Swimming: There's a right way to go with the flow

Even the tone-deaf think they can sing. It's the same in the pool, where many of us flail and splash until we get to the other side and call it swimming.

Megan Quann Jendrick, two-time Olympic gold medalist, can swim. In fact, she works out three hours a day, seven days a week, in the pool as she prepares for the Olympic Trials and a possible berth in the 2008 Olympics. Elite swimmers like Jendrick, who turned 24 this month, are on a whole different level than the rest of us. Still, she strives to relate in her book, "Get Wet, Get Fit: The Complete Guide to Getting a Swimmer's Body" ($18, Simon & Schuster).

Her message is that even the beginner can make major strides and take advantage of swimming's near-perfect exercise. It all starts and stays with the right posture, mechanics and mind-set. No human, she reminds us, is a born swimmer. She certainly wasn't.

"I got kicked out of my first swim lessons as a kid," recalls Jendrick, who grew up in Puyallup and now lives in Tacoma. "The instructor told my parents, 'She's not getting any better.' I understood, looking back. I wouldn't put my head underwater."

She tried again at age 9 and was stuck with kids half her age, and all faster. Fortunately, she was ultracompetitive. "It was ALL effort," she says. "NO ability."

Ability caught up to effort, and she won two Golds in the 2000 Olympics as a 16-year-old.

She and her husband, personal trainer and writer Nathan Jendrick, have conducted many swim camps where they fielded questions about technique, nutrition and "dryland training" (exercises done outside the pool). Much of their answers have wound up in the book, released this month.

Swimming is a wonderful total-body and low-impact exercise, but it is technique-driven. It's one thing to swim well enough to stay afloat, but learning to propel efficiently is critical to experiencing the maximum toning, weight loss and muscle endurance that the activity offers. Water's density requires you to minimize drag and maximize propulsion.

Her specialty is the breaststroke, but no matter your stroke, you must stay in the "streamline." That's the most drag-efficient position you can be in while moving through water (see tips box for a description). The swimmers who look the most relaxed, she says, are usually both the most technically sound and fastest. They glide through water, causing as little disturbance as possible.

Jendrick also spends time in the book on the basics. When you swim, you access less oxygen than you're used to, so it is critical that you get your breathing patterns in sync. She suggests beginners practice in shallow water until they feel comfortable, and everyone should master a concept before moving to the next.

"I sometimes suggest that people just starting out use fins because that can help them focus on their breath," she says. "Too many people hold their breath underwater so when they come up they have to exhale and inhale. You should exhale under so you can just inhale when your head's above."

But "Get Wet, Get Fit" is not just for beginners. It breaks down the various strokes and styles into separate lessons for the beginner, intermediate and advanced swimmer.

Swimming can be monotonous — back and forth, back and forth. But the Jendricks suggest ways to vary the workout. You can sprint to raise the heart rate, or focus on kicking or pulling motions. You can isolate body parts. You can go slow for relaxation, strengthening and stretching.

Other swimming champions lend advice, but the book is not intended to prepare you for the Olympics. It's about making you efficient enough in the water that you can take full advantage of what swimming offers.

Richard Seven: 206-464-2241 or rseven@seattletimes.com