

The Effortless Swimming Podcast
Brenton Ford
Faster times and better technique aren't a guarantee when you train hard. What really makes a difference to your speed and efficiency in the water? The Effortless Swimming podcast helps make a complex sport really simple to better your swimming. We cover open water swimming, triathlon swimming and pool swimming. Hosted by Australian National swimmer and coach Brenton Ford.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Oct 29, 2021 • 41min
#203: Cracking The 30-minute Half Ironman Swim with Chris Naimoli
Seeing some incredible improvement with his swimming time, I want to get Chris into the podcast to get his take on what's made the difference for him and with experiences like this, a lot of listeners will surely have a lot of takeaways that could help them in their swimming journey. 01:36 Swimming Background 04:14 Training Plan For Triathlon 07:47 First Swim Analysis 04:15 Saw An Effortless Swimming Video Online 16:21 5-Day Catch Challenge 16:52 Slower With The Masters Club 18:23 Areas OF Improvement 20:14 Doing The Drills 23:09 Variable Pace Training 26:15 Not All Sunshine And Rainbows 34:45 What's Ahead 36:51 Recording Swim Videos

Oct 27, 2021 • 30min
#202: Getting Beyond 1:45 per 100 with Chris Georgeson
I have been working with Chris for a little bit over a year and recently had a good result in his Ironman swim. I thought it would really good to get him into the podcast to talk about what he has done to improve his swimming. 01:09 Swimming Background 02:40 Swimming In The Dark 04:18 Reluctant To Record A Video 06:02 Ripping The Band-Aid Off 08:03 Get Over That Fear And Talk About It. 09:42 Ironman Race 15:57 Focusing Technique and Drills 17:50 Training Solo 18:42 Confidence In The Pool 20:32 Areas Of Improvement 24:16 Sprinting Faster r

Oct 20, 2021 • 45min
#201: [Case Study] What To Do When Your Open Water Times Are Slower Than Your Pool Times with Prescott Balch
My guest today is Prescott Balch. Prescott was recently featured in one of our YouTube videos where we are looking at how can someone can go from 2:10 minutes per hundred down to 1:30. I want to get him into the podcast to talk about his experience and frustrations when it comes to open water and how he was able to manage it. 02:03 Swimming Background 04:19 Don't Try To Work On Too Much 05:44 Steady Progress 08:21 Terrible Race Results 10:34 Frustrations 13:51 8 Week Faster Freestyle Program 15:13 Open Water v.s. The Pool 20:19 Half Ironman 25:23 Starting Slow In Triathlon Swim 26:45 Easy Speed 28:28 You'll Never Know What Race Day Brings 31:51 Always Be Humble Enough To Go To Basics 33:21 Breathing And Relaxation 34:10 Learn To Like Open Water Swimming

Oct 8, 2021 • 12min
#200: How One Stroke Change Lead To A 16 Seconds PB with Ben Kent
Our guest today is Ben Kent who had recently made some big improvements with his swimming time. I like to get people who have gone through some of our programs and mage improvements just to show that it is possible and with the right focus and know how you can really make changes to your times by improving your technique. 00:54 Swimming Background 01:50 They Told Me I Could Not Run Anymore 02:38 Doing The 5 Day Catch Challenge 04:58 I feel Like Going Slower And Swimming Easier 06:46 Contrast Drills 08:00 Motivated After Seeing Improvements

Oct 7, 2021 • 35min
#199: 52 Hours and 125km (Breaking The World Record For The Longest Non-Stop Ocean Swim) with Neil Agius
Our guest today is Neil Agius who recently broke the World Record for the Longest Non-Stop Swim in the Ocean which is 125km over 52 hours. Join me as Neil talks about his incredible swim. 01:53 After The Swim 02:47 How Much Time To Train And Prepare For The Big Swim 03:33 Week Structure/Scheduling 04:16 Managing Emotions And Energy 06:26 Strategy For Dealing With Long Swims 07:26 Swimming Conditions 10:29 Cadence And Conserving Energy 12:15 Raising The Level Of Capacity 13:34 The Team 20:47 Energy And Spirituality 22:28 Self Realization 24:47 Turning Negative Into Positive 25:50 Race For A Cause: Wave Of Change 30:43 Getting Back To The Water 32:42 Future Swims Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/neilagius.official Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/neil.agius/

Oct 4, 2021 • 21min
#198: The 5 Core Principles Of Fast Freestyle (#5 - Find Your Rhythm And Timing)
Today, we are talking about the 5th and final Core Principle of Fast Freestyle: find your rhythm and timing. 00:36 The Dancing Part Of Freestyle 01:13 Kick Timing 04:35 Use Different Types Of Kick 10:33 Serape Effect 13:35 Hand Speed 14:07 Split Tempo 17:54 Drills 19:22 8 Week Faster Freestyle Course

Sep 27, 2021 • 21min
#197: The 5 Core Principles Of Fast Freestyle (#4 - Develop An Effective Catch And Pull)
In today's episode, we will be discussing the core principle number four of Fast Freestyle, which is developing an effective catch and pull. 01:40 No Need To Overpower The Catch 03:07 Teaching The Four Key Positions 04:00 Start Of The Catch 06:00 High Elbow Catch 07:35 Power Diamond Position 10:20 Exit Of The Stroke 11:36 YMCA Drill Progression 14:38 More Drills To Work On Your Catch 15:07 Setup Phase 16:35 Path Of The Hand 17:57 Hand Speed

Sep 22, 2021 • 10min
#196: The 5 Core Principles Of Fast Freestyle (#3-Rock, Return And Align)
Today we are talking about the third core principle of Fast freestyle which is Rock, Return And Align. 00:36 Rock v.s. Rolling 02:15 Return 03:24 Correct Entry 06:08 Align

Sep 15, 2021 • 14min
#195: The 5 Core Principles Of Fast Freestyle (#2 Find Your Balance)
In today's episode, we're looking at Core Principle Number 2. This principle is all about minimizing drag. Here are the three things that we covered on this principle. 01:46 Proud Posture 05:06 Taut Core 9:00 Effective Kick The 5 Core Principles Of Fast Freestyle: https://effortlessswimming.com/5-core-principles-of-fast-freestyle/

Sep 10, 2021 • 12min
#194: The 5 Core Principles Of Fast Freestyle (#1 Breathe Deep And Relax)
In this week's episode, I want to cover the foundation on how we teach technique and the structure that we follow when we analyze stroke which is the 5 Core Principles of Fast Freestyle. 01:45 Use Your Diaphragm 02:29 Breathing Exercises Out Of The Water 03:42 Box Breathing 04:04 Relax Your Chest And Upper Back 05:38 Having The Right Posture 06:52 Letting Go When You Exhale The 5 Core Principle Of Fast Freestyle: https://effortlessswimming.com/5-core-principles-of-fast-freestyle/