REAL Blog
Lessons from the Legends (Including Your Coach): Key Takeaways from Beyond The Breakers
- Adina Oneill
Imagine an entire day dedicated to open water swimming! Beyond The Breakers brought together legends, coaches, swimmers and open water enthusiasts from around the world. In one day we told stories, shared skills and celebrated the love of the open water.
In its second year, the conference grew with more speakers and more attendees, yet maintained its fun and friendly environment. I particularly appreciated how organizer Craig Lewin from Endurance Swimming offered new affordable ticket options for budget conscious swimmers in addition to the VIP experience which included food and extra socializing.
My Experience: A Day among the Legends
Before we dive into the technical takeaways you can use in the water, here’s a quick personal reflection on my experience as a speaker and attendee.
I wasn’t able to attend every session, so I took advantage of time in the speaker room to talk about mindset with Sue Sotir, putting on races with Matt & Casey from Salty Sports Society, and chat for a few minutes with Lenny Krazelburg. I remember marveling at his beautiful backstroke winning Olympic Gold in Sydney in 2000 and here I was telling him how I swam 10K backstroke in the ocean this summer. Too bad I didn’t have my camera ready to capture his reaction. Later, during lunch, I shared the “book nook” with Dr. Greg Skomal, an accomplished marine biologist and shark expert. The day wrapped up with master story tellers: Sarah Thomas described how goals, grit and grace carried her through a 4-way English Channel Crossing one year after finishing her breast cancer treatment and Glenn Stout shared insight into the story of Trudy Ederle, the first woman to cross the English Channel.
I was honored to be part of such an impressive list of speakers and that Craig valued my message about supporting and celebrating all swimmers. My presentation showcased how elite training concepts apply to ordinary people like you and me. It started with an exercise on how to define yourself as a swimmer, moved to setting meaningful goals that inspire you and finished with a call to action to advocate for yourself with confidence. I’ll be sharing clips and tips from the presentation through my email list and on social media.
It was so hard deciding which sessions to talk about so I put a poll on my Instagram stories to let my followers vote. I always want to make sure I’m sharing what you want to know! The two most popular were: Dry Land Training and Why Drills Matter.
Let’s Dive In!
Technical Takeaways: Dry Land and Core
Landwork that Translates: How to Strength Train for Open Water Performance with Dan Daly
You may remember learning from Dan in my 2024 Beyond the Breakers recap how swimmers can build strength on dry land and transfer that strength into the water. This year he had us literally rolling on the floor in an interactive workshop. I will do my best to explain how I understood the 2 areas that we practiced and share a few of the exercises.
Open Water Breath Control
The Why: Calms your nervous system, creates stiffness in your core that allows for better limb mobility, increases stability in the water with a stiff streamline body position, and improves performance with better tolerance for lack of air.
The Goal: Improve core stability and manage anxiety/nervous energy.
How to Do It (Box Breathing):
- Inhale for 4 seconds.
- Hold for 4 seconds.
- Exhale for 4 seconds.
- Hold for 4 seconds.
The Why: This spiral line of connective tissue connects opposite shoulder to hip through the core, aiding rotation and stability in the water.
Exercise 1: Segmented Rotation
The Goal: Increase core-driven rotation.
How to Do It: Stand with your back to a mirror, feet together, and twist as far as you can. When turning left, you want to see your right shoulder come through.
Exercise 2: Rolling Pattern
The Goal: Replicate rotation and core stability for swimming.
How to Do It: Lay on your back with arms overhead. Try to roll left by lifting your head and reaching with your right arm without using your legs.
I’ll be adding these to my personal training plans as well as the athletes I coach. Reach out to Dan for technical support and tell everyone you know about this because it’s not just for swimmers.
Small Moves Big Gains: Why Drills Matter for Efficient Open Water Simming with Bob Fernald
Drills are typically the most dreaded part of the swim workout. I’ve talked to swimmers who would rather do never-ending 100’s or butterfly than slow down to focus on technique. I get it. Swim technique is, well…technical. It takes a lot of concentration and patience to go slow enough during execution and dedication to do them often enough.
The Path from Incompetence to Competence
Bob started by explaining that to move from unconscious incompetence (not knowing what we are doing wrong) to unconscious competence (doing it right without thinking) it takes 7,000-10,000 strokes. All those drills and practice are creating the muscle memory needed to recognize what we’re doing wrong and make the appropriate corrections until it becomes a habit.
He explained the importance of self awareness of what he called the “top culprits” that often contribute to poor swim form.
1. Streamline Culprits
- Poor Form Examples: Head up, forearms sweeping under your body, bent legs, or flexed feet.
- How This Shows Up (Symptoms):
- Slower Speed: Feeling like you can’t get faster.
- High Distance Per Stroke (DPS): (If your stroke count is generally above 25 per length.)
- Direction Changes: Crashing into lane lines or drifting in open water.
2. Power Factor Culprits
Short Paddle Syndrome
- Poor Form Example: Catching the water with your hand instead of using your entire forearm (the effective “paddle”).
- How This Shows Up (Symptoms): Higher distance per stroke (DPS) or slower overall speeds.
Inefficient Pulling Motion
- Poor Form Example: Sweeping your hand wide outside the body or pulling too far underneath the body.
- How This Shows Up (Symptoms): Direction changes (drifting) or less power generated with each stroke.
Your Action Plan for Stroke Improvement
So, what do you do if you notice these signs? First, congratulate yourself for paying attention enough to recognize the issue! Next, follow Bob’s advice—which I can attest from experience coaching my own athletes, really works
- Video Analysis – Use your phone or an underwater camera to record yourself swimming. Share it with a swim instructor who has experience analyzing strokes to help identify the culprits. In person is preferred, but if you don’t know someone in your area reach out and I can help you virtually.
- Metrics & Measure – Determine what combination of stroke count, time and distance supports the area you’re looking to improve. Then measure about every 2 weeks.
- Choose only a couple of changes – you can’t fix everything at once. Be patient!
- Make your drill time meaningful – slow down and concentrate
- Start today for next year’s results – it won’t happen overnight, you need time to accumulate 7,000-10,000 strokes.
Every endurance event, whether it’s a 10K swim or a 5K run, is an opportunity for learning and growth. If Bob’s drills or Dan’s dry land exercises feel confusing, don’t try to go it alone! I specialize in translating elite training concepts into personalized instruction for everyday athletes. Whether you need an eye to analyze your swim stroke technique or a comprehensive training plan to finally tackle that big goal, I’m here to help you move from unconscious incompetence to unconscious competence.
Schedule a free consultation call with me today, and let’s get started on creating your next breakthrough.
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