What about the 10,000 hours?

10,000?

Malcolm Gladwell in his book Outliers, made 10,000 hours famous as the number of hours of practice it takes for a person to attain a level of mastery that we would recognize as amazing.... Michael Phelps, Yo Yo Ma, The Beatles, Tiger Woods, etc.  In The Talent Code, Daniel Coyle also talks about 10,000 hours as part of the 3 factors that create excellence:  # of hours of deliberate practice, internal ignition or motivation, and great coaching/feedback.  (Fascinating reads, great stories, both highly recommended).

So what about it?  Do we keep track of the hours we train?  Should we expect mastery as we get closer to the 10,000?  (It's about 10 years of year round training).  Why don't some people who spend many hours not succeed as well as others who spend less?  What's so magic about the 10,000 number?  Are there any shortcuts to success?

The real principle is not so much the quantity of hours but the quality of them. It's about the power of focused, engaged, intentional effort.  It can even be about high quality "play", experimenting, fooling around, inventing games, competing, copying, like kids do when they're messing around on their own with a soccer ball or basketball, making up songs on their musical instruments, playing pick-up hockey for hours at the local ice rink, or playing in a pool all day just for fun.  Real learning doesn't always happen around lessons or coached sessions or carefully planned practice sessions.  Playtime actually increases motivation and inspiration and internal desire and enjoyment, which keeps you going for 10,000 hours.  When you add in great coaching with immediate insightful challenging feedback, then you really can learn and improve.

When we spend an hour in autopilot, just plunking away at a piano piece until our time is up, or reluctantly swimming back and forth because our parents made us come, that doesn't add to the magic of the 10,000 hours.  When we spend 10 minutes totally focused on learning a new skill, bring goals and intention to doing whatever we are currently doing (even when it is intense play!), THAT is the quality of practice that leads to mastery.

Beautiful swimming in the Lander Swim Club

We have many swimmers who are developing beautiful, efficient, balanced, technically gorgeous strokes.  This is what we strive for every practice.  This is what we coach for, train for, race for.   We see an incredible progression  in skill, comfort, ease and speed as swimmers go from Learn to Swim to the Age Group Lanes, through the levels of USA swimming competitions and middle/high school seasons.  We are so proud of the work our athletes are doing, every practice, every day.

Here is a 10 year old swimmer who has been working on freestyle, body balance, posture, line, and head position.  She is swimming 25m, the first half of the length the way she swam normally before (which wasn't exactly slow or bad, she swims a 50 free in :29) and the second half of the length is her "new" stroke.

Can you tell the difference?  Which stroke do you think looks more comfortable, like it could be super fast if she gradually put some power into it?  By the way, her normal stroke count per length was around 20.  Now it's around 15.  Her backstroke dropped to 13 strokes per length.  (Mostly due to controlling her exhale in the underwater dolphin kick off the wall).  Wow.

IM Transition Turn: Back to Breast Crossover

For those of you who want to learn this IM back to breast turn, this is the fastest and most efficient turn we have right now.  We've been working on this for several years but Lander has no swimmer who has practiced it enough to use it for racing.  I would love it if someone would get inspired and make this turn their turn!

Sun Yang: lest anyone thinks that distance swimming looks easier than sprinting...

Distance swimming at the highest levels is FAST.  Here's Sun Yang from China, swimming the 400m and 1500m at London 2012 Olympics.  So relaxed, unhurried, long, smooth stroke, high elbows, soft hands.... and his big 6 beat kick in the final 100m to bring it home in world record times.  His 14:30 swim in the 1500m translates to a pace of :58 per 100m average.  His 3:40 swim in the 400m translates to :55/100m average.

Does he rest in and out of his walls?  Does he compromise his stroke technique?  Does he take any shortcuts with his streamlines?  Ok, he is 6'6" tall and a 20 year old male, so he is very strong and can put a lot of power into his beautiful stroke, but the point is, if you think that distance swimmers don't have to go as fast, watch how Sun Yang's efficiently relaxed and balanced stroke is actually a distance Sprint!

Imagine yourself swimming like Sun Yang when you practice and race the 500 or 1650 yards.

Beauty and Efficiency first, then Speed and Power

Watch these 2 videos, one is Michael Phelps, swimming his beautiful fast freestyle, powered by a monster kick, the other is of a Total Immersion coach Shinji, who kicks only for balance and slight forward propulsion, but whose speed comes from line, posture and balance.  We all desire to swim like the wind like Michael, but first, be masters of form and efficiency, like Shinji, then Speed and Power will come.

How do they take a breath?  Is it quick or long?  When in the stroke do they take their breath?  How long does their leading arm stay in front before the other arm strokes forward?  How close are their hips to the surface of the water?  How do they swim in such a straight line? Michael also has a radical tight streamline and fast underwater dolphin kick.  Hold the vision of these strokes in your mind when you swim next time.

Welcome