Welcome to the Effortless Swimming Podcast to show that help swimmers and triathletes love the water, become a better swimmer and live a better life. Here’s your host, Brenton Ford.

Welcome to the Effortless Swimming Podcast. This is episode number 168. And this episode is titled Seven Things That I’m Changing This Year in My Swimming. I thought it might be useful to do an episode where I go through some of the things that I’m tweaking and adjusting and changing with my own swimming that you may find useful in your own swimming. Now, the first thing in no particular order, the first thing is my habits. Now, I’m not a person to really have a schedule. I hate having things sort of locked in and having to be places at certain times. For me, it’s just something that I should generally try and avoid. But it doesn’t mean that I shouldn’t do it. So what I’ve changed this year is I’m making sure that I stick to a weekly training schedule. Often, I would just go to the pool when I felt like it. I’ll try and go every day or every second day at least. But there was no particular structure because I was training on my own. And I

would just go and I could fit it in. But this year, I’m making a point of going Monday, Wednesday, Friday mornings with a squad that that I can swim with now because I’ve moved locations, I’ve moved house in the last couple of weeks. So it makes it a little bit easier. But I’m making sure that I stick to that schedule at a minimum. And then any other training sessions that I want to do on top of that, I can do whenever I like. But at least having that set schedule has really freed up a lot of things. So the first thing it’s freed up is it allows me to just go there. I’ve got this routine in place. And I know that every Sunday night, Tuesday night, Thursday night, that I’ll pack my bag at night, I’ll put it by the door next to the keys, and be ready to go. And then I don’t need to think about or put much mental energy into thinking about when I’m going to try and squeeze these things in. So they get done. First

thing in the morning, which I like to do because I feel better about it. I feel better about the day I can sit still I can sit at a computer, I can sit in front of a camera. After I’ve trained, I find that my mind doesn’t race as much. But also, it’s just a lot less attention that I need to put into thinking about when I can fit things in. So changing my habits or changing like having a set routine has has made a big difference so far. And so that’s been really, really useful as as number one. I’ve also done that around sort of work as well. So my kids are typically in daycare three days a week. And my wife works those three days as well. So I’m trying to get most of my work done in those three days. And a similar thing is with the squad training was I just try and fit it in when I could. But having that little bit of structure to a week has has really made a difference mentally. So that’s number one, changing habits and having a good routine. The second

one is I’m starting my morning the same way every time. And there’s two things that I’m really that I’ve done differently. The first one is I’ll get my heart rate variability using an app called HRV for the number four training. You might have heard this on an episode we did with Sam Fenton. And we’ve done it with Craig Cooper as well. I think he mentioned this app. So heart rate variability is basically a good way to sort of track how your body is recovering and how it’s feeling. And it can almost, in a way, kind of predict if you’re going to get sick. So it can be more useful than looking at your heart rate of a morning, you look at your heart rate variability. So there’s an app that you can use which can track it. So most mornings, as long as I remember, I’ll use this app to record it. And then I can see how I’m tracking in terms of recovery, whether I’m starting to get sick and anything else along those lines. So I’ve

been doing that every morning. And the second thing is, there’s a product called Athletic Greens that a friend of mine gave me a packet of to try. And I’ve been having that every morning as well. It’s a mix of like five dozen different ingredients. And it’s just one scoop that you’re having like in a shake every morning. And I’ve been having that and I’ve found it really good. Now I’ve only done it for about a month so far, but I’ve reordered for another three months. And I haven’t been sick in that time while I’ve been training hard and not working heaps, but I’ve been pretty active. And I haven’t gotten sick because last year, one of the things that I really struggled with was I kept getting sick every one to two months. And some of that was the kids bringing home things from daycare. And that just tends to happen when you’ve got young kids. But I just got a lot sick more regularly than I normally would. And so I’ve been having

this Athletic Greens every morning, so far so good. Tastes nice and it’s got a lot of good stuff in it. I’ve had that along with five to 10 grams of glutamine, which is really good for your gut health. Another thing that can help will stop you from getting sick. So I’ve been combining those two and just having that every morning. So the combination of those two things I am hoping won’t allow or will stop me or prevent me from getting sick as often as I was last year. So we’ll see what happens there. But so far so good. I’m feeling great in training. I find that’s all I really need before going to the pool. So I won’t often eat before it. I’ll just have this Athletic Greens shake. So I found that really, really good. I’m not paid by them or anything like that. But I just thought I’d mention it because I found it a really good product. I have just joined as an affiliate for them. So if you do purchase anything through that link,

then I will get a small commission on it. But that’s yeah, that’s I was using this product before that. Now the third thing is I’ve been training harder than I have harder and longer sessions than I have the last couple of years. So the sessions that I’m doing usually a minimum of 4k or just under anywhere up to about 5k.

Sometimes going into slightly longer ones, but typically around about 4k. Normally my sessions I was doing two to three case when I was doing them by myself. And there’s nothing nothing wrong with that at all. I do a short warm up and then just get straight into the main set. But training with this squad we’re typically doing an hour 20 to an hour and a half. And having that is the minimum distance. So I’m setting these sessions. So I’m writing the training sessions for this squad. And I’m following them. But they’re usually quite challenging. And you know, it’s it’s I’ve noticed a difference in terms of you know, physically I’m definitely a lot more exhausted because they’re harder. But my overall fitness is much better. My weight is better. I think just because I’m training harder and training longer. And I’m feeling really good with it. And over the last like eight weeks really, I’ve been able to build up that fitness and get to a point where

I haven’t been in this fit for a very long time, which is great. So increasing the intensity and the effort of the training sessions with a bit more structure and purpose behind them. With the three sessions a week, how I’m how we’re doing them on the Monday, it’s a Threshold Threshold session. So it’s like trying to stick to threshold pace or sort of going above or below threshold pace. You might think of your threshold paces around about 1500 meter pace. So that’s Monday mornings, Wednesday’s more sprint. So 25s and 50s short, sharp efforts. And the Fridays is a heart rate set. So for example, this morning with the heart rate set, it was 100 max effort, then about 20 seconds rest, followed by 50 max effort. And then followed by five fifties with very short rest, about two or three seconds rest, and then some recovery. And we do that three times. So really just trying to get the heart rate up there. The lactic acid is very high,

very fatigued and just looking to keep the heart rate up for know, for these intervals or for these sets. So that’s how I’ve been structuring those those three sessions so far. And finding that really good just to mix it up that way. The fourth one is just trying to expand my skill set and what I’m comfortable doing in my boundary. So having moved down to the coast from from the country. One of the things that I love is just being around the water and being at the beach and at the sea. And so I’m trying to just expand the things that I’m doing there. So not just the open water swimming and not just surfing, but I’m looking to go out and do some foil surfing, do some body surfing, just get out in the water and expand my my skill set out there and the ability to sort of read waves and read the tides and the currents and all that sort of sort of stuff. I really like that. So just trying to expand what I’m comfortable doing and getting out into some

bigger waves and that sort of thing. And I think it translates across to swimming as well. So in some of these harder sets that we’ve been doing it’s you’ve really got to focus on your breathing, keeping your heart rate down and just slowing down your breathing. Once you come in after 100 max effort, you hit the wall, you might have 20 seconds to recover. And if you’re panicked and you’re rushed and you’re huffing and puffing, you’re not going to be able to get your heart rate down. So you’ve really got to just come back to your breathing, smooth it out, slow it down and control it. And the same thing goes when you’re out there in in bigger waves or when you’re doing something that you might not be very comfortable doing. So I find that stuff really translates over. And I know for some people that can be, you know, going on like group rides and stuff like that and or mountain biking or running trails and that sort of thing, just going to places

where you’re maybe a little uncomfortable and you’re pushed and expanding your yeah, expanding that sort of circle of what you’re comfortable doing. The fifth thing is somewhat something related. It’s starting to listen to

fictional audio books. So me, I love sort of self improvement, whether that be swimming, sports related, personal growth, whether it’s business sort of stuff. I really like that kind of stuff. And so sort of read books and listen to audio books that are related to that. And I find that I’m always switched on to trying to improve. And so what I started doing a couple months ago was listening to fictional audio books, things that can just really take your mind off, you know, off this stuff that we’re always thinking about day to day. And so I’ve just been doing that. And if I have got long trips in the car, whether I’m like driving to the pool in the city or whether I’m on a plane, listening to these audio books kind of just switches your mind off and you can your mind just sort of does it’s not thinking about the normal things. It’s just taken by the story. So I’ve really enjoyed listening to fictional audio books as a way to just kind of zen

out and relax. And I’m just going to continue to do that because it’s been really enjoyable and something different that I haven’t really done for for a long time. Number six is just in terms of mobility. So with all this training and swimming and surfing, all this sort of stuff, I’ve been getting very sore, particularly through like between the shoulder blades in the back and upper traps and everything like very, very sore. So a couple of things that I’ve enjoyed using. And I know I’ve mentioned them last year, but the therapy gun, like a massage gun, so good. It’s just, you know, they might cost 200 bucks, 300 bucks, but you can, you know, you can use them once a day for a couple minutes and really just loosen up a lot, particularly if you’re sore through your back and through your shoulders. And great to use on your legs as well if you are running. So I’ve been using that. The so right is really good. So your so as which is kind of hard to

just look it up on Google your size is sort of these muscles, almost like the front of your hips and attaches sort of round to your lower back, you use that a lot when you’re swimming. So I’ve been using a piece of equipment called the so right PSO dash ITE. So right’s been really good. So I just line that at night sometimes. And then they’ve got this, I don’t know what it’s called, it’s like a so back or something. You basically line it on your back. It’s got about nine or 10 little ridges and kind of goes along the side of your spine. And you’ll you’ll line that. And that is so good for loosening up your back, which will get tired if you are swimming a lot. So that’s been very good as well. So I’m just trying to keep on top of that stuff because for me, if I’m sitting down a lot, if I’m training a lot, then I feel like I’m 80 years of age, you know, a few days into the week. So that’s been good for loosening up. And the last, the last thing is

just trying to do less, trying to simplify. Not only with the swimming, so I’ve kind of simplified what I’m doing in terms of the train. It’s like, all right, this is what I’m doing. I can stick to that. Then I don’t need to think about things, but also just work, you know, what I what I’m sort of saying yes to. So I’ve had a lot of opportunities come up in the last couple of months since we moved. And I’ve just said no to them because if I say yes and commit to too much, then I find that I don’t have the energy to do the things that I really want to and the things that I really enjoy. And so I’d get frustrated with that. So just saying no to no is the first response. And then you might come back and say yes to things later, but trying to do a whole lot less and just the things that I really enjoy. And then I find I’ve got much more energy and creativity to put into the things that I want to be doing and generally just a happier person.

And that has been helping a lot with training, and just sort of general day to day life stuff. So there are seven things. So having a routine, having habits. Number two is starting the day the right way. Number three is training harder. Number four is expanding my boundaries. Number five is fictional audio books. And number six was making sure that I stay on top of my mobility. And then the last one is just doing less. So I hope you enjoyed this episode of the podcast. The reason I do this podcast is because I want to sort of give you everything that I that I know and that we cover in clinics and that kind of thing. And the time that you’re ready to either join a clinic if you’re here in Australia or get some coaching online or join our membership and access all of our online technique videos, then that’s when you’re ready to do that. Then that’s what I’d love you to do. So if if any of those do apply to if you are here in Australia and you haven’t

been to a clinic, then come along. I’ve got no doubt that we can improve your stroke. We can make you love swing a whole lot more once you know what it is you want to focus on. And if you’re not in Australia, then we then I do this online technique coaching. We can send videos of your swimming and some of the results that we’re getting there and at the clinics. I’m just blown away by. So if you are at that point whenever you are ready, then I’d love to work with you. So I’ll put some links in the show notes on effortless swimming dot com and we’ll see you next episode. And don’t forget to leave a review if you’re listening on the iTunes store. I’d love to if you could leave an honest review there because that helps us come up the rankings and get exposed to more people. So thanks again for listening and I’ll see you next time. Thanks for listening to the Effortless Swimming podcast. If you’d like us to help you become a faster,

more efficient swimmer, go to www.effortlesswimming.com.