flotation we described above because the less of you there is in the water the less resistance there is to overcome in the first place. That said, remember that it has to be the right flotation and just having an ultra-buoyant suit is not necessarily the whole answer!

Stepping up to the mid-price suits you’ll immediately notice that there are more panels in the suit and that the neoprene is of a finer quality. More panels mean that the suits should fit better and the stuff that they are making these suits out of is what the Pro athletes were wearing two years ago. Over time, as new materials and construction methods are developed, the top suits get replaced with the cutting edge, latest and greatest but the investment is not yet recouped and so last year’s top-end suit becomes, with some cosmetic changes, this year’s mid-price. If you want a bargain, at least in terms of price/performance, then this is where to look. As an example, Aqua Sphere’s 2006 suits were actually based on designs that they bought from Ironman Wetsuits when that company re-branded as Blue Seventy. To be sure, they made subtle changes to the cuffs and the highlight colours are different, but the panel construction is identical – it’s the same suit, it’s made in the same factory! And the 2005 Ironman wetsuits were good suits too, which meant that Aqua Sphere got itself a great start into the market for very little effort.

IBM, the computer company, has a great description for customers who have to have the latest thing in technology – they call them “heat seekers”. And that translates pretty well into the world of triathlon! We are all suckers for the latest thing that might shave seconds off our time – as if spending money was a way of saving on training... Top end wetsuits are pretty much a perfect example of this as every suit maker will be making claims that theirs is the fastest suit in the water or the first out of the water, and so on. And, on that day and under those conditions with those people swimming in the suits, guess what? They were...

However, irrespective of the claims, if you are looking for a new suit and you are a proficient swimmer who is used to open water and wetsuits, then the place to be looking for a new suit is at the top end of the market. This is where the differences are made, this is where the new ideas are tried out and this is where the pro athletes get to have an input that makes a difference to the way that the suits perform. Not all of them get it right, and there are some famous examples of where design changes to suits have actually reduced their performance, but on the whole this is where you should look if you are going to get the best out of the suit without wasting your efforts in the swim."

For more analysis and some specific wetsuit tests read the full article here.

Listening to your favorite tunes or catching up on the latest episodes of your queued podcasts are an excellent way to help pass the time during your running and cycling workouts but what about while you're swimming?  The SwimMP3 from Finis lets you enjoy the same listening diversion while you're in the pool.

The Finis web site provides this description of the under water audio technology:

"The new SwiMP3 is revolutionary in that it relies on bone conduction of sound. When the device is placed on any bones of the skull (i.e. the cheek bones or the mastoid tip) it leads to vibration of the fluid in the inner ear. Thus swimmers can enjoy clarity of sound with the SwiMP3 device that was never before possible. Bone conduction hearing is a safe, well-established hearing mechanism in humans that the SwiMP3 player leverages to enhance aquatic activity. Finis's application of the technology brings an entirely new level of experience to swimmers, either while working out or taking a leisurely swim."

The 256mb unit retails at US$199.00.

I recently received a SwimSafe evaluation unit from TriAids and I'm very impressed with it's design and functionality.  I hope that this is a product that is adopted by triathletes and swimmers worldwide to offer an added measure of security and safety to their open water swims.

The SwimSafe belt fits snuggly around your waist and is designed to be virtually unnoticeable while you're swimming.  The lightweight and low profile design provides minimal drag and lets you focus on your swim with the peace of mind of knowing that a flotation device is at arms reach if needed.

It's been interesting to see the innovations that have popped up around the sport of triathlon over the years.  One of my personal favorites has been the Fuel Belt.  The Fuel Belt provides a comfortable solution for portable hydration and nutrition while running.  The belt has become such a staple in my training efforts, that I rarely do a run without it and enjoy having the convenience that the product offers.  Likewise, I can see the SwimSafe becoming a staple training accessory that I use during all open water swim training sessions.

The SwimSafe belt is priced reasonably at around US$80.

"Martin Strel, a legendary Guinness record marathon swimmer, has always been looking for the challenges of impossible, and the Amazon is going to be the next one. On Feb 1st 2007, Strel started swimming all the way from Atalaya (Peru) to the Atlantic Ocean at Belem (Brazil). He is planning to complete the 3,375 mile (5,430 km) ultimate challenge in 70 days."

Track Martin's swim progress at TripTracker.  As of the last report (March 27th), he was in Prainha, Brazil and had completed 71km of swimming that day.  The expedition site is full of pictures and journal entries on Martin's progress in the Amazon.  The feat isn't just a physical challenge, the most recent journal entry brings to the forefront some of the dangers that pose threats to safety along the way:

"A two year old girl was sitting quietly near the shore while her mother did the family’s laundry in the river a few feet away. Looking up from her scrubbing board after hearing a commotion, the mother had her worst dreams come true. By the time she got into the knee deep dark water and grabbed her child by the wrist, it was already too late.

This story was relayed to us by the father of the baby who was killed. He pulled up in a dugout canoe to sell us fish after watching the team anchor in the slack-water near his family hut. Appalled to see a man swimming in the area, he warned us the area was loaded with flesh eating piranhas, and pleaded with Martin to only swim in the swiftest part of the river. Later, to test his story, I threw out a chunk of meat on a fishing line. My 25 pound test Spiderwire was instantly shredded. A feeding frenzy ensued every time the meat hit the water.

Martin took another pounding in the whitecaps most of the day, while the crew on the boat battled seasickness. The wind finally abated for the last two hours before sunset. Although the wind is continuing to be a major obstacle, the current is still quite strong, and Martin was able to fight his way another 71 km toward Belem. The team is currently anchored on a small inlet downstream from Prainha."

A common mistake made by beginner triathletes learning to swim is poor horizontal body position in the water.  Their butt and legs tend to sink instead of remaining parallel to the water's surface.  This creates an enormous amount of drag and can minimize the distance traveled with each swim stroke.

One of the drills that I suggest to athletes to help improve their horizontal body position is swimming with a pull buoy.  The pull buoy is typically used to isolate the swim stroke and allow the swimmer to be able to focus on their pull.  However, for athletes struggling with a sinking back end, the pull buoy helps to pull the legs up to the surface and condition the athlete to the feeling of swimming with a better body position.

So, if you're struggling with a sinking back end, try spending some quality time swimming with a pull buoy.

The AquaSphere Seal XP swim goggles are a great choice for open water swim training and competition.  On a few occasions in the past, I have used the AquaSphere Seal Mask for open water swims.  My only complaint was the size of the mask and the increased drag that it incurred.  The Seal XP goggles are similar in style to the Seal Mask but have a much smaller profile and are more hydrodynamic.

The Seal XP lenses are also engineered to provide a 180 degree distortion free view of your surroundings, which can be very valuable while navigating through an open water swim course.  The lenses are also fog and scratch resistant and provide 100% UV protection.

The XP goggles fit comfortably and are well-priced at around US$20.

Here are some various angles of 5-time Olympic Gold Medalist Ian Thorpe's freestyle technique.