Feel the Water

I had a swimming lesson from Heath today. I was productiove and I would like to outline that we went over. Partly because I do not want to forget what we discussed but also because what I learned was about harmony in the water. I was swimming in a SwimEX pool. This allowed me to isolate what I was doing in the water, concentrating on my body position.

The idea is to get more force out of your pull. In order to get more force or power out of your pull many things must occure. First your pull must stay outside. Meaning that your pull must never come under your body. Your arm should never pass underneath your body at any point throughout your pull. Second your shoulder shoud pop up and forward at the beginning of the stroke. This allows you to have your elbow high throughout your pull. Keeping your elbow high throughout helps you grab more water and thereby create more thrust. Then your pull should have an even and powerful force throughout your entire stroke. Obtaining a pull that is maximising force is one element to the stroke.

The idea of getting the most thrust out of your stroke is important. But there are right and wrong ways to utilize this thrust. First you want your body to be as slippery in the water as possible. Rotation is one key element in becomming more slippery. By rotating your body up towards its side you creat less resistance. If you watch a sail boat race, the sailboat will lean to one side to gain speed. This rotation is important to minimizing resistance. However,too much rotation is not good either.

Extension is another element to becoming more slippery. Just like a sail boat, the longer the hull the faster it will move through the water. Keeping your body extended as long as possible will improve your speed. By lengthening your body and keeping it extended for the longest amout of time possible will maximize the effectiveness of your thrust. This extension of your body and keeping it extended for a gearter length of time is call glide. By gliding through the water you are taking advantage of the thrust created from your stroke and kick. If you do not allow for this glide you will interupt the thrust creat by the stroke.

Putting all this together is the tough part. You must learn to relax in the water. Focus more on your body passing through the water. Paying attention to what your body is doing as it passes through the water will allow you to feel what adjustments you will have to make to maximise your power, thrust and speed.
© Copyright Ryan Robert Schopke, November 21, 2005

The 320 Pound Man

I was watching TV today. Something struck me as inspiring. There was a news story about a 320 pound man. This man was not 320 pounds because he was strapped with muscles. No this was a 320 pound fat man. Morbidly obese was more of a fitting description of this man's condition. But the story was not about how fat this man was. This story was not about his ill health, it was not about his laziness, and in fact it was not about the health risks of being this obese. This story was about how this 320 pound man was actually fit.

This 320 pound man has competed in over 100 triathlons. That's right, over 100 triathlons. You see he exercises regularly. He TRAINS for these triathlons. He swims, he bikes and he runs daily. They showed him running accross the finish line of a triathlon. There he was, 320 pounds and fat. But he was RUNNING! Imagine in your minds eye a 320 pound man getting in a wetsuit, swimming. He then transitions to the bike and rides hard. Then comes the run. What confidence this must take. Confidence to put yourself infront of people, exposing yourself to ridicule. Subjecting yourself to the cruel judgements of others.

Many people judge other people based upon their size. People will say how out of shape someone is based upon visual appearances. People are judged as being lazy. They are looked down upon in every sense. They are treated poorly by others. It is my opinion that obesity is the one last legal prejudices. Infact obesity is the one last socially acceptable prejudice. As wrong as it is, prejudice against fat people is perpatrated by a great majority of the people we come in contact with. I am speaking from experience. I used to weigh 310 pounds myself. Today I am weighing 190 pounds and still losing. I noticed a change in how people interacted with me as I lost weight. People were nicer to me. People were more willing to do things for me. Even in the halls of church people went out of their way to speak to me.

Now I cannot be certain if it was more self-confidence that made the difference for me or if people just are cruel enough to treat fat people badly. Personally I think it is a combination of the two. But here is a 320 pound fat man. But this man did not let his fears or his insecurities control who he was. He was fat, active, fit, and abounding with life. He proved all sterotypes wrong. He proved that prejudice of fat people is as wrong as racial prejudism or sexual descrimination. This man knows that you may not be able to change the world, but you can change how you view the world. This man knows that if you change the way you view the world then you can change the way you live in the world. What an inspiring lesson. This man is in charge of his own destiny.
© Copyright Ryan Robert Schopke, November 15, 2005

Spinning

Something noteworthy happened today. Last winter, about this time of year, the temperture outdoors got cold enough to send me indoors to a spinning class at my local gym. I remember being exhausted after the workout. I remember my legs being pumped. I also remember my heart rate had risen to about 195 bpm for the entire workout.

I got out to the gym today. Not because it was cold outdoors. I have gotten more and more used to working out in the cold. Today was a rainy day. It rained from morning to night. I was surprised to find that my heart rate was bouncing between 160 and 180. The workout also seemed easier than I remembered even though the intensity I was spinning at was much harder than the year prior. I never got out of breath. By legs never got pumped. I walked away from this workout thinking to myself about all base training I have been doing. How all the base training has increased my fitness exponentially. I have to tell Heath about this. I just hope I don't get into troble for exceeding my HR Limits (LOL).
© Copyright Ryan Robert Schopke, November 14, 2005

Running Peace

Today I ran about 11 miles. My mind was clear. My body felt good. Time after time I run past the tree mile mark and a transformation occurs. My body get used to running. The rthym of my arms; my legs hitting the pavement. My breath pulsing and the heave of my chest. The timing of my thoughts against the forward thrust of my body cutting through the atomosphere. This is spiritual. This is peace. This is a bit of heaven on earth. This is what I was born to do.

The workout is a small piece of the journey. It is but one step. It is a glimps into the future. Some workouts are hard and labored. Some workouts feel like you are just beginning like you are totally out of shape and all you want to do plop down on your couch and eat ice cream, potato chips, and egg rolls. But then you have a workout where everything comes together. Your body, your mind, and the world around you all converge. Then you realize how each workout is a little piece life. Sometimes things are easy, sometimes things are hard, and then other times things come together and the experience is perfect.
© Copyright Ryan Robert Schopke, November 12, 2005