TECHNIQUE CHANNEL TRAINING
TAKING
It seems fi t ing that I write this in a caravan at the Varne Ridge Holiday Park in Capel-le-Ferne, atop the famous white cliff s
of Dover, while waiting for the call from my pilot that the weather and tidal conditions are in sync and it's a good time to at empt the English Channel. It could happen at any time – I’ve already had one false alarm, where rising winds forced us to postpone. While we can’t choose the weather and the tides for our crossing,
we can control how we train and prepare, in the hope that all those hard-swum metres and lit le sacrifi ces along the way will amount to success. There are fi ve main priorities that aspiring Channel swimmers must address:
1 Maintain an effi cient technique that enables you to stay injury-free. 2 Develop a sound aerobic engine – converting from petrol to diesel.
3 Acclimatise to the cold. 4 Work out eff ective fuelling strategies for ultra-endurance swimming. 5 Keep a happy home /social /work /training balance.
Preparing for the Channel is a gruelling challenge, but it’s not impossible with the right training. Swim Smooth’s Paul Newsome – fresh from his own crossing success – shares some key pointers to start you off
1. EFFICIENT TECHNIQUE Over the last three years I have averaged more than 35km of swimming per week: starting in August 2008 with 16km a week and building up to more than 70km. In order to remain injury- free during this time I have had to look closely at my stroke technique and ensured that whatever I am doing is not potentially injurious. The biggest killer to any ultra-endurance event is lack of consistency in your training, which most oſt en occurs due to hiatuses in training caused by injury or illness. More than 80 percent of all endurance swimmers will suff er some form of shoulder pain in their swimming lives (and when training for the English Channel it's pret y much a given) so it’s about managing pain and fatigue rather than having brilliant weeks of high volume followed by big drop-off s. It is well worth get ing a regular check-up with a local swim coach (preferably with video analysis) to ensure that your form in the water is not going to lay you low with injury down the line.
PREVENTING INJURIES DURING ULTRA- ENDURANCE SWIMMING
• Avoid a thumb-fi rst entry into the water. Excessive internal rotation of the shoulder joint is one of the leading causes of impingement.
• Avoid crossing-over in front of your head as your hand enters the water for the same reason as above.
• Avoid a strong press-down with a straight arm as you initiate your catch – the water should be pressed back behind you at this stage by bending the elbow.
• Avoid an excessive push or fl ick to fi nish the back of the stroke as this can cause excessive torsion in the elbow and result in a symptom called medial epicondylitis, known as golfer's elbow.
Routes can get blown way off course
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• Develop a bilateral breathing pat ern for at least 80 percent of your training volume to help improve symmetry. This will also help with communication with your boat pilot on the big day.
Photo © Google/
ais-doverstraits.co.uk
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