SWIM TECHNIQUE masterclass

Ahh, the triathlon swim. For some, the place to shine; for others, a dark, dark place. While on both the bike and run you can pretty much conceal technical flaws and still generate impressive times, inefficient technique is magnified in the swim, water being around 800 times denser than air. Thankfully, with persistence, you can transform your opening discipline with our front-crawl makeover.

And here’s why… every time we learn something new, our brain forges new connections and neurons, while making existing neural pathways stronger or weaker. This is known as plasticity and refers to the brain’s malleability. This is a relatively new concept as, for years, researchers believed that changes in the brain could only take place during infancy and childhood. This is wrong.

Which is good news for any latecomers to triathlon, though it is true that, in general, children possess the capacity to learn ‘better’. That’s because young brains tend to be more sensitive and responsive to experiences than much older brains. And explains why