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Athlete Skills Courses

Sculling Drills | USA Artistic SwimmingContent in this session will provide you with drills for sculling practice. Drills can be preformed in and out of the water to improve technique.

Flexibility | USA Artistic SwimmingVideos in this session will guide you through exercises and training to improve flexibilty and strength surrounding flexibility training.

Land Training | USA Artistic SwimmingVideos in this session will take you through land excercises for strength training and injury prevention.

Eggbeater | USA Artistic SwimmingLinda Witter takes you through drills, games, and excercises for eggbeater.

How To Strengthen Toe Points | USA Artistic SwimmingIf you are a die-hard dancer, you know the look of your feet can make or break your performance. The same holds true for your fellow Nesties who compete in gymnastics, diving and synchronized swimming. You would all gladly sacrifice a limb for a stronger, prettier toe point. Even if your technique is top notch, audiences and judges want to see a beautifully curved foot at the end of your leg line and they will sigh -- sometimes audibly -- if it's not there. Give the critics what they want. Incorporate foot exercises in your overall conditioning program to strengthen your toe point, improve foot function and boost your performance quality. Warm up your feet and ankles before you get to the heart of your workout. Take off your shoes and walk or prance around the room for three to five minutes to loosen up your ankles and wake up the muscles of your feet and toes. Place one hand on a wall for support, raise your right foot off the floor slightly and do a set of ankle circles, rotating the foot 10 to 15 times to the right and then left. Repeat with your left foot. Better yet, "write" the letters of the alphabet in the air with your big toe. Starting with your right foot, work your way from A to Z and then repeat with your left foot. Work the tiny intrinsic foot muscles -- the interossei and lumbricals -- that support your arches and stabilize your toes. Sit on a chair with your feet on the floor in front of you. Pressing the toes of your right foot into the floor, draw the ball of the foot toward your heel. Visualize a balloon slowly expanding under your foot, pushing the arch upward. If you have difficulty isolating the arch, place a hand towel on the floor near your feet and use the toes and ball of the foot to grab the towel and pull it toward you. Alternatively, scatter a variety of small objects -- marbles, crayons, a balled-up pair of socks -- on the floor. Pick up the items with one foot and drop them a foot or so away. Whatever exercise variation you choose, shoot for eight to 12 reps on each foot. Bring a resistance band into the mix. A strong toe point starts with solid plantar flexing, or extension of your foot away from your shin. Sit on the floor with your legs extended in front of you. Loop a flat, moderate-level resistance band around the ball of your right foot and pull back on the ends of the band to remove slack. Extend the right ankle, moving the foot and toes away from your shin. Hold for a count of two and then slowly dorsiflex the foot, moving the forefoot back toward your shin. Complete eight to 12 reps for a total of one to three sets before switching to your left foot. Stay seated in a pike position for a "toe sit-up" exercise. Extend your right ankle, foot and toes so that the foot is fully pointed away from the shin. Keeping the ankle and bony instep still, flex and extend just the toes. Flex the toes toward the ceiling, hold briefly and then extend the toes away from you. Repeat eight to 12 times slowly and then switch to your left foot. For greater intensity, loop a resistance band around the bottoms of your toes, pull back on the ends and press the toes into the band as you extend them. Sign up for a ballet class and attend faithfully. Nothing beats practicing the dégagé step, tendu, releve, or frappe ballet moves -- basic ballet exercises that work the foot and ankle -- for developing stronger, more beautiful, more functional feet. Make the most of your time at the barre, consciously articulating through all parts of your feet to improve your toe point.

Breathing | USA Artistic SwimmingThere are many benefits to strengthening your breathing skills and to learn how to use them to relax, get energized, help you to focus, and to de-stress. Holding one’s breath is a necessary aspect of artistic swimming, but we often overlook that the way we use our breath outside of sport can also influence our performance. Better sleep, reduced pain, energy boosts, relaxed muscles, decreased anxiety and depression, and improved coping are some of the ways that implementing breathing can help. Take a minute to think back to the last time you intentionally focused on your breath. Now is the time to try it out if you aren’t already using this resource. I encourage folks to try different types of breathing to know what style would work, and to practice when different types of breathing exercises could be ideal. Similar to physical skills, we practice them during low stress moments at first before we expect to perform them well during high stress competition. We can’t expect ourselves to effectively use breathing skills during a high stress time unless we have already practiced these skills and have them in our mental toolkit. One of the most basic breathing skills that I love is what is called a Circle Breath. This simple breathing technique makes you slow down your pace of breathing by having you apply deliberate effort in each breath. You can practice it at any time, but it’s important to practice it before you need it. Practice using this breath four or five times a day when you begin in order to correctly learn the breathing pattern. Try it: Relax your neck and shoulders, sit up straight with feet uncrossed and on the floor. Keep your mouth closed, inhale slowly through your nose for two counts. Exhale slowly by blowing air out your mouth for four counts. Exhale should be twice as long as inhale (you can do without pursing lips, and can also add in a hold between inhale and exhale). The next technique to try is the Breath-focus breathing. This breathing technique uses focus words and phrases. You can choose a focus word that relaxes you, helps you focus, or that is simply neutral to think about. Examples include “breathe,” “toe point,” “let go,” or “relax,” but it can be any word that helps, repeat it through your practice. You can start with a 5 minute session and can gradually increase the duration to 20 minutes. Just notice when your thoughts wander, and without judgment, bring your focus back to your word or phrase. Try it: Sit or lie down in a comfortable place, close your eyes or gaze gently on the wall. Notice your breath without trying to change how you’re breathing. Begin the practice of breath focus by combining breathing with your focus word. Imagine that the air you inhale brings waves of peace and calm. Imagine that the air you exhale washes away tension and anxiety. This breathing technique is called Equal Breathing and focuses on making your inhales and exhales the same length. You should find a breath length that is smooth and steady, and easy to maintain throughout the practice. Usually, this is between three and five counts. Once you get used to equal breathing while seated you can do it during other activities. Try it: Choose a comfortable seated position. Breathe in and out through your nose. Count during each inhale and exhale to keep them equal in duration. You can add a slight pause between breathing if you prefer. Practice up to five minutes. This final technique is Deep Breathing. Try these exercises when you’re already feeling relaxed and rested. The goal is to try to get your breath lower and fuller in your diaphragm. Practice for 5 to 10 minutes multiple times per day if possible. Try it: Lie on your back with your head on a pillow if available. Bend your knees slightly or place a pillow under for support. Place your left hand on your heart and your right hand on your low stomach. Slowly inhale through your nose, feeling your stomach pressing into your hand. There are different ways to incorporate each of these techniques depending on the need. Circle breathing is the foundational breathing skill I always recommend starting with. It can be used in conjunction with performance, or also helping to manage daily life. Using the breath- focus can help you to focus in on a technical aspect in your performance, or to help you ignore distractions and focus in on your breath. Equal breathing can be particularly helpful during times of heightened anxiety or when you notice shortness of breath or other physiological signs of anxiety attacks. Finally, deep breathing can be helpful as a daily or regular practice for general well being and improved mental health. I hope you’ll try these techniques to see how they might help you manage stress, improve your mood and overall well being. Breathing is one of my favorite tools because once we master it we have it available to us at all times, no matter where we are! Like anything new, it takes practice for mental training techniques to become natural and easy to implement when needed. If you have questions or want support in developing your own mental training skills, please contact me via email at dr.teganadams@gmail.com.

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