Melbourne H20 Swimming Club | Community organisation

Melbourne H20 Swimming Club

Phone: +61 407 543 519

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• Sports club
• Community organisation
• Public swimming pool

23.01.2022 Don’t drop your elbow, focus on your catch, anchor yourself, hold more water. Phrases often thrown around, rarely practiced and even less often, understood. The catch is a non propulsive phase of the stroke, where we take the time to create the optimal shape, for creating resistance and a hold on the water, to leverage ourselves forwards. Think of it as taking the time to create a strong footing on a slippery surface before pushing off. Top swimmers truly look like t...hey are moving in slow motion during this phase of the stroke. Ian Thorpe didn’t wake up with one of the best catches in the world. His hold on the water was earnt through years of dedicated and committed practice, focusing on the right elements of his technique and fitness. Whilst the technique is crucial, it is his fitness, strength and physical conditioning that allows him to repeat this movement, time and time again, in a race, under pressure, without breaking down. You too will not wake up one day and be able to do it perfectly, but with deliberate practice, appropriate attention, timely and specific feedback and consistent effort over an extended period of time, you too can improve your catch significantly Spending time on your catch will pay dividends. You will have a more efficient and powerful stroke, allowing you to achieve performances you otherwise wouldn’t be able to do, with the same level of physical conditioning. Focus everyday on the right things, every day, and you can only get better

08.01.2022 This morning we were thundered out of a great set. This evening, due to the immense heat, we took the opportunity to get our evening squad really up to speed with 4 transitions, 5 turns and 4 finishes. Absolutely outstanding learning, setting them all up well to do todays planned set, on the next cycle rotation, even better. Looking forward to it

01.01.2022 Sometimes our goals can seem so far away and even more challenging, so far removed from our current level of performance that they seem impossible. But as this video discusses, by making small positive changes each day, the cumulative affects over time can be substantial. Your performance will always reflect your choices, but they are your choices. You are in control, you do have the power to change. Own your journey If you can change your habits, you can change your life. https://youtu.be/U_nzqnXWvSo

24.12.2021 Some really solid fast breaststroke work this morning, interspersed with some freestyle recovery. Fantastic attendance at both sessions and lots of great efforts. Have a fantastic day off tomorrow everyone

12.12.2021 If more adults recognized the cognitive and mental health benefits of swimming, they’d jump in the pool alongside their kids. http://t.ted.com/fGeB6QE

09.12.2021 Today was a stunningly warm morning to get to work on some butterfly technique at the crack of dawn. The major focus of this mornings session was the addition of a correctly timed second kick. Unlike freestyle and backstroke, where the kicks are continuous, identical, and kick around an axis, butterfly kicks are continuous, there are two kicks per stroke cycle, BUT they are not the same. The first kick is very easy to learn and occurs naturally when swimmers press their chest... deep into the water upon entry. It can easily be learnt by performing dolphin dives, as seen here by our 7:15am crew. The second kick is far more subtle and can stump even seasoned swimmers. Whilst the first kick is performed by pressing the chest down, causing the hips to rise and bend, the window for the second kick occurs when swimmers pull and press their hips forward, naturally bending their feet back to their butt and flattening the hip. In order to complete the second kick, swimmers must simply straighten their knees to bring the entire body into a straight line, WITHOUT flexing their hips. The hips must remain straight. When performed correctly this movement will give a boosting support to both the recovery and, if necessary, a breath. Unfortunately, most swimmers will bend/lift their hips just as they are about to release their hands from the water, which will drive their shoulders down and absorb the power of the kick, making the recovery more difficult. Most swimmers will compensate for this mistake, especially during a breath, by excessively lifting their head and shoulders, which will ultimately cause their legs to sink further and momentum to be lost. So if the second kick only requires the straightening of the knee, something so simple, why is it one of the most common technical issues for swimmers when swimming butterfly? Well there two major reasons; 1) they have been told that both kicks are the same and that they must rise and press their hips on every kick, twice per stroke, and 2) swimmers try to strengthen the second kick by incorrectly engaging the strong muscles around their hip, creating flexion. As with all technical processes, understanding and being aware of the issue is the first step. With consistent, deliberate practice and appropriate attention, changes can be made and the benefits reaped. These changes will often feel awkard at first, as they take a swimmer away from their comfortable norms. As the saying goes, "sometimes you have to go one step back, to go two steps forward." Happy practicing everyone!

22.11.2021 Fly session today. Gruelling, informative and worthwhile! Fly makes you stronger!!

05.11.2021 The last two days sessions had significantly different aims. Very different Yesterday’s sessions were moderate intensity endurance sessions, working on over distances. Timed pace work across an 800 free, a 400 IM for quality skills and technique, a timed 400 back and 400 breast for even splits and a 200 fly as a fun finisher. So many members completed challenges that have never done before. Really great stuff Today’s sessions were a high intensity sprint showcase with a focus on absolute maximum speeds, with perfect skills and technique. It’s absolutely fantastic to see all swimmers improving the way they push off the wall, transition from underwater work to swimming, turn and finish. Absolutely brilliant

18.10.2021 Today’s sessions saw 30 legendary swimmers take to the pool, for a challenging session, with a butterfly and breaststroke focus. The first endurance set was 5x200 of various fly and breast movements. 1km and only a 1/3 of the way there, with a variety of sprint and skills sets to follow Whilst the focus of these sessions is to work physically and push through, building mental resilience and fitness, it’s brilliant to see many swimmers increasingly trying to add in the technical and skill elements being learnt in the more moderate sessions. That’s brilliant

11.10.2021 Learning skills and proper technique for each stroke will enhance your swimming experience. The best swimmers in the world almost always are killer medley swimmers also. Exploring all elements of swimming increases your awareness and improves your favourite strokes. Today’s backstroke session was about reducing impingement of the shoulder, connecting the body and arms with a bent arm anchor and really getting a handle of how to use the flags for turns and finishes. Very nice indeed

07.10.2021 Improve your strengths and work on your weaknesses Some really good freestyle challenges this morning. This set was designed to test everyone’s comfort zones and provide a challenge that wasn’t always achievable. Failure is part of learning and our continual assessment of our capabilities. Over time, with commitment, consistency and the dedicated practice of the right elements, the same set will become more manageable. It was great to see lane orders change as everyone found they had strengths and weaknesses in different areas. See you all tomorrow - 5:45am or 5:30pm

27.09.2021 Some outstanding free to free turns, with lower shoulder transitions, being performed by some of our 5:45am crew. Watch to see how they are done and aim to incorporate them into your own training next week. They won’t be easy at first, but they will get easier and better, with focused deliberate practice

24.09.2021 With a new logo, new program, new members and our amazing long term members learning new skills, so much is happening at MH2O right now. Good vibes Today’s session was all about wall work. Skills!! Often under practiced, learning skills correctly is both fun and a fantastic way to swim faster. Today the swimming in between the walls wasn’t judged, the red zones were. There are:... Front Dives Back Dives Wall starts - 1/2 touch turn leaving the wall on side Same Stroke turns Fly and Breast - Touch Turns leaving the wall on side Free and Back - Flip Turns leaving the wall on back Change Stroke Turns - Touch Turns leaving the wall on side - with advanced crossover options Transitions for all 4 strokes - also known as breakouts. Free and Back from side with lower shoulder first strokes rotating through the first stroke and no breathing for the free Breaststroke with a full split stroke, fly kick, pull down, kick up Fly on front without breathing Finishes for all 4 strokes Free reaching fully on side Back with a shallow dive and massive fly kick Breast with two even hands, simultaneously with the finish of the kick in streamline Fly without breathing simultaneously with the end of the recovery, on entry, with high hips There are ways of doing these skills and then there are BETTER ways of doing skills. With deliberate practice, focusing on the correct areas, we can improve our skills, increase our speed, improve our efficiency and decrease our chance of injury. Today those who attended learnt wall starts, all transitions, all same stroke turns and all finishes. Here is our 7:15 squad working hard on their touch turns. Fantastic