Ocean Walker Technique

musclewhale89musclewhale89 Alberta, CanadaMember
edited June 2022 in General Discussion

Good morning everyone!

I'm curious if anyone on this forum has played around with the Ocean Walker Technique?

He did the English Channel and then had to have two shoulder surgeries and created this technique to take pressure off his shoulder and used this technique to finish the remaining six O7 swims.

Curious to hear if people have used it or have any reasons for or against using it.

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Comments

  • dc_in_sfdc_in_sf San FranciscoCharter Member

    I know these things need to have a sense of hype about them, but I am struggling to understand what how he is a "WORLD RECORD BREAKING SWIMMER!" given the list of accomplishments on the website:

    • 1st and only Brit to swim the Oceans Seven.
    • Fastest man 2-Way Windermere 2010.
    • Fastest British man 1 way and 1st Brit to swim 2 way Gibraltar Strait.
    • Swam 1 mile in under 5 degrees Celsius.

    While impressive, none of these seem like World Records?

    Videos of the stroke look cool, no idea how the instructional stuff compares to SwimSmooth or Total Immersion

    MvG

    http://notdrowningswimming.com - open water adventures of a very ordinary swimmer

  • MLambyMLamby Senior Member

    I am an adult (50 when I started) onset marathon swimmer and had no clue what you were talking about, so I looked it up. I never had any technical training other than swim team for a year when I was in seventh grade. I just spent most of my young life in the water as much as I could and swimming always came naturally to me. When I watched this Walker method and read what makes it unique, I was surprised to find that this is pretty much how I swim...without even thinking about it! I even had an Ironman triathlete in training next to me once say, how are you moving that fast? It doesn't even look like you're working hard. That just always made more sense to me. Why flail away, when you can work smarter rather than harder? Guess I've been doing SOMETHING right! LOL. Very interesting! Thanks for sharing this.

    musclewhale89
  • dc_in_sfdc_in_sf San FranciscoCharter Member
    edited September 2021

    There is a good summary of his technique at this blog that he guested at back in 2016.

    Main points seem to be:

    1. Head down
    2. Use core/hips to drive the stroke/rotation
    3. Early arm entry with bent elbow
    4. Almost a catchup style stroke? (had to look at the videos to understand this)
    5. Only pull to the hip
    6. two beat kick just to keep legs in place

    I think 2 & 4 are likely the most different from what is normally taught? I've had limited coaching since I got into swimming so am not sure what exactly is the accepted wisdom these days.

    http://notdrowningswimming.com - open water adventures of a very ordinary swimmer

  • Nick_PNick_P PAMember

    I saw the videos Adam put together and did subscribe to his Venmo channel.
    I liked the idea of cutting through the water and I swim with more of a rocking motion plus using bigger muscle groups was the same in other sport so the concept jived with me.
    The struggle I was having is while more efficient my speed went way down.
    I do keep some of the concepts in my stroke.

    miklcctmusclewhale89
  • musclewhale89musclewhale89 Alberta, CanadaMember

    @Nick_P said:
    I saw the videos Adam put together and did subscribe to his Venmo channel.
    I liked the idea of cutting through the water and I swim with more of a rocking motion plus using bigger muscle groups was the same in other sport so the concept jived with me.
    The struggle I was having is while more efficient my speed went way down.
    I do keep some of the concepts in my stroke.

    The speed comes back... I had the same thing happen. Initially when I switched my style to this technique I found I was going about 10-15 seconds slower per 100m. As I worked on the technique more and more it got way more proficient and I ended up now swimming 20 seconds/100m faster than I even was before switching.

    Personally, this style really helps me over longer distances. I am 5'9, 195lbs, and carry more muscle mass than many other marathon swimmers. For me, this technique helps me recruit my larger muscle groups so my shoulders don't burn out when I pass that 5K mark.

    Nick_PJSwimheart
  • miklcctmiklcct London, United KingdomMem​ber

    @musclewhale89 said:
    The speed comes back... I had the same thing happen. Initially when I switched my style to this technique I found I was going about 10-15 seconds slower per 100m. As I worked on the technique more and more it got way more proficient and I ended up now swimming 20 seconds/100m faster than I even was before switching.

    Personally, this style really helps me over longer distances. I am 5'9, 195lbs, and carry more muscle mass than many other marathon swimmers. **For me, this technique helps me recruit my larger muscle groups so my shoulders don't burn out **when I pass that 5K mark.

    Does it help my speed if I don't have much muscle mass? I'm at nearly the same height as you but 20 kg lighter.

  • musclewhale89musclewhale89 Alberta, CanadaMember

    @miklcct said:

    @musclewhale89 said:
    The speed comes back... I had the same thing happen. Initially when I switched my style to this technique I found I was going about 10-15 seconds slower per 100m. As I worked on the technique more and more it got way more proficient and I ended up now swimming 20 seconds/100m faster than I even was before switching.

    Personally, this style really helps me over longer distances. I am 5'9, 195lbs, and carry more muscle mass than many other marathon swimmers. **For me, this technique helps me recruit my larger muscle groups so my shoulders don't burn out **when I pass that 5K mark.

    Does it help my speed if I don't have much muscle mass? I'm at nearly the same height as you but 20 kg lighter.

    I would say it definitely could. It helps use your bigger muscle groups regardless of your size. Instead of mainly using your arms and shoulders it helps recruit your rear delts and lats much more. Also your driving a lot of power from your hips with this technique.

    The caveat to this technique is it is clearly not to be used for sprint or short distance swims. If you are going to do a competition that is under 5K I would say there is no need. However, if you're swimming much longer distances such as channel swims that is where I think this technique can really be a powerful tool because it allows your body to hold up for way longer than it usually would.

    I am not an expert by any means but from what I have seen by my own experience this technique really could help a lot of marathon swimmers.

    heart
  • Nick_PNick_P PAMember

    The speed comes back... I had the same thing happen. Initially when I switched my style to this technique I found I was going about 10-15 seconds slower per 100m. As I worked on the technique more and more it got way more proficient and I ended up now swimming 20 seconds/100m faster <

    @musclewhale89 how long roughly did it take you to get you speed back?
    I was at about 1:50/ 100m and could hold that pace for a while.
    With OW I am more 2:00/ 100m yet can swim further and feel less tired.

  • musclewhale89musclewhale89 Alberta, CanadaMember

    @musclewhale89 how long roughly did it take you to get you speed back?
    I was at about 1:50/ 100m and could hold that pace for a while.
    With OW I am more 2:00/ 100m yet can swim further and feel less tired.

    Not too long, about two months before I was back to my previous speed but then I saw speed improvements every month after that as well. I am still working at getting faster. Little by little.

  • JSwimJSwim western Maryland, USSenior Member

    My "forever" stroke looks similar to the Walker technique stroke. Usually not as much glide, but close. I am 2-3 seconds faster per 100 over the long haul using it breathing to the right compared to the left. (Even though I alternate breath comfortably.) In trying to get my left breathing stroke up in speed, I've noticed some things about how I got it right naturally breathing to the right.

    • first off, breathing all to the right "feels" good and comfortable, so that is a general goal for the left
    • I use paddles to slow down my stroke and feel/see what's going on
    • Sometimes I use a snorkel too, but the head turn for breathing is integral to the timing of the stroke, so YMMV
    • the down beat for the right leg is during the 2nd half of the pull for the right leg (as it is for the left), which helps with the rotation. The up motion of the leg at the end of the stroke helps bring that hip up during recovery. It also gets a bit of a dolphin kick motion going.
    • to keep my head in align, I have to look back when I breath. The necessary, but bad habit of looking up to see where I'm going in open water has made my natural tendency not to keep my head straight
    • I think this type of stroke can maximize speed with a relatively low energy expenditure by putting together good body position (minimizing drag), utilizing glide, focusing on a powerful pull and reducing kick.
    • the hardest part for me is getting the glide "right". Too much glide and I'm slower, too little and my energy expenditure goes up.
    • because my right is better, I'll swim a few strokes breathing right, paying attention, and try to do the same breathing on the left.
    • a drill that helps my stroke feel smoother and more effortless is the "awkward" drill: swim one armed freestyle with the non-stroking arm at your side, breathing to the NON STROKING side.

    There have been questions about how long it can take to "perfect" this stroke. Because I was an age group swimmer and still had a decent feel for the water even decades later, breathing to my good side, I got this stroke going well quickly. That was 4-5 years ago, so I'm not sure how long, maybe a month? I'm still working on my "bad" breathing side. It has improved tremendously (even feels "good", usually), and I use it in open water, but I know I can still improve it's efficiency.

    I hope this helps someone!

    musclewhale89

    Life begins at the end of your comfort zone. --Neale Donald Walsch

  • curlycurly Issaquah, WASenior Member

    @JSwim That's a nice summation. I think a lot of distance swimmers use this type of swimming. I just never knew that someone had named it after themselves. The things you point out are excellent aspects of the stroke to keep in mind.

    Also, the "awkward" drill is a great drill to remind everyone about. I forget about this drill and then either someone mentions it or I see someone doing it at the pool and remember to incorporate it into my training. One of the things I try to do when I'm doing that drill is to imagine what my missing arm is doing. This helps me to rotate correctly. Breathing to the missing side is so difficult to get right, but when you get it right, you are well balanced and your stroke will benefit from the exercise. Thanks for the reminder. Guess what drill I'm going to be doing next week. :)

    evmoJSwimMLamby
  • jendutjendut Charter Member

    When I coach I call that one The World's Most Annoying Drill. MAJOR ROI on that one, though!

    JSwim
  • Nick_PNick_P PAMember

    Putting this stroke flavor into practice I got hooked on the two beat kick yet again calf cramps got me yesterday.
    So I switched to the Ocean Walker technique for a mile or so and it took the stress off my calfs and my stroke rate down while still gliding through the chop.
    Personal opinion on when to use the Ocean Walker style, NOT in a pool. It takes a minute to get the glide and in a pool once you are gliding it is turn time.

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