This Technique Held

[@EffortlessSwimming]

We posted all of the raw footage of Andy swimming inside of the 'Elite Swimmers' section inside the ES membership: effortlessswimming.com/training-and-membership-plans/

[@eikebraselmann4306]

His body language and manner of speaking reflect his approach to swimming perfectly: super on point without pressure, low heart rate, no wasted energy. He could probably mow the lawn or wash dishes at the same marathon pace. What a profoundly relaxed and focused dude. Truly inspiring, thanks for posting this!

[@juliang7846]

If there's a 'secret' to Andy's swimming it's this... 30km pw at high intensity, consistently, for years! Ther's no shortcuts to success

[@dominickdaalhuizen1158]

And note that that is considered a low milage.

[@jaylav8662]

More like 80km/wk

[@kevinmithnick9993]

Maybe one can copy technique, but one can't copy and paste years of training

[@jaylav8662]

@@kevinmithnick9993 people wouldn’t be able to copy the technique unless they grew up doing it this way

[@KungFury_7337]

The comment the people don’t want to hear.

[@CreteSwim]

Great point starting at 4:57 about a clean hand entry to avoid having air bubbles disrupt the connection between the water and the hand during the catch. In windsurfing we call this "cavitation" when the back fin loses water "traction" due to air bubbles and the stern slides sideways in the water. Thanks for all the video angles: side, front, top, in and out of the water!

[@hamishspencer]

What a beast. Super impressive. I can't do 1:12/100m even once. Damn

[@kennethsancho7446]

Bro I not even sure if I could do it running ☠️

[@moulaye7534]

Is it one minute 12 seconds to swim 100m?

[@kennethsancho7446]

@@moulaye7534 yes

[@PKperformanceEU]

doping like TDF riders do wonders

[@worldwanderer24680]

Same!

[@meliorknowledge7590]

The 'pulling on jeans' trick for core engagement is the best tip I've ever heard for core engagement! Andy is awesome!

[@mryfw]

Pulling On Jeans means what

[@purpleblueunicorn]

@@mryfw suck the belly in at the point of the navel while pulling the jeans up

[@zachharrington6654]

I started swimming 6 weeks ago (1/2 sessions a week) after learning 17 years ago in primary school. Ive gone from 3.15/100m (for 1km) to 2.07/100m (for 2.5km) this evening (including a 400m BrS warm up). I totally dedicate these improvements to this video and especially the 'sucking in' technique which effectively hyper inflates your lungs. As a runner this is completely different to what im used to. By hyper inflating my lungs and only breathing out like 40% capacity between breaths, it allows me to stay buoyant and near the surface of the water rather than constantly have my legs drop. I'm actually stunned with this revelation paired with rotating my body rather than twisting my head (which is really what you think you see above water when people swim). No need for expensive lessons with this content available as long as you keep thinking about every stroke and how you can improve the next!

[@zachharrington6654]

​@@mryfwhave a look at my comment there lad. When youve been doing something for so long I think Andy hasnt fully explained the true unnatural feeling of what hes saying. I hope my comment helps!

[@rosacomella5122]

I follow Andy and always marvel at how smooth and (seemingly) intuitive his feel for the water is even in really harsh conditions. SUPERB swimmer. I imagined a completely different kind of training (more grind than fine tuned technique). This video has been super helpful. Now I get why he's so in sync with the water. THANKS Andy and Brent!

[@shurrrig]

WOW: im in awe. I've probably watched ALL your videos by now, Brenton, but what this guy does is compress all of the knowledge in a few succinct, on point items. friggin phenomenal! thank you!

[@darklin9]

Thank you for sharing, this really helps. Currently 2:16/100 for 400m. A lot to improve... means more time in the pool!! yay !! :D

[@655Louisa]

Amazing swimmer: So humble! I'm glad to hear that his stroke rate is slower because I've always felt bad that my stroke rate is slower than what I would like it to be. There's always something to work on. I think this re-inforces in me that I'm meant for longer distances. Thanks for sharing!

[@davidstork5604]

Donaldson's stroke is about as close to perfect as I have ever seen... so smooth and efficient. His tips will certainly help me in my open water (and pool) efforts. Thanks so much.

[@anskey]

Lots of great advice from Andy here. His point about high elbow on the recovery and letting your formarm almost dangle in a completely relaxed state, with the finger tips almost brushing the surface of the water until they reenter is key. My coach taught me this years ago and it allowed me to enjoyably swim longer distances.

[@Nat-DAVID]

whaooo his technique is amazing he looks so smooth!!

[@Hasssprechbeauftragter]

I can hold 2:15/100m… for 4 Minutes

[@shurrrig]

😅 its *something" 🤭

[@GhostYT_lat]

same

[@pzboyz72]

The speed some of these guys attain is nuts. I need bigger hands.

[@TASwims]

Cool story bro

[@LéandreBonzom-Niquet]

Ha i can hold 1'30/100 during 800m freestyle, i'm not that bad after all...

[@albertogadanha]

This channel is awesome. But this is probably the best description of swimming that I've ever seen. Thank you

[@ItsWami]

Its really cool to see how he almost does the catch up drill in his regular swimming. Focusing more or quality of each stroke then quantity.

[@brandon.4451]

This is the most helpful video I’ve watched. My catch and pull and recovery really improved copying him. I make sure to flick water with my finger tips at the end of the stroke. It forces you to follow through.

[@bswims]

Andy is a legend. Such a nice guy too.

[@fionaomahoney623]

Saved this. Thank you. Such amazing advice. For someone who is an adult learned swimmer trying to reach her first marathon swim - these tips are amazing.

[@George-jo7mi]

I like his approach but I find at my age (77 ) that I don't want to pull as hard near the top or even mid stroke but rather accelerate from mid stroke thru to bottom of my stroke while dorsi flexing my wrist to lengthen my stroke and time my 2 beat kick right at the very end, elbow locked and wrist dorsi flexed. That gives me a nice rotation, plenty of glide and I feel relaxed. Cheers mate!

[@stuartlichty4250]

Try a deeper initial hand entry, so that your leading hand and arm are arcing downward slightly. This will cause the oncoming flow of water to push your hand/arm down and back sooner than if you glide with your hand-arm parallel to the surface of the water. By doing the deeper initial entry you will have earlier and likely more favorable leverage at the catch and during the pull. Many coaches are not keen on this deeper initial entry but you cannot argue with the initial increased leverage from a physics perspective as well as a substantial decrease in tension and wear/tear on deltoid tendons and other shoulder connective tissues. With the deeper initial entry there may be a slight increase in frontal drag but this is probably quite negligible.

[@michaelkhalsa]

@@stuartlichty4250Thank you, going to try that tomorrow.

[@TheTravesty2012]

Just got under my goal of 1:59/100m for 1700m. Will apply what Andy is talking about and see if it improves.

[@sf600-q7n]

Brilliant speaker, very enjoyable to listen and superbly Informative and transparent 🤝🤝✨

[@user-oy5jm4zm6u]

It was a real pleasure to see this video, I enjoyed it so much. All the questions are interesting. Even by speaking is Andy giving a feeling of smoothness. I discover him today and he is already inspiring me.

[@wilsonjramos]

If there is long distance swimming in Olympics, just like the marathons, this guy could get a gold medal

[@albertofiore1892]

The rolling is impressive, i can't get that stability when rotating.

[@KarolBuchnajzer]

This channel is gold! Thank you very much! Although it is things I already know It is really great to hear it. Andy give a really good explanation of it all too

[@Horsefaire]

Wow! A fantastic teacher and champion swimmer

[@Vivungisport]

I agree very much🙏🌤⛩

[@ruthhealy8967]

Thankyou Andy for explaining your technique so well

[@jammy-44]

This is a great video with some essential tips an everyday swimmer can implement into their swimming. Hearing it explained so well by a guys who’s a machine in the water.

[@openyard]

This was began by Alexander Popov and characterised by the late Terry Laughlin of Total Immersion decades ago.

[@mlkseth9811]

I downloaded the total immersion course. Very complex for beginners to understand 😢

[@campbelllindsay6308]

great interview and a very relatable guy

[@IceMan-wj4wg]

Nice, very smooth technique.

[@joaogrilo4896]

Very good quality content, thank you!

[@hatpeach1]

Wow. It's hard to believe that this is possible. Great video!

[@mooripo]

Thanks so much, your channel is one of the top ones i' KZbin that helped me learn to swim at the age of 28, and now I really needed this ki'd of open water swimming and long distance, thanks z lot ❤

[@wilsonparry9341]

Great interview and I relate a lot. Less kick, more focus on power (high elbow and propulsion) , keep core tight. But damn 60 strokes per minute! Got some work to do

[@bartholomewlyons]

27-30 spm here and I am chuffed. 60 is insane. And the quality of those is also another level

[@orkar9994]

@@bartholomewlyons I actually don’t think you’re too far off. He mentioned that he likes to keep low stroke rates, so I’m thinking he actually meant 30 spm (i.e., he counts every time a hand hits not when a full cycle is completed). I would be dumbfounded if not, primarily because 60 spm is the recommended SR for the 50 free. alexander popov, one of the great 50 freestylers of history, only had a 54 stroke rate. I’d give my car to see a person who could keep that up for even an hour, much less four, while still pulling water

[@razs.4548]

Awsome. He can actually explain feeling to an adult learning swimmer

[@drewklein8716]

What a great interview. So candid and many helpful insights from a world class swimmer. So surprised that his head is looking forward and not downward. In the interview he emphasized the importance of his hand entering clean in the water. Wondering if his head is forward in order to look at his hands/entry? Any insights about this would be appreciated as I might consider switching to this technique.

[@taidaniela4311]

Open Water higher head can help sighting to control direction or minimize impact of choppy water. Could also be where he feels comfortable.

[@drewklein8716]

@@taidaniela4311 Thanks for replying. All 3 of your reasons make so much sense. Appreciate it.

[@hugoapresname]

@@taidaniela4311in open water there is no line for orientation 😅

[@drewklein8716]

@@hugoapresname Makes sense since he swims solo in open water. I wouldn't dare so I just follow the crowd.

[@mitchellbarns4497]

Andys such a humble legend

[@trackie1957]

Very interesting. Thank you!

[@taricklloyd5904]

Always excellent content. This is an excellent vid. Thanks alot.

[@fugazi_]

Interesting and in part surprising answers indeed. Always learned to accerate until the end of the stroke whereas Andy says he reaches the peak in the middle, which makes perfect sense to me. Obviously there are less dogmas in swimming than you'd think, there's a lot of aspects where you have to find out on your own what works best for you and suits your style. Beautiful and impressing technique anyway!

[@anilkumarj1564]

Thanks for sharing valuable information..

[@marc.bernreuther]

What a legend

[@YassenJL]

Daymn...swimming is the sport where differences between professional athletes and amateurs are extremely apparent. I can't hold 1.55/100 m for more than 10 minutes. 🙂

[@MillerMedeiros]

I guess all (endurance) sports are like this… amateur cyclists could never keep up with a pro for more than a few minutes… amateur runners can’t run a single kilometer at the same pace a pro marathon runner runs 42km… Besides the fact that they are likely more “talented”, pros are also training ~20 hours per week, while most amateurs train only for a few hours…

[@igorlaniella465]

I do 1:30 for long distance (+20k) and I am definetely an amateur so I don't agree with you. The difficulty to reduce times is increasingly more difficult. It's much harder to go from 1:15 to 1:10 than from 1:50 to 1:30. So time gap is not as big as you may expect.

[@foreverjc7958]

Beast! I do 100m in 2:08!

[@Precio70]

Great video!! Excellent insights!! Thanks!!

[@Adeus555]

Swimming channels like that wouldn't current play a part in speed.. i mean averaging a 1m12s for 4+ hours thats pretty nutty without some kind of help from the elements. Also 7:28 that is some good form!

[@tmkj1521]

That’s a great point, I actually have not seen anybody mention currents earlier, way to think outside the box.

[@timharmoni1846]

Really informative video. Cheers!

[@MrJhockley]

I don't want to take away from this swimmers majestic world breaking super hero legendary swim status. He's one of the best on the planet. However i wanted to add some realism to the hype. 1:16/100m was the pace of the swim across the Cook Straight, 22km in 4:33:50. = 1:16.8/100m. I'm wondering how much of that is to currents, wind and wetsuits. I'm just trying to suggest that novices like myself don't jump in the pool, struggle to hit 1:16 pace even for 25 meters and make direct comparisons. Andy is a world class swimmer but probably also a very smart guy with a strategy to picking the optimum and fastest way to swim the Cook Straight.

[@tranquockhanh3446]

Cool.

[@hugoapresname]

Thanks to the great footage I can determine that he is extremely flat in the water and very minimal movement. BUT I learned that I am way not so flexible like pro swimmers. Your channel helped me a lot in breaking culprits down. It’s funny when You realize that You swim a lot faster than others but You are totally relaxed and oxygenated and not out of breath. Because Your legs are up 🆙 I don’t try to compare myself a lot but it feels rewarding especially to be able to somewhat “swim” and not *hurt* or *strain* Your body. I very much liked his saying: ~is it worth it to think about improving something or just relax and leave it the way it is. Maybe the worst You can do is to ‘think’ ? 😂 Better is, train, try, feel a difference - and just build awareness. And leave the *sinking* out of the pool 😜

[@Jeph629]

Worth watching a dozen times! Unfortunately, at 68 and one 'marginal' shoulder I'm unable to get 1:12 anymore. However the core recommendation and his beautiful front-quadrant-à la-Ian-Thorpe must not go unnoticed! His 50m stroke count would have been helpful. He's almost crossing the midline; those of us less-accomplished need to be quite wary of this!

[@KansaSCaymanS]

Wow, his VO2 Max must be really high to maintain that pace for 4 hours, especially in rough, open water. Great video! 👍😎

[@open_water2411]

And Scottish too. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 🙌

[@Kim-sh5mz]

His voice is very relaxing

[@121swim]

That's impressive, i'm not a lake/sea swimmer , i do pool competitions but for a non elite swimmer he is quite good. For an elite swimmer, average time is 1 min 00 sec per 100 m...but still it's impressive. For sure he is a professional swimmer.

[@DaSweat69420]

I can hold 1:45 per 100 for 1.5km but im 15 and only been training for 1 year, im a triathlete

[@DanielleDeutschTV]

When I swim and lengthen out in a streamlined position I find my core engages without me trying to effortly pull it up and in because it does when the body lengthens out as much as it can. Does that make sense to anyone besides me? 😅

[@embersandash]

Perfect sense to me - it’s something I also found from practicing Ashtanga Yoga for 15 years, and how I swim too.

[@Borna_M]

His technique is similar to Total Immersion... very good 😃

[@CraigArnolduk]

This is what Total Immersion looks like when done by a world champion. All the same principles almost word for word.

[@vls3771]

Wow 4 hours at that pace ..😅

[@open_water2411]

What a swimmer!

[@trbeyond]

great video. and i agree, the weekly yardage was surprisingly low (though 30km isn't "low")

[@willishuang3660]

As awesome as his technique in the pool is, his monster fitness is the real magic here. There's no way you can swim 'normally' in that OWS chop like at 11:26 - his head HAS to come clear out of the water and he has to modify his stroke some. Of course, you need an amazing baseline pool stroke so not discounting that, but this guy would swim CRAZY fast even with amateurish swim strokes that 'normal' people have.

[@Flowmada]

Are we not account for current with this? His stroke is extremely efficient, especially his glide into a near perfect high elbow catch that grabs so much water, but his legs/kick look more powerful to me for some reason

[@faustobrusamolino6345]

Currents and favourable well planned window of time. There's a podcast somewhere out there where he talks a lot about that. Incredible athlete and technique don't get me wrong, but planning is also a big part.

[@sedgieroobets]

Beautiful stroke.

[@ktech4246]

Thanks for a great detailed interview. Very interesting on his view on the catch @ 8:50 and where to apply maximum power Makes logical sense.

[@naranjojo]

Crazy strong kick to maintain for four hours. Looks a lot more like a 6-beat than a 2-beat!

[@lgdneuro9586]

Yeah I was wondering the same he in all his videos he seems to have a really strong 6 beat kick maybe his 2bk is for extremely long distance? only place I saw him using 2bk was at that ocean swimming with the bad weather....his style reminds me of Ferry Weertman....extremely low stroke rate yet a killer 6bk.....and strong pulls

[@hugoapresname]

I believe he said two kicks per stroke for the highest efficiency?

[@lgdneuro9586]

@@hugoapresname Well he said 2 beat kicks, then later said 2 kicks per stroke and those are not the same so I think he refers to stroke cycles. Because a 4 beat kick isnt 2 kicks per stroke either. 4 beat is 3 kicks in one stroke then 1 kick on the other stroke.

[@lgdneuro9586]

also it is known in swimming 2 BK refers to 1 kick per single stroke....and I am pretty sure this dude who is a multi record holder knows that.

[@rinaldolookene]

this is awesome, thank you

[@0anant0]

His first quadrant swimming is very prominent.

[@hugoapresname]

❤❤❤

[@anomalyp8584]

I notice that he opens up his fingers on the entry

[@Matto_Harvo]

Does his hand point up on entry?

[@yerahmlee730]

I sort of do a similar movement because it feels like I’m almost getting some lift

[@UMirinBrah-f9v]

Do you exhale only from nose or both from nose and mouth?

[@shurrrig]

One small question: could you maybe clarify what he means by "band only" training to get a more efficient stroke? I understand it as using a band for the legs so as not to kick at all, but i'm not sure?

[@shurrrig]

(minute 08:03)

[@EffortlessSwimming]

Putting a band around your ankles so you can’t kick. Can also use an old bicycle tube as a band

[@haimeiyou]

What is the band drill that he refers to? Is this binding your legs and only using your arms?

[@williamward7801]

Exactly. Brutal if you have a slower stroke rate.

[@userhdza2248]

Nice style made.me.remember van hazel

[@EXPLORADVEN]

That pace for that long is like Ultra-marathons run at 800 metre pace. Simply WoW 👌👌👌 🏊🏊🏊❤️❤️❤️🏊🏊🏊

[@logohigh1]

yeah,....im always staggered at the pace a 15 minute park runner streams past when im marshalling . then I contemplate kipchoge keeps this up for 2 hours just mind boggling

[@billfletcher5495]

LD Swimmers and Cyclists are at the top of the athletic pyramid. His catch and glide are really nice.

[@johnsambo9379]

I would say Olympians are at the top. Any Olympian could train to do what he does if there was money involved. Watch the swimming Olympic trials. There's no comparison.

[@simonsalazar941]

how realistic is it for me to swim 1.5km if im a terrible swimmer but i have 2 months to train

[@exploring_thailand]

at 3:02 he seems to have rotated 90 degrees.

[@williamward7801]

what's his stroke rate?

[@wd161]

He says target 60 spm.. 😱

[@Owainhopkins-pi4sp]

At my very best 20 years ago i could do 1.05 and would be knackered. Can get nowhere near that now very impressive

[@AWPswim]

Love to know strokes per LC 50m free holding 1.12.

[@lgdneuro9586]

Omg you nailed it.....I was waiting for him to speak about stroke rate and was deligthed to hear your last question....now what I would like he says he uses a 2bk for distance swimming yet all his videos are using a very high stroke rate and a 6bk in OWS.....maybe distance swimming for him is 20km? and 3km he uses just a 6bk for all the meet ?

[@EffortlessSwimming]

yes here he uses a 6 beat but when swimming longer and easier in the open water it's 2 beat

[@bhpng1970]

7:28 - no wonder he’s so good, he turns into a fuck1ng mermaid 😂

[@psoteriou3884]

Best time I ever did was 1:24 / 100 for 1500m. And that was a while ago!

[@svensvrgen6336]

That's pretty darn good

[@stevescott2052]

Definitely tide assisted

[@logohigh1]

Were there tides involved in this long swim …!?!

[@PPDavida]

So valuable interview! Thanks a lot !!! Andy also seems to be a great great person no only a top swimmer ! Thanks to Australia we swim faster in France !! Ha ha ha !

[@PGB55]

can someone PLEASE evaluate these folks speed by isolating their kick from their stroke to see how much contribution from each. We're focusing so much on the upper body, arms, head, etc. I don't think enough attention is being given to the difference kicking makes between swimmers. Also, i'm not seeing anyone considering swimmers weight and body composition (body fat).

[@MadnessMahn]

The kick is just for stabilisation in endurance swimming. Vast majority of the propulsion is coming from the stroke and rotation.

[@ironmantooltime]

Body composition is relevant only where it creates drag. Body fat also offsets hypothermia in cold water swims.

[@PGB55]

@@ironmantooltime I agree, that's what I'm interested in. Body fat gives buoyancy which reduces drag or does it? That's the question. I only ask because I'm frequently baffled when watching what would be classified in the "Swim Smooth" body types as the "arnie' and 'swinger' that man swim quite fast even when they have horrific form / technique. So how? Hydrodynamics in conjunction with swim power (like cycling; bigger guys power on flat wins out despite the increased Cda that comes with their increased exposure to wind.)

[@PGB55]

@@ironmantooltime also hand size, wrist / forearm / upper arm diameters.

[@ironmantooltime]

@@PGB55 categorically bouyancy reduces drag. Look at the swim time from T100 London, one guy didn't wear a wetsuit (to keep cool). Drag can be offset by effort so ideally: bouyant/good form + low cda.

[@djinjis]

how tall is he?

[@baraklevy3344]

how tall is he ???

[@rfmlets6713]

The fastest I can go for 100m is 1.31, it's amazing that he can do 1.12 for 4 hours, really incredible.

[@w3s77]

Insane open water achievements. Impossible to replicate open water swimming in the pool. I've seen many dudes who can crank out 1:10 all day in the pool, who wilt in the ocean. Andy's open water talent is ridiculous, impossible to train, replicate, coach. His pool technique is barely above average, open water ability is unbelievable, don't think he can even explain it.

[@TroyChewning]

There are no walls to push from open water, and to still average 1:12 is nuts......

[@maisetas]

i mean 60 strokes per minute is still a high rate. i am triathlete and i do swim in around 48 strokes per minute in open water and like 44 in a swimming pool.

[@r.swallow4934]

It's not high. He does such a low rate because he glides so much. And he's tall. Don't focus on HIS rate as height, strength, fitness, technique....etc etc, all come into play. 60 works for him, and that's good.

[@mounaimzine]

Whats his name ??

[@iangraham9050]

1 - 12/100m is easy when walking next to the pool. LOL I am usually 2 - 15/100m over 4km. How he can swim a whole minute faster is amazing.

[@myPPPLab]

sorry ---why is your hand gliding up toward the surface??

[@davidhunternyc1]

Hey, Michael Phelps? What's your answer? Can you swim 1:12/100m for 4 hours?

[@r.swallow4934]

Nope - turn that around. Can Andy swim sub 50 for 100m !!

[@gregsullivan8518]

Of course it helps that he is built like a tank. His out of pool weight training must be intense. Huge shoulders, arms, back, etc. Being very young probably helps too.

[@asdfxyz_randomname2133]

If you have the right genes and nutrition, you get a build like that from swimming alone.

[@scarred10]

Hes certainly not huge which wouldnt help an ultra swimmer at all.Its emtitely aerobic based

[@petert2299]

i keep 135/140 per 100 for 45 minutes around 2.5 i think i could do it fir hours on end no problem