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Articles by Jeff Grace
QR codes - changing the consumer experience in banking
We saw a significant surge in the use of QR codes around the world in 2020. In fact, a recent survey by Statista, found that close to 50% of consumers in the US and UK have increased their use of QR codes since March 2020.
Enhance Your Taper with a Restorative Yoga Practice for Swimmers
Taper time! Those two magic words are music to the ears of swimmers of all ages across the globe. Incorporating a restorative yoga practice for swimmers into your training can make your taper even more enjoyable and effective than it already is. After months of hard work, surviving gruelling sets and barely having the energy to get out of bed for morning workouts it is time to refill your fuel tank. Lower volume, easier swims and more time to sleep are all staples of a typical taper.
3 Yoga Poses for Swimmers to Improve Your Underwater Dolphin Kick
Jeff Grace by Jeff Grace 0 June 08th, 2021 News, Training, Yoga for Swimming A consistent yoga practice designed for swimmers can help you improve your underwater dolphin kick through mobility and strength as well as breath awareness and capacity. The fifth stroke in swimming, as it is now called, is one of the greatest determining factors of success or failure in almost every race.
6 Yoga Poses for Swimmers to Help Improve Your Breaststroke
When watching a great breaststroker you can’t help but marvel at how they are able to move their body through unusual positions with ease. A great deal of mobility is required to swim this unique stroke with efficiency, a type of mobility that these six yoga poses for swimmers can help you develop.
Increase Your Ankle Mobility With These 9 Yoga Poses for Swimmers
Could improving your ankle mobility be the solution to all of your problems? Probably not, but it will help you develop a stronger kick and a better body position in the water. Have you ever found yourself questioning why all of those hard kick sets don’t seem to produce the results you want to see? Or why it is so difficult for you to keep your legs at the surface even when the rest of your body is in the right position? These are problems ankle mobility can solve.
Strengthen Your Self-Talk In a Skillful Way With Yoga
Jeff Grace by Jeff Grace 0 April 10th, 2021 News, Training, Video, Yoga for Swimming Why is it important for swimmers to practice self-talk strategies? Simple, how you think is how you feel and how you feel affects how you perform. Have you ever come out of a race knowing that you had prepared yourself to achieve your goals, but ended up farther away from them then when you started? Or maybe the opposite. You have a great workout, but are at a loss for why it happened?
Yoga for Swimmers: Three Ways to Improve Your Shoulder Stability
Jeff Grace by Jeff Grace 0 March 25th, 2021 News, Training, Video, Yoga for Swimming As a swimmer there is a good chance that you will perform around 2-3,000 strokes the next time you jump into the water. To be able to handle that load effectively you need to develop balance between shoulder stability and mobility. A swimming-specific yoga practice can help create this balance through body awareness and mindful movement.
Mental Health for Athletes: 6 Ways to Reduce Stigma in Sport
“I am challenged with Bipolar II disorder.” For years that statement scared me – a lot. I wanted to be an advocate, but because of my fear of how people would react when I disclosed my illness, my struggles with remained a secret. I kept it hidden for 13 years. Over the past two years I have reached a point where I can attack that fear head on.
Mental Health First Aid: Tools and Skills to Help Support Athletes
“Why should I take Mental Health First Aid?” That is a reasonable question for coaches to ask. How many different certifications/recertifications are required for you to take each year just to be able to step on deck to coach? Why should you add another course to an already packed schedule? Simple, because mental health affects us all. 20.6% of U.S. adults experienced mental illness in 2019 (51.5 million people). This represents 1 in 5 adults.
Yoga for Swimmers - Increase Your Body Awareness with Balance
Jeff Grace by Jeff Grace 0 February 11th, 2021 At Home Swim Training, News, Training, Video, Yoga for Swimming A swimming-specific yoga practice is one of the best ways for swimmers to develop body awareness.
5 Things I Will Remember About Victor Davis
Jeff Grace by Jeff Grace 29 February 11th, 2015 Canada, International, News Today would have been Victor Davis‘ 51st birthday. Davis was one of the biggest reasons I fell in love with the sport. Watching him win the 200 breaststroke at the 1984 Olympics in world record time is a memory that I will never forget. I will also never forget the day I met my swimming idol.
Yoga for Masters Swimmers
In our first two yoga for masters swimmers articles you learned how a swimming-specific yoga practice can help develop both your mobility and breathing efficiency. In the final article of this series you will learn how a swimming-specific yoga practice can also help prevent injury. Performance is a goal for most, but many masters swimmers I work with have told me the more important goal is to be able to train for as long as possible as their age continues to increase.
‘The Artist’s Wife’ Review: Lena Olin and Bruce Dern Excel in Tom Dolby’s Drama About a Couple Coping With the Husband’s Alzheimer’s Original
By now, there have been enough movies and TV dramas focused on the fraying ties between individuals gradually diminished by Alzheimer’s disease and their supportive but increasingly stressed loved ones to constitute an entire subgenre.
Yoga for Masters Swimmers - Working with Your Breath
The benefits masters swimmers can experience through a swimming-specific yoga practice are numerous. After working with masters swimmers for the last 28 years as a coach and a yoga teacher/therapist here are my top three priorities for a yoga for masters swimmers practice: Mobility Breathing Injury Prevention Although injury prevention is the number one priority mobility and breathing contribute to building a more resilient body. For that reason I will leave injury prevention to last.
Yoga for Swimmers: Using Balance to Improve Your Body Awareness
Balancing poses create a heightened sense of awareness by decreasing your base of support. To create stability in these poses subtle and sometimes not so subtle adjustments need to be made to stay upright. To make these adjustments successfully you have to understand how your body is responding when standing on one leg. There are two more bonuses when it comes to balancing poses. One is that they are playful and fun. Two is that they help you to stay away from taking yourself too seriously.
Yoga for Masters Swimmers - Working with Your Range of Motion
This is the first in a series of three articles discussing the benefits of yoga for masters swimmers. “Masters swimmers are a very diverse bunch who have diverse reasons for doing what they’re doing,” says Amanda Heath, European record holder in the 200 meters breaststroke for the 60-64 age group.
Swimming-Specific Yoga Launches New Online Platform
Seeing so many people in the swimming community embrace yoga over the past few months has been incredible. Masters, age group swimmers, coaches and multi-sport athletes have discovered how beneficial and enjoyable yoga can be. After speaking with athletes and coaches many are finding yoga to be an integral part of their training programs and plan on utilizing the tools of yoga moving forward. Knowing that I am excited to introduce the new Swimming-Specific Yoga Platform.
Daily Dryland Swimming Workouts Day #74 - Recovery Day
Jeff Grace by Jeff Grace 0 June 05th, 2020 At Home Swim Training, News, Training, Triathlon, Video, Yoga for Swimming For the past few months, SwimSwam has been posting a daily swimming workout to help inspire swim coaches around the world who are looking for new ideas to try with their swimmers. Since most of the world’s pools are currently closed for business, we wanted to give swimmers and coaches an alternative set of dryland workouts to use to stay fit during the quarantine.
Daily Dryland Swimming Workouts #77 - Recovery Day
Jeff Grace by Jeff Grace 0 May 29th, 2020 At Home Swim Training, Training For the past few months, SwimSwam has been posting a daily swimming workout to help inspire swim coaches around the world who are looking for new ideas to try with their swimmers. Since most of the world’s pools are currently closed for business, we wanted to give swimmers and coaches an alternative set of dryland workouts to use to stay fit during the quarantine. These workouts will be designed to be done around the house.
Daily Dryland Swimming Workouts #67 - Recovery Day
Jeff Grace by Jeff Grace 0 May 29th, 2020 At Home Swim Training, Training For the past few months, SwimSwam has been posting a daily swimming workout to help inspire swim coaches around the world who are looking for new ideas to try with their swimmers. Since most of the world’s pools are currently closed for business, we wanted to give swimmers and coaches an alternative set of dryland workouts to use to stay fit during the quarantine. These workouts will be designed to be done around the house.
Daily Dryland Swimming Workouts #60 - Recovery Day
Jeff Grace by Jeff Grace 0 May 22nd, 2020 At Home Swim Training, Training For the past few months, SwimSwam has been posting a daily swimming workout to help inspire swim coaches around the world who are looking for new ideas to try with their swimmers. Since most of the world’s pools are currently closed for business, we wanted to give swimmers and coaches an alternative set of dryland workouts to use to stay fit during the quarantine. These workouts will be designed to be done around the house.
Kevin Thorburn My Friend, My Mentor, My Coach
Jeff Grace by Jeff Grace 0 April 22nd, 2020 Canada, News Kevin, I have had many excellent coaches, but when I utter the words “my coach” you are the person I am referring to. Growing up in Regina was hard at times and wonderful at times. Many of those great experiences were created by your gift and ability to develop an environment where my teammates and I could thrive together. The legacy of the team that you and Murray (Drudge) built is something special.
Yoga and Meditation Series
In December of 2017 Eliza Jane (www.livewhereyourfeetare.com) and I created a series of yoga and meditation classes focusing on athletes’ mental health. During the challenging time we are facing with Covid-19 I felt that republishing these tools could be helpful to many who are struggling with their mental health. … As athletes, coaches and mindfulness teachers both Eliza and I have faced challenges with our own mental health.
Yoga for Swimmers Mobility Workout One - A Focus on the Quads
The following five poses are the foundation of a yoga for swimmers mobility workout that targets the quadriceps. The quadriceps are one of the prime movers in freestyle, backstroke and butterfly kick. For that reason it is important to develop both power and endurance in the water and on dry land. With most strength training programs having a focus on the quadriceps many swimmers experience a great deal of tightness in this area.
Free Online Yoga Classes for Swimmers
For the next two months Swimming-Specific Yoga will be offering free online yoga classes for swimmers. During this unprecedented time in our history several teams and individuals do not have a place to train. Hopefully you do not find yourself in this situation, but because many are we have created a page with several 25-45 minute online classes.
Renowned Canadian Swimming Coach Murray Drudge Dies at 61
Jeff Grace by Jeff Grace 0 February 18th, 2020 Canada, International, News Coach Murray Drudge died unexpectedly on February 17th in Toronto at the age of 61. During his over 30 years in coaching Drudge held head coaching positions in Regina, Ottawa and North York. He has also spent the last 2 years working with the elite group at the High Performance Center – Ontario.At each stop he made an significant impact not only on the swimming community, but on the community as a whole.
Gabe Mastromatteo and Brendan Oswald Awarded Swim Ontario Scholarships
Jeff Grace by Jeff Grace 0 November 27th, 2019 Canada, International, News Gabe Mastromatteo and Brendan Oswald have been awarded Swim Ontario’s Post-Secondary Performance Scholarships. The intent of the Swim Ontario Post-Secondary Performance Scholarship is to award a financial scholarship to two Ontario swimmers allowing the recipients to focus on swimming excellence while pursuing post-secondary academics in Ontario.
Correcting Three Common Errors in Freestyle Technique
Keeping things simple is often the key to learning new skills and creating change. This is the approach Australian coach Brenton Ford has taken when working with swimmers of all ages to help improve their freestyle efficiency. Each year Ford helps guide anywhere from 12-1400 athletes through the process of becoming more effective and efficient swimmers.
Yoga for Swimmers - Creating a Strong Cross-Body Connection
Swimming and yoga are both activities that require a great deal of coordination between several joint movements. A yoga practice for swimmers will develop the strength and body awareness needed to create synergy throughout the body which contributes to swimming with greater efficiency. Many of the poses performed in a yoga practice require the creation of a strong base of support and stability through the core.
Six Yoga Poses for Swimmers to Create Balance in the Upper Body
Jeff Grace by Jeff Grace 0 September 20th, 2019 News, Training, Yoga for Swimming Yoga is an extremely effective way for swimmers to address imbalances in the body. In this article you will learn six yoga poses that can help swimmers create balance in the upper body. One of the most common imbalances seen in swimmers is between the front and the back of the upper body.
Five Yoga Poses for Swimmers After Workouts
Jeff Grace by Jeff Grace 0 August 01st, 2019 News, Training, Yoga for Swimming Swimming is one of the most grueling competitive sports in the world. The dedication that it takes for swimmers to reach the finals at their Conference Championship or the NCAAs is extremely challenging. It is even more difficult to reach the finals at the Mount Olympus of the swimming world, the Olympics.
Fix Your Freestyle Swim
Swimming is an activity unlike any other. It presents unique challenges such as being immersed in an unfamiliar environment, working with buoyancy, moving forward in a horizontal position and not being able to breathe at will. These elements make moving through the water efficiently a very technical endeavour. Elite swimmers like Michael Phelps have mastered these skills and you can too.
Swim Ontario Solidifies Partnerships with Team Aquatic Supplies and Arena
Jeff Grace by Jeff Grace 0 July 03rd, 2019 Canada, International, News Swim Ontario has recently signed partnership agreements with both Team Aquatic Supplies and Arena Canada. Both agreements extend through to August 2020.
Mindfulness for Athletes: How Mindfulness Can Lead to a Peak Performance
An increasing number of athletes and coaches are successfully incorporating mindfulness strategies within their training. A few of the ways mindfulness can directly impact your swimming performance include: Accessing a state of flow Reducing anxiety Developing the ability to focus and refocus Enhancing recovery Sustaining mental wellness There are many different ways to practice mindfulness.
Yoga for Swimmers: 7 Reasons Yoga Takes Your Training to the Next Level
A yoga practice designed around the unique needs of swimmers is an extremely effective way to enhance your dry land training. A yoga practice for swimmers helps improve strength, mobility and body awareness. It can also develop breathing efficiency, enhance recovery, assist in injury prevention and improve mental skills. The following outlines in more detail how a yoga practice for swimmers enhances these aspects of your training. 1.
Self Obsessed with Jeff Grace on Apple Podcasts
43 episodes Each week comedian, filmmaker and self-help obsessive Jeff Grace has in-depth conversations with the most interesting minds in self improvement, entertainment, politics, business, music, sports and more. Each week comedian, filmmaker and self-help obsessive Jeff Grace has in-depth conversations with the most interesting minds in self improvement, entertainment, politics, business, music, sports and more.
Triathlon Training: How to Improve Your Swimming with Gerry Rodrigues
How do you make a breakthrough in the water? For many triathletes the answer to this question is an elusive one. For over 30 years Gerry Rodrigues has dedicated himself to helping triathletes not only answer that question, but achieve those breakthroughs. In a quest to find new coaching ideas I stumbled onto Rodrigues and his podcast. After hearing one episode his insights peaked my curiosity.
Mitch Larkin Yoga Inspired Pre-Swim Warm Up
For the past several years Australian world champion and Olympic medalist Mitch Larkin has been incorporating yoga into his training in several ways. Larkin has been working with physiotherapist and yoga teacher Tom Barton to develop a program that improves both performance and prevents injury. One of the ways he uses yoga on a regular basis is as part of his dry land preparation before heading into the water.
Yoga for Swimmers: How Yoga Helps Boost Your Recovery
Jeff Grace by Jeff Grace 0 December 08th, 2020 News, Video, Yoga for Swimming To adapt to the stresses of training proper recovery is essential. One way to help enhance that process is through a yoga practice designed for swimming.
A Lesson in Swim Coaching from a Buddhist Nun
After looking at the title of this article you are probably asking yourself what am I about to read? This has nothing to do with religion. What I want to share is a lesson in swim coaching I learned from a Buddhist nun. A number of years ago I was part of a group that visited a Buddhist Abbey as part of a course in University. During this visit one of the students asked Sister Anne a question about how one should be taught about Buddhism. Her answer struck a cord with me.
Yoga for Swimmers: Developing Your Strength with Yoga
Jeff Grace by Jeff Grace 0 January 18th, 2019 News, Training, Video, Yoga for Swimming For a swimmer developing strength is important to increase the ability to generate force, support technical development and reduce the risk of injury. To move through the water effectively a swimmer needs to have strength in different areas of the body as well as a strong connection throughout. That synergy is what ensures that your strength is being used as efficiently as possible.
Yoga for Swimmers - Using Yoga to Increase Shoulder Mobility
Jeff Grace by Jeff Grace 0 January 04th, 2019 Lifestyle, News, Training, Training Intel, Video, Yoga for Swimming The development of shoulder mobility is an important element of a swimming-specific yoga practice. Many swimmers have extremely tight shoulders, which limits their range of motion. This limited range of motion can have not only have a negative effect on performance, but can also leave swimmers vulnerable to injuries.
Fundamental Principles of a Yoga Practice for Swimmers
For a swimming-specific yoga practice to be effective there are a few fundamental principles that should be followed. In a series of presentations at both the American Swim Coaches Association Conference and the British Columbia Swim Coaches Association Conference I went over the principles and practices involved in swimming-specific yoga. At the heart of each one of these presentations was the fundamental principles of a strong yoga practice designed for swimmers.
Australians Use Unique Dryland and Testing to Improve Performance
For the last eight years physiotherapist and yoga teacher Tom Barton has been working with many of the top Australian swimmers, including Olympic medalists Mitch Larkin, Cate Campbell and Bronte Campbell. Barton’s approach is unique combining physiotherapy, strength and conditioning and yoga. The Combination Physiotherapy and Yoga In his 20s Barton began practicing yoga and quickly saw its benefits. Ten years ago after developing a consistent practice he began teaching.
Speaking With Athletes About Mental Health and Wellness
Mental health and wellness has been an emerging subject in the world of athletics. Over the past few years individuals such as Michael Phelps, Allison Schmitt, Kevin Love and Demar DeRozen have opened up about their challenges. There have also been studies that suggest a large percentage of athletes face mental health challenges.
Yoga for Swimmers - Increasing Your Mobility with Yoga
Incorporating a plan to optimize your mobility is a valuable part of a well rounded training program. A yoga for swimmers practice is an effective and efficient way to accomplish this. Increasing mobility in specific areas of the body in a functional way can have a positive effect on your swimming performance and help prevent injuries. Many approach a yoga practice with the goal of becoming more flexible.
Brent Hayden Takes Lessons Learned in the Pool into the Business World
The Olympic podium is a place every swimmers dreams of standing one day. Canadian Brent Hayden got his opportunity in London winning a bronze in the 100 freestyle at the 2012 Olympic Games. Like each athlete we witness collecting hardware at an Olympics there is more to Hayden’s story than just the 47.80 seconds it took him to reach the wall. In his first appearance at the Olympic Games in Athens he suffered extreme disappointment in and out of the water.
Swimming-Specific Yoga: How to Incorporate Yoga Into Your Training
Incorporating a swimming-specific yoga practice into your training can be an effective way to accomplish many of your dryland goals. When incorporating any modality into your program there are many considerations: Goals for the specific modality Timing Time restraints Access to facilities and equipment Delivery of the program What is Your Goal for Doing a Swimming-Specific Yoga Practice?
Rick DeMont; An Artist's Approach to Coaching
Rick DeMont is an accomplished swimmer, coach and artist. After having a conversation with him you begin to understand how each one of those roles influences the other. DeMont’s achievements over the last 50 years both, as a swimmer and a coach are impressive. As a swimmer he was the first athlete to break the four minute mark in the 400 freestyle winning the event at the 1973 World Championships in a time of 3:58.18.
Mental Health for College Athletes - Ways to Focus on Mental Wellness
College life can be both exciting and challenging. Expectations are high, with that comes increased levels of stress. According to the National Alliance on Mental Health 30% of college students experience down periods where they find it difficult to function. For this reason taking proactive steps to address your mental wellness is important. Can you identify someone that you trust implicitly to listen in a nonjudgmental way? Someone who will provide you with support in times of need?
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