Three Attitudes of Triathlon

Part I - Yielding

Note: Part I originally appeared in the February ’07 issue of USA Triathlon Life Magazine, a publication of USAT.

As tri-athletes, we enjoy the strength and stability of “triangular” aerobic fitness – swimming, biking and running - and base our training on a fitness triangle of endurance, strength and speed. The triangle is the simplest, yet strongest and most stable of all structures. Let’s explore another fitness triangle of triathlon – the triathlete’s attitude triangle.

The words that effectively identify these attitudes – these three distinct approaches to swimming, biking and running – are yielding, joining and aligning. Peter Ralston applies these attitudes/approaches in his practice as a world-champion martial artist and describes them in his book: “Chen Hsin: Principles of Effortless Power”.

Anatomy of Power

Effortless power? Sounds too good to be true, huh?  How can power be effortless? These terms – yielding, joining and aligning – they conjure images of weakness and a lack of control. How can these soft, receptive approaches possibly lead to improved athletic performance?

Most of the effort involved in power is in the generation of force. We discover effortless power as we tap into forces outside of ourselves – forces we don’t have to generate. We then channel and redirect these forces: A martial arts master embraces and redirects the forces generated by his/her opponent. A surfer flows with the massive hydraulic force of each wave. Effortless power arises as we yield, join and align with the forces around us.  It does not arise when we resist or struggle to control those forces – just as the surfer does not control the ocean waves – s/he rides the ocean waves.

As triathletes, can we improve our skills to yield, blend and align with outside forces to produce breakthrough performances?  We will explore both physical and mental techniques to develop these three approaches in a three-part series.

Swimming and Yielding

Let’s focus this month on swimming and yielding: What external force is available to us when we swim? Water! That dense fluid that we are immersed in – that slows our forward progress – also keeps us afloat and provides us with a substance to catch, pull and push. While we cannot control the current or manipulate the density of water, we can yield to it by minimizing our resistance as we swim.

An ambitious novice thrashes and pounds through the water, with little forward progress, while a world-class swimmer slips fast through the water with stealth. The first step towards stealth and slippery efficiency in the water is hydrodynamic body position, exposing the least amount of body surface and eliminating turbulence as we move forward. Great swim technique begins with a hydrodynamic body position throughout the stroke cycle.  Certainly the speed of our swimming is determined in part by the amount of water we can catch, pull and push with our hands and forearms, and the speed with which we stroke – good stroke mechanics.  Without hydrodynamic position, even perfect stroke mechanics are fruitless. Our greatest improvements in efficiency and speed arise by developing our skill of yielding to the hydraulic force of water.

Of the three sports in triathlon, swimming clearly demonstrates for us that greater struggle and effort may only diminish performance, challenging our notion of “power-as-exertion”.

How do we develop the intelligent skill of yielding? Just ask a fish! We begin with keen perception and sensitivity, really feeling where the flow of water flow is smooth and where it is disruptive along our body’s surface.  Eliminating turbulence and drag is the most effective and the most effortless way to increase swim speed. A great swimmer is constantly engaged in this “feeling-assessment” and responding to further refine her/his stealthy, slippery movement through the water.

Focus on improving hydrodynamic body position and skin surface sensitivity through technique drills like side-kicks, body rolling, water balancing, head positioning, sculling with the hands and stroke mechanics (especially entry and extension).

Simple Skin Sensitivity Exercise: Stand in shallow water and move your hands and arms through the water.  Glide your hand through the water, leading with your fingertips.  The rest of your arm slips through the water in the “shadow” created by your fingers.  Feel the path you create in the water.  Now use your hand and forearm as a paddle, feeling the resistance on the front surface of your paddle and the turbulence behind.  Be sensuous with the water! Kids love to play in the water like this  – don’t be afraid to reawaken your childlike curiosity.  This playful exercise will tune your mind into feeling the distinction between turbulence and a smooth slippery flow in the water.  Now use that mental focus as you conduct your swim drills – concentrating on completely feeling the surface of your body and distinguishing the turbulence from the streamline.  Use this distinction to hone your hydrodynamic position – diminishing turbulence, maximizing the slipstream. Be stealthy and silent in the water – like a shark!  Experiment with swim fins to increase your speed without increasing effort.  Relaxation is paramount, so you really focus on feeling that faster flow of water along your arms during the entry and catch phase and along your torso throughout the stroke cycle.  Swim fin drills enable you to refine body position and stroke mechanics at race pace without the distraction of exertion.

It’s Attitude!

Remember, this “feeling” approach to training is as much mental as it is physical.  Cultivate the attitude and the approach of yielding to the water, and your drill practice will be much more effective. To get the most from these swim drills – and from every training session – you must be patient, alert and attentive to what you are doing. Refining each of the three attitudes of triathlon requires diligence and patience. Don’t shift into “auto-pilot” as you train; awaken your curiosity and your child-like nature. (Children are much more familiar with effortless power –and more playful – than adults.) Recovery sessions are the optimum times to focus on refining your yielding, blending and aligning skills.  During your recovery sessions, swim at a leisurely pace so you can focus on minimizing stroke count while maximizing glide time – minimizing turbulence, maximizing slipstream.

Popular swim technique programs that focus on fish-like swim technique, like Total Immersion, are based on hydrodynamic position and the attitude of yielding.  Developing effortless technique in anything requires a tremendous amount of patience and commitment, as well as curiosity and creativity.  You will challenge that deeply ingrained notion of “power-as-exertion” and adopt a more effortless attitude of yielding and “less-is-more”. Your performance will improve as you yield and dance with the water.

Wrap-up

To conclude, we have briefly considered some of the principles governing effortless power and examined one of the three effective approaches we can apply to our athletic training and racing - yielding. Look for opportunities in your daily activities – beyond athletic training – to mentally relax so that you can accurately perceive and yield to the mental, emotional and physical forces you encounter. This is the first step on the path of effortless power in your daily life. Look for the path of harmony rather than struggle. Our primary intent in zendurance is to develop wisdom and grace as athletes and to embody these qualities in every moment of our ordinary human lives.

Next time we will explore the second event in our attitude triathlon – biking and joining.

Aloha for now!