Core Muscles

...Actually was glad to dance and forget about stupid psoas and X axis because sometimes so much self-conscious thinking got in my way. There are times to let it go and just feel the motion, I think. True with dance technique, true with swimming technique, though some on this forum may disagree. Very interesting thread... definitely an "Ah-Ha!", "light-bulb" moment! I'd been hearing about "core muscles and strength" for years before I really began to understand what it was about. As I swam and did Yoga I created mental images of building a strong core, but it wasn't until I really began to make progress in my Butterfly practice that I really got it. So my suggestion is that if you want to get a deeper understanding of how core strength influences your swimming, then take your fly practice up a notch or two (or three for four). ;) Everything I'd heard about Pilates made it sound like Yoga re-hashed, but after reading the Wikipedia page on it, it seems to be more of a fusion of Yoga, Aerobics, and Dance. While I intend to stick with Yoga (2000+ years of training, practice, and development has to trump 85 years every time), it appears that Pilates is every bit as good a cross-training supplement to swimming... along with Dance (and movement) training. (I first heard of pro football players taking ballet classes back in the mid '80's.) Before now, if I'd ever heard mention of the psoas, I just did not get the significance. And I'm fairly positive I've never heard of the "X axis" mentioned. (Which now has just hungry for more on the overall topic.) It all makes a whole lot of sense though, and it is very easy to see the connections of their importance in "controlled movement". While both concepts are very important overall, it seems to me that the psoas is most fundamentally important to the short-axis strokes, while the "x axis" concept is most fundamentally important to the long-axis strokes. In any case, having a strong "core" will definitely help hold everything together. And being able to engage kick and pull muscles that make the transition between limbs and "core" can only help with endurance and pure power. I wholeheartedly agree that at some point you just have to let it all go and simply experience the movement for what it is. This is for sure the peak meditative aspect of the whole process for me. The long sessions of training and concentration... giving way to simply letting the act flow on its own. The pinnacle of this process of course being the moments between the start and finish in a competitive event. :)

...Actually was glad to dance and forget about stupid psoas and X axis because sometimes so much self-conscious thinking got in my way. There are times to let it go and just feel the motion, I think. True with dance technique, true with swimming technique, though some on this forum may disagree. Very interesting thread... definitely an "Ah-Ha!", "light-bulb" moment! I'd been hearing about "core muscles and strength" for years before I really began to understand what it was about. As I swam and did Yoga I created mental images of building a strong core, but it wasn't until I really began to make progress in my Butterfly practice that I really got it. So my suggestion is that if you want to get a deeper understanding of how core strength influences your swimming, then take your fly practice up a notch or two (or three for four). ;) Everything I'd heard about Pilates made it sound like Yoga re-hashed, but after reading the Wikipedia page on it, it seems to be more of a fusion of Yoga, Aerobics, and Dance. While I intend to stick with Yoga (2000+ years of training, practice, and development has to trump 85 years every time), it appears that Pilates is every bit as good a cross-training supplement to swimming... along with Dance (and movement) training. (I first heard of pro football players taking ballet classes back in the mid '80's.) Before now, if I'd ever heard mention of the psoas, I just did not get the significance. And I'm fairly positive I've never heard of the "X axis" mentioned. (Which now has just hungry for more on the overall topic.) It all makes a whole lot of sense though, and it is very easy to see the connections of their importance in "controlled movement". While both concepts are very important overall, it seems to me that the psoas is most fundamentally important to the short-axis strokes, while the "x axis" concept is most fundamentally important to the long-axis strokes. In any case, having a strong "core" will definitely help hold everything together. And being able to engage kick and pull muscles that make the transition between limbs and "core" can only help with endurance and pure power. I wholeheartedly agree that at some point you just have to let it all go and simply experience the movement for what it is. This is for sure the peak meditative aspect of the whole process for me. The long sessions of training and concentration... giving way to simply letting the act flow on its own. The pinnacle of this process of course being the moments between the start and finish in a competitive event. :)