Russell Mark is a USA Swimming National Team High Performance Consultant. He is an adviser for the event of Team USA Olympic swimmers, working instantly with them and their respective coaches, offering coaching and racing suggestions and steps for enchancment.
For almost the final 10 years, Russell Mark has studied numerous hours of movie and talked approach with one of the best coaches and swimmers on the planet in order that he might perceive the intricacies of all of the strokes. With this information, he has labored instantly to assist the USA National Team, given a whole bunch of lectures on swimming approach, and contributed to many books and analysis articles.
While swimming on the University of Virginia, Mark graduated with a level in aerospace engineering. He then pursued a profession in engineering, briefly doing work in Pratt & Whitney’s experimental navy jet engine applications. This unlikely profession path has served Mark properly within the swimming world, using his information in physics, fluid dynamics, and engineering to establish and advise what makes the quickest swimmers.
Q. Seems like such a various background to your present place, might you elaborate on the synergies between your earlier research and career and your current job?
A. Actually, all of it got here collectively fairly properly. My collegiate swimming background and diploma in aerospace engineering have been the right instruments for me to have the ability to stay in my life ardour of swimming on an expert degree and present actual worth in serving to Team USA Swimming, you would say my dream job. There is extra physics concerned in swimming than I feel individuals understand and my training offered a information base to have a look at movie of our athletes in a special mild. I analyze mechanics and forces to offer our swimmers their finest alternative to carry out at their optimum human degree.
Q. What is your general impression of USA Swimming from the 2012 London Olympics?
A. It was an incredible Olympiad in London for Team USA, not solely did we succeed at our objectives, however had a various group of medal winners, younger and outdated, and really feel we’ve got a great assortment of swimmers for the longer term.
Q. Training or Race Day, which do you like?
A. For me it is all in regards to the journey. Analyzing movie, prepping, the coaching and thought course of that’s required all accumulates to race day, or the outcomes of everybody’s laborious work!
Q. Could you clarify a number of the applied sciences Team USA Swimming makes use of in coaching? Which tech gadget, app or machine do you imagine offers crucial suggestions in analyzing your swimmers?
A. Technology is fairly easy for Team USA swimming, our handiest devices embrace underwater videotaping with waterproof camcorders, our Ipad for video analyzing and tempo clock. We have just lately developed software program that tracks and shops stroke counts and tempo or frequency to investigate our athletes. Below is an instance of a Missy Franklin Race Chart utilizing our Race Stats software program from the 2012 London Olympics.
Q. For the novice swimmer seeking to higher their efficiency, are there any shopper health devices or apps you’ll advocate?
A. If you’ve the capabilities, I might undoubtedly recommend an underwater digicam, however I do know that’s not obtainable for everybody. A tempo clock could be a great begin for anybody seeking to enhance their pace, endurance and observe interval occasions. There are a pair instruments that I’ll point out intimately later that can be utilized to work on approach however usually are not expertise based mostly, like a snorkel and fins.
Q. What’s forward for USA Swimming and the 2016 Olympics, anybody we needs to be paying shut consideration to?
A. USA Swimming could be very thrilling and attention-grabbing, many cases have occurred at trials when a (publicly) unknown particular person comes out of the darkish and surprises even the sector. We really feel very assured in our younger swimmers from the London Olympics in direction of the longer term and have the most effective junior applications in swimming.
Q. Any primary swimming approach tips of Olympic athlete’s you would share with our readers searching for that further little edge or simply began swimming?
A. Head and Body place is the muse of swimming; I might good these strategies earlier than shifting ahead in swimming. Some advisable instruments I might recommend are fins (retains legs up and will increase power) and a snorkel (head goes down). When the pinnacle is lifted up with a purpose to breathe, above water the hips and legs transfer downward and start to tug and lower pace. To turn into a stable swimmer it is necessary to work in your respiration approach. Use a snorkel sometimes to work in your stroke without having to deal with respiration approach. workout routines to elongate the period of time you possibly can maintain your head submerged and physique working. Everything in swimming occurs below the water; when you begin feeling comfy with these primary strategies you possibly can start pondering technical with tempo monitoring and video suggestions.
