Feel more, Work less, Swim Better (It made no sense)
“What do you feel,” she would ask. “I don’t know!” was my most common response. I was being considered, honest and respectful as I reached inside myself looking for the answers to questions my swim coach asked me following the short 6 stroke practices she gave me. My answers were factual, logical and to the point. Intuitively I knew it was never quite what she was looking for. “That’s how you think,” she would say. “I would like to know what you feel”. I found this confusing. I would frown and shake my head (internally my dialogue was “what sort of ridiculous way is this to coach swimming technique”). The more I resisted answering her questions the more questions she asked.
That was in the beginning and before I realised how profound these types of questions would be for me as I discovered new swimming sensations and an ability and feel for the water that allowed me to swim better than I have ever swum before.
I was 49 when I embarked on my quest to learn to swim. I researched heavily to find a way to achieve the level of competence I was seeking. I had a lot to catch up on and needed information quickly, I watched YouTube clips, read articles, and researched scientific studies. I entered my arm to a 50-70 cm depth and ensured my elbow bend was 90 degrees. I experimented with closed fingers, open fingers, and thumb first entry. I practised moving my body to the perfect 45 degree streamline angle. I tried to complete three leg kicks per stroke and move my arms furiously and quickly to achieve this. I made notes and tried to replicate what I had seen the Olympic swimmers do. I signed up for 8 week programs that guaranteed to improve speed by 10 seconds by pulling harder through the water. I started swimming with pool squads because that’s where all the fast swimmers seemed to be. I learned to use pool buoys, hand paddles, drag suits, and fancy goggles. I experienced some improvements and then I didn’t. The harder I tried the more the pain in my shoulder grew. I was annoyed but I remained determined.
I began to notice things I hadn’t observed before. Each time I focussed on going faster, my body felt clunky and heavy in the water. It was as if my body and mind were working against each other. My head moved up and down in time with my racing mind, my arms moved independently to my legs, my upper body was disconnected from my lower body, and the pain in my shoulder was escalating. Swimming was no longer fun. It was a chore. It wasn’t relaxing. It was exhausting and reminded me of intense days at work.
“Empty your Mind. Be formless, Be shapeless. Be water my friend. “ - Bruce Lee
It was around this time that I read this quote. I was now 18 months into my quest to swim faster. I needed to change my mindset from swimming fast to swimming better. My focus on speed and replicating all that I had read, studied and heard was depleting my energy and my excitement for swimming. It was time to find a new way. A new way of thinking. A new way of feeling. A new way of being in harmony with the water. I stumbled across an organisation called SwimMastery. The Company’s name resonated with me. Mastery was my goal. SwimMastery is a technique based approach to swimming that focuses the mind, emotions and body using cues that allow the joints to move safely and efficiently. I was intrigued. I had worked with these principles in the Executive Coaching I was doing but had never thought to apply them to my swimming. I engaged the most Masterful Coach I could (the Head of SwimMastery) to help me to learn to swim better. It turns out that this was the same annoying coach that I mentioned at the beginning of this article. The same coach that asked me all the “feeling” questions. More significantly, she was also a coach that encouraged me to connect with my feelings as much as my thoughts. A coach that provided techniques that focused my mind on a process rather than an outcome. I’d found a coach and a philosophy that would support me not only in the pool but in my life, my relationships and in my personal and professional growth.
For 18 months I practiced the components of my stroke in a “SwimMastery” way. I maintained my attention on specific cues that enabled my joints to work with each other (rather than against each other). I let go of my need for speed and turned my attention to the body movements that would reduce drag and resistance in the water. I discovered new stroke mechanics that increased my propulsion through the water. I worked with the water and not against the water. I attended webinars, undertook virtual coaching, practised technique in and out of the pool and adjusted my mindset. I needed to go slow to go fast. I needed to focus on the process and not the outcome. I needed to breathe and relax. I was ready to enjoy swimming again.
Yesterday in the pool, as I practised, I noticed the sensation of water being parted by my head. I also noticed how much more acutely I could feel the pressure of the water on the front of my hands. I was also feeling bubbles moving down my right shin. Sometimes I was feeling all of these sensations in quick succession depending on where I chose to focus my attention. I felt integrated, light, long and strong. This was it. This is what “feeling the water” was about, and everything was now clicking. I increased my tempo, and it felt more effortless. I was swimming better, feeling more and working less. There was one final piece to the puzzle, and that was to review my times. They were consistently faster than they had been in the past 3 years and I had more energy to increase my distance. Something had shifted. Something had changed. I had developed a “feel for the water”. I’m still not exactly sure how to describe these changed sensations. It remains nebulous and elusive to me. When it’s not, it’s fishlike, it’s decreased resistance, it’s increased propulsion, it’s feelings, sensations, and proprioception (knowing the position of the body in water). It’s being at one with the water.
As Tracey Baumann (CEO and founder of SwimMastery) would say, “Feel for the water is elusive and yet learnable. The magic of discovering all the sensations available to us from being submersed in the medium of water is undoubtedly where mastery happens.”
For more information, go to www.swimmastery.online