Straight Arm Pull Ups

For swimmers working out the chest muscles is an everyday occurrence. On the other side swimmers have a tougher time working their back muscles . In some cases swimmers end up having a little bit of a hunch in their shoulders. One way to eliminate the problem is to do straight arm pull ups.

To do this you need an assisted pull up machine. Set the weight at a level that will make take some weight off of you. Then with your knees on the pad have your arms out straight up to hold the bars. Slowly relieve the pressure off your arms and go down all the way so that your arms are straight up and down. Then pull yourself up but keeping your arms straight. Do not lock your elbows. Repeat 3 reps of 12.

Thin this exercise you will feel all of your back muscles working. This will build them up and even out the amount worked on the chest muscles.

Low Attendence

It seems like it is the time of year that club sports are showing a lack of motivatio and attendence. For the University of Colorado Swim Team we have seen a huge drop in these two fields. With over 100 people pay dues only an average of 20 poeple actually come to practice at the moment. The coach thinks it is because we are not a team but I feel that she is completely off base with that assumption.

The coach need to remember that we are students first and that most swimmers major priority is school then swimming. We are not division athletes who get paid to go to practice and swim. We pay to do what we love. So at the end of the day if we have a huge test to study for or practice to go to most of us will pick studying for that exam.

Also this is a rough time of the year for all students. We have mid-terms, term papers, projects, and jobs that take us away from practice. There is also sickness that goes around that we cannot prevent. So at the end of the day it is not that we are not a team or don't care it is the fact that we are students that have other things that we need to do as well. Yes we can try to balance everything better, but we do the best we can.

Open water swimming

Wether you swim in a lake or the ocean, swimming outdoors in the open is a totally different experience then that of swimming in a lap pool. The waves that crash into you, constantly throwing you off course in the ocean makes you work twice as hard. The murky unclear water of lake water makes it difficult to navigate without lifting our head. The sense of accomplishment once you make it to your stopping point is priceless.

For me swimming in open water is this calm experience that nothing can quite compare too. You feel as if you are once with nature, testing it while at the same time and working with it. There are no lane lines to keep you in place, no walls to tell you when to turn and when to stop. It is completely up to you where your end is.

It is one of the most challenging and yet rewarding exercise or race you will have. The sport of open water swimming is growing and becoming more popular among swimmers. Still in the early stages American swimmers have been putting their mark on the sport. Only time will tell where the sport will go.

ASAU qualifying meets

So ASAU has this new rule for this year to qualify for regionals and nationals. First you have to swim at an ASAU sanctioned meet within the season. This means that any swimmers from the previous years cannot use the events they swam last year, but have to re-due them this season. That is understandable. The only thing is though there are only two sanctioned ASAU meets before regionals and nationals, both are within the first three months of the season while regionals and national s are still four and five months away. No one knows exactly what they want to swim yet and no one is going to be going fast times yet. The big confusion is that though we have to have swam the events this season we are still able to use last year times from nationals as seed times for both this years regionals and nationals. What the point then in having this ruling?

The founder of ASAU is trying to get more clubs to swim against each other but with lack of funding through the universities clubs cannot afford to do a lot of traveling. It is easier to swim against other universities, division schools, in the area. This makes the opportunity to swim sanctioned ASAU meets almost impossible for some clubs. Both ASAU and NCAA need to do a better job at incorporating all teams for the sake of the sport.

Supplements

My male roommate and fellow swimmers is into taking protein shakes after working out. Out of curiosity I tried some of his, the taste was not so great. I am just really curious in how these protein shakes would affect me and my swimming ability. Would I get stronger or just bigger? Would it have any affect on me at all? Are there different types of protein shakes out there for men and women? All these questions raced through my head.

At the end of the day though I feel as long as I eat protein throughout the week I should be fine without having to take any supplement instead or with. I don't think that protein shakes or any other type of legal supplement is right for me. There are to many questions and unknown answers for me to get into them.

Swimmers main source of energy/strength comes from protein and carbs. If you have to take a supplement to get that energy/strength then by all means go ahead, It is just not for me. I will do it the old fashion way through diet and exercise to be fit for the sport.

Club Sports

Club sports have to be the best thing for competitive athletes. The people that do club sports are either to worn out t and then those who love the sport but are not good enough to compete at the division level. These club sports are growing in size and amount. Teams are getting bigger and better and more team are being created all over the country. Just alone in the club swimming arena almost 15 teams have been added to the league just this year.

This past Friday the University of Colorado Club Sports board put on an event for the club sports. Three members from each club team was selected to compete in a ice dodgeball competition. The three members from each club team was put together with another club to make up a team. Then there were brackets made and everyone competed with each other. This event was a great way for the club teams to come together and get to know each other better. It was also a way to celebrate the clubs and what they are all about, students coming together over something they love.

There are not many programs that are able to do what the club sport board did for the teams. I have never heard of division programs doing stuff like this. Club Sports is all about having a good time and enjoy the sport again. I am so glad that Colorado has this program and that I am a part of it.

What Now

So now that Natalie Coughlin is off Dancing with the Stars what happens to her now? Does she go straight back into swimming or is she going to be doing more endorsements and shows? How come she can still be one of the fastest women in the world and not have to constantly train like most athletes?

These sort of questions go through my mind constantly. I'm the type of athlete that has to train all the time just to keep in shape. Even taking a week off for me puts me right back at zero.

I would really like to know the secret that these top athletes have , besides just being talented.

Getting offers

The CU swim and Dive club team has been invited to Swim at the Mesa State Invitational in February. Originally CU was not invited because we are not a division team but Mesa changed its mind and offered us a spot to come because they see us as competition for them. To make things even better the Mesa State team has offered to pay for our hotels and food for coming out there.

For a team that has to pay for everything for themselves this helps us out a ton.

This is not the first time a division team has gone to extra lengths to get our team to come to a meet. The University of Nebraska at Omaha usually has an invitational the first week of Dec. This year though they told us that unless we came to this meet they were not going to have it. Also they have invited us to their Conference Meet with other division 2 universities to compete at. This is the first time ever a club team has been offered this.

CU might just be a club team, but we are strong and not to be messed with. We have proven ourselves to these division team and they are taking noticed. GO CU!

2010 ASAU Nationals

The 2010 ASAU Nationals for swimming are going to be held outside of Atlanta, Georgia at Emory University. This is exciting news for all club teams for now we can all start planning the trip out there.

After looking at the Universities web site I am truly excited to get out there. It is always fun to travel to different universities, especially ones out of state, for club teams. These events are when we look forward to and train for. ASAU club teams are not sponsored by the universities so each club raises its own expenses for trips like these. They are a huge deal for these athletes and much deserved.

Jumps Squats

One of the easiest exercised to learn yet one of the most important exercises for swimmers. Jump squats are designed to build strength in swimmers legs and also work on reaction time. Two of the most important parts of a swimmers race are the start and turns, these points will break or make a race.

The squat jump consists of combining the traditional squat exercise, bending knees at a 90 degree angle while pressing your butt out and not letting your knees go over your feet, with the exercise of quick jumps to work calf muscles. For this exercise you will have a bar with whatever weight you feel comfortable with , for me it 20 lbs. on each side of the bar. You will put the bar on the top of your back and then go into the squat position. From this position you will jump up from your toes and then come back down into the squat position. Do three sets of 15 and you will be able to feel the burn and get in a good workout.

When it comes to swimming being able to power off your start and turn will be highly beneficial to your races. This exercise is designed to build up your legs strength so when you are completely exhausted on the last 50 a a 200 Free you will still be able to have fast and powerful turns to finish the race.

This is personally one of my favorite exercises to do for swimming. It's fast and you defiantly feel the burn. I have also noticed in most of my races that my turns are getting more powerful and for the beginning of the season that is very important.

Natalie is gone

Last night on Dancing with the Stars, Olympic Swimmer, Natalie Coughlin was eliminated from the show. This is a huge let down for the swimming community. She was a great ambassador for the sport to a larger audience that swimming does not usually get.

Overall though I do think that she deserved to go home. She is not the best dancer out there. Her dances feel stiff and not genuine. She did not feel completely comfortable dancing , which i feel is a huge part of dancing. If she could not completely let go then she just looked awkward the entire time.

I absolutely love Natalie as a swimmer, every time a met her at meets she was always super sweet and nice. But as a competitor on this show i felt like that might have been her downfall. She did not have the personality for this show to win.

So goodbye Natalie we will miss you on DWTS...

Rocky Mountain Invite

This past weekend was CU Swim and Dives second meet of the season. We had some outstanding swims, with one guy going a 20.67 in his 50 and another almost breaking the pool record at Mines in the 1650.

CU had a small squad at this meet because of parent's weekend but still managed to make our presence known.

As for me, after seven years of not competing in Breaststroke, I managed to complete the 200 Breast and swim onto the third breaststroke position on the team. I had ACL surgery years ago and until recently have not even trained breaststroke because of my knee. Now I am excited for this new endeavor in the sport.

Jammer Suite = Ugly Suite

Michael Phelps announced that he will be wearing a jammer suite at up coming World Cup Meets. This comes after the decision by the swimming council that performance suites such as the Lazar, Blue Seventy, and leg suites were banned.

Jammer suites are by far the most unflattering men's suites ever. They go down to an awkward length on the legs and make men look like boys.

I feel like Michael Phelps is wearing this jammer suite to make a point about the suite ban. The ruling eliminated a majority of the high performance suites that in my opinion did not need to be banned.

These meets will be interesting to to what happens.

First Meet

So the CU swim team had our first meet of the season and we completely dominated the meet. At this meet were the teams from Mines, Adams State, Mesa State, and Metro State. Being the only club team there we were seen as the underdogs.

One thing about our club is that we are 100 strong, roughly 50 compete, and are 4 times Club National Champs. With that being said I wasn't surprised at all that we did so well at the meet. Over all we won a handful of relays and had top three finishes in every event. But the most exciting race as the women's 400 Free relay. It was the last race of the night and CU was up against division school Mesa State, who were expected to dominate that event. The entire race both teams were side by side and CU touched out Mesa State. Their team was surprised that they just lost and it just proved that swimming for a club team does not mean that you are not good at the sport.

Our club team is full of diverse swimmers and we have the best time together. This win at our first meet with division teams just proves that our team is just as competitive as others.

2016 Olymics

Rio got the bid for the 2016 Olympics and I couldn't be happier. Sorry for all fans of Chicago, and yes I know it would boost our economy, but Rio is the best place for the sport of swimming. Rio loves swimming and Speedo is basically part of the locals everyday attire.

Also Brazil will now be taken more seriously on an international sporting level. At the moment they have Cesar Cielo, the world's fastest man in the water in the 50. and in seven years we should expect the Brazilian team to be putting out even more top sprinters.

Chicago's lost is Rio's gain and it will be one big celebration.

Outcome on suite controversy

So the final word is in, the official legal competition suites list is posted on usaswimming.org. With this list now confirmed the swimmers can now get down to business on training.

For all of the swimmers out there that have purchased a LAZAR suit or a Blue 70 I apologize to you for wasting your money. But for the record spending $500 on a suite that will only last you a couple of races is just not worth it to me. Unless you are breaking world records those type of suites are just pointless to me.

Natalie on DWTS

Natalie Coughlin is doing a fantastic job representing the swimming community on such a popular show, Dancing with the Stars!

To be honest I am pretty surprised, not due to her skill level but just that she had enough fans to vote for her. Yes, everyone in the swimming world loves her but do they watch DWTS? Also the community is so small compared to the other "celebrities" on the show that I am surprised she gets enough votes to stay on.

Maybe it is just her presence that is winning over more than just the swimming community and hopefully this will lead to popularizing the sport . I know Im rooting for her.

Instead of the sport of swimming embracing advancements in technology I feel like it is taking a step back. From the top of the sport to local club teams the suit controversy has hit us all.

Don't get me wrong I am all for fair competition, which these new suits do not give, but to ban types of suits that have been around for years is insane. It first started with the Lazar and Blue Seventy Suits being banned and now its all the way down to leg suits. This is crazy, next thing you know we are going to be back to the basic speedo suits that they wore in the 70's.

The only thing that makes banning these suits fair is that not everyone can afford these high tech suits. By banning them it puts everyone on an equal playing field and true talent and hard work is rewarded, without the help of a suit.

It is very upsetting to see a swimmer who has not trained as hard and with less talent beat another swimmer who trains so much harder just because they are wearing the high tech suit compared to the other swimmer.

With these high tech suits it basically all comes down to who has the money to afford them or be sponsored by them. Its great that the sport is advancing but if everyone can't advance together it makes the sport unfair.

The Pike Exercise

After 12 years in the sport of swimming I have never encountered a dry land exercise as hard as the pike. I find myself almost in tears after each set I do and dreading the next set I will have to do. This exercise includes your own balance and a stabilizing ball. This might sound easy but once you try it you will understand the difficulty of this exercise.

Step 1: Grab a large size stabilizing ball, make sure it is filled up enough, and roll out on it so that you ankles are at the end of the ball and your hands are out in a push up position.

Step 2: Curl your abs in to bring the stabilizing ball up to your chest. You should now be in a pike position, just like the divers.

Step 3: Now, with your abs, roll back out into the plank position that you started in.

You should do two sets of 30 for this exercise with no breaks in each set. Its more difficult then you would think people.

This exercise not only works your abs but manages to work your lower back and arms all in one. In swimming these are vital parts. For breaststrokers and flyers you need a strong lower back to lift your upper body. Strong abs will help every swimmer with their turns, rolling in and out of them. While strong and stable arms are also a must.

NCAA Ruling

The NCAA has finally ruled that university club teams that follow NCAA rules can compete and are considered true competition. This is a great day for universities swim clubs. For a majority of their meets are against NCAA division team. These club teams are from universities that have cut their varsity program and still have swimmers that capable of competing on the higher level. So for all you club swimmers or even fans of swimming this is a great day for the sport.