What are you waiting for, get in touch to book your kids in today BritSwim Oman Summer Camp.
What are you waiting for, get in touch to book your kids in today BritSwim Oman Summer Camp.

DO YOUR RESEARCH - Find out what your child can expect on their first session with this swim school. Who is the teacher? What will they be asked to do? Will they be allowed their armbands? What will happen before and after class? Kids will be happier to come to class if they understand what will be happening.
SPEND TIME IN THE POOL - The more time you spend with your child in the pool, the better the position you will be in to understand what skills need work, what fears may need conquering, and what your child really loves about the water. All this info can be passed to the swim teacher, who will work it into lessons plans.

TAKE LESSONS YOURSELF - If you're not already a swimmer, there's no better time to learn than while your child does! Spending bonding time together in the pool, comparing what you both learned that week, is a really special experience. Plus, your child will feel more confident, and be inspired to do even better in lessons.
GET THE RIGHT KIT - Proper swimwear designed for the purpose, a good pair of goggles (we love the split strap ones!), and a fluffy towel for post-swim shower - all essentials for a comfortable swim lesson. Don't forget that shower, either - it warms the kids back up once they exit the water, and washes away pool chemicals too.
COME TO THE CLASS - Your presence by the pool, and your attention when there, will boost your child's confidence and their performance. So much of your child's learning takes place in school - swim lessons are a fantastic opportunity to see you child progress and gain confidence right before your eyes.

Safe, fun, effective lessons - that's what we've always promised our customers. And now we're extending that to the outside of the pool. Partnering with respected global training and qualification centre Highfield International, BritSwim provides full pool lifeguard certification courses, for individuals and institutions.
We're 100% committed to getting participants in our lifeguarding programme equipped with the skills and knowledge to identify, prevent, and respond to pool incidents. Our friendly and professional trainers are expert in getting across their message, and ensuring that those on our courses don't simply pass their tests - they retain what they have learned, and truly understand the importance of their work, and how best to keep swimmers safe.
Courses are suitable for swimmers over the age of 16 who fulfil the criteria listed above - and for those who don't, we provide additional pre-course training to get you to a level where you can join a BritSwim lifeguarding course. We currently provide courses and certification for the Highfield HABC Level 2 International Pool Lifeguarding qualification, which includes within in it the Highfield Level 3 International Award in First Aid at Work and the Safe Use of an Automated External Defibrillator.
Get in touch on +968 9475 6911 or at hello@britswim.com for details!



By their nature, triathletes are determined, resilient - pretty much unstoppable.
Like everyone else this year, they've been hurting from the shutdown of their past times, practices, and events. But, also like everyone else, they've found ways to keep on competing.
This last weekend, eight athletes represented BritSwim Triathlon at the Ironman Virtual Club VR 32, in either the triathlon or duathlon format. Set in a virtual world, it was the athlete's decision to race on a real world course or virtually on a platform such as Rouvy or Zwift. Athletes could repeat a distance to see if they could improve their time over the weekend. A handful of athletes chose to do the course in a real world environment - socially distanced, but still able to support each other along the way.
The triathletes swum 1500m whilst the duathletes ran the same distance, with both races then following the same 20km bike and 5km run to finish. There were some outstanding personal best times achieved throughout - of note was the improvement made by Steve. When Steve first met Coach Karl, he couldn't swim 25m. Now, after three months on the BritSwim Tri Personal Programme, he completed his first ever non-stop 1500m swim, and achieved an astonishing nearly 6 minute improvement in his 5km time. Amazing job Steve!
Special mention also to Arlene, a relatively new addition to the squad, having joined the Tri programme only a month ago, with very little swim or bike experience. Arlene set a new 5km personal best and a new power best on the bike, recording a whopping average speed of nearly 37km/h, on her way to taking 2nd place in her gender age group in her very first multisport event.
With many of the athletes completing their first ever race, some are enjoying a well-deserved easier few days - and some are turning their minds to this coming weekend's replacement virtual race: what would have been the 70.3 World Championships in Taupo, New Zealand, which will serve as the first ever Global TriClub Championships. Good luck to all those competing and representing Coach Karl and BritSwim Triathlon!!!
Triathlon (Gender Age Group, Gender Overall): Anna Brockman (4th/63, 19th/207), Steve Cowgill (14th/57, 186th/539), Alison Bell (36th/40, 188th/207)
Duathlon (Gender Age Group, Gender Overall): Mike Brennan (11th/321, 52nd/1610), Karl Egleton (17th/321, 96th/1610), Arlene Cowgill (2nd/75, 12th/513), Elizabeth Derbyshire-Willcox (16th/102, 89th/513), Sharee Hendry (51st/102, 224th/513)

Months of being home, hours a day with zero activity, and for most of us, a host of aches and a few extra inches on the waistband: there's never been a better time than the post-lockdown era for re-evaluating our health and fitness, and how we treat our bodies.
BritSwim's new programme, BritSwim Body, is our comprehensive, holistic, and highly effective solution not just for getting fitter and looking better, but for changing the very way we look at how our bodies function, what they need - how we can work with our bodies to create a foundation for dynamic health, every day and forever.
Our resident Queen of Fitness, Zohreh Hashemi, is certified by CALA - the world leader in aquatic fitness - to teach the CALA system of Vertical Water Training to create custom programmes for each course participant.
So, what is BritSwim Body? How does it work, and how does it help?
It's a four-week programme, and we start you off with an Introductory Session. This is where Coach Zohreh gets to know all about you, your aims, any issues you may have. We assess where you are now, so we can help you get to where you want to be in terms of your health, and properly measure your progress.
Each BritSwim Body session has an update component, where Coach Zohreh gets your feedback and offers individualised advice to help you get the best from the programme. Then to the pool, where you'll work body alignment, power postures, and isokinetic drills. And every four weeks, you'll receive information on our Muscle of the Month - this is where you get specific in understanding the different sets of muscles.
It's this understanding, achieved through your physical sessions and through continuous two-way feedback, that will give you the tools you need to make lifelong changes to your physicality. BritSwim Body is a lifestyle, not a workout - vertical water training and the learnings you get from it can be used anywhere, any time. You don't need complex equipment to understand what your body can do, and what you can do for your body. And while you'll work on key body areas, this system has benefits for your whole body, your whole life.
Performing in water helps us explore and understand the body's movements and capabilities. It's resistance without impact, totally effort dependent, creating a foundation for good health - fitness, circulation, balance and posture, core engagement, strength; you'll see improvement in all these areas, you'll understand why, and be able to sustain it. It's really a journey, and BritSwim's Coach Zohreh is ready to start it with you! Give us a call today for details and bookings: +968 9475 6911

If you know any triathletes, you're probably well aware that they are not only highly unlikely to let any obstacles slow them down, they actively embrace challenge. Nothing - no, not even a pandemic - stops these guys training, setting goals, and achieving them. BritSwim's Coach Karl introduced our remote tri training programme in response to the new rules and lockdowns, to ensure our triathletes kept up with what they love in total safety, and kept those new personal bests coming.
Over the weekend, three of BritSwim's triathletes who took advantage of enrolling on the BritSwim Triathlon Coaching Programme over the past few months joined Coach Karl in competing in Ironman's Virtual Reality 18 Sprint Distance Triathlon, in the Challenger and Classic Divisions. In the Classic Division, Shrikant and Shayan finished 1902nd and 1119th overall in their first race at this distance, out of 3446 finishers. In the Challenger Division, Steve finished 436 overall of the 1322 finishers, whilst Coach Karl finished 1st British athlete in his age group and 98th overall.
All athletes showed the great gains they have made since enrolling on the programme and being directed by Karl in their swim, bike, run, and strength and conditioning training, with all of them achieving multiple personal bests. We look forward to seeing how their next block of training progresses and pays off, once real life racing returns. If you'd like more details on the triathlon coaching options available, or are interested in joining the BritSwim Triathlon Coaching Programme, get in touch for more information, or check out our post on the programme.

February 2021 update -
BritSwim lessons have re-started! We're so happy to see all our students and their families again. We know you have concerns about how things work, and we've been in consultation with our teachers, safety experts, the authorities, and our students and parents, to create a set of guidelines that aim to keep all of us safe during lessons.
First and foremost, please know that our venue partners are keeping to extremely stringent cleanliness and maintenance regulations, both in the pools and the surrounding areas; and BritSwim coaches are absolutely committed to the safety first, socially-distanced lesson plans we have specially designed for teaching in these extraordinary times.



Don't neglect the gym
Brick runs
Everyone's different, mentally and physically, and Coach Karl says this is why personalised - but not necessarily personal - training is the way to go with tri. "Get the most individualised coaching you can. It's not always possible or practical to get specialised individual coaching or plans, but try and seek these out where you can. Too many triathletes (mainly during swim sessions) attach themselves to a group for social or motivational reasons, but many times at the expense of faster improvements in the discipline."
How will you be able to tell if your group is suited to you, if you're getting all you should be from attending? Karl explains: "If all of the swimmers in your lane are working to the same training cycle with the same focused races, and are all of equal or very similar pace, then this can work and is great for morale and motivation, especially on longer sets and many sessions focusing on CSS - provided you all have a similar Critical Swim Speed. But while these sessions may incorporate some drill work, it's unlikely that the drills are the most important to you, and will be the ones which will benefit your stroke the most. For example, the drill set could be focused on the catch phase of the stroke. If you're still unable to keep your feet at the surface and continually hold your breath, working on body position and breathing drills would be more beneficial."
Just one or two private sessions, or an online video analysis session, with a qualified tri coach will reap great rewards. But if that's not something you can manage, a good coach will advise you on what you are doing wrong currently, and, crucially, provide you with sets of specific drills that are custom-picked to progress these points. How do you pick a good triathlon coach? "For group sessions, try and find a coach that gets to know you, your particular history and experience, and knows what you are working towards. A good coach is tailoring the session to your needs while keeping the group all still working as a cohesive unit, even if they're focusing on different technical areas through the session. Our BritSwim swim sessions are limited on numbers for exactly that reason; lanes are split depending on who attends, to give everyone the optimum opportunity for progress towards their individual goals." Individually tailored training programmes are also definitely worth the investment. "It may take a few sessions of testing individually to collect data from the members of the group and make sure you have the correct training zones," says Coach Karl, "but then you have the knowledge that every session has been individually designed within the relevant cycle of a periodisation plan, to ensure you achieve your personal potential in the given timeframe."
That's it for this tri-part series. We hope you found some useful information and motivation to apply to your sessions over the upcoming months and beyond. And we have more posts on triathlon coming up! If you want to get in touch, or ask any questions, please feel free! Whether you're already training with BritSwim Triathlon or not, we're happy to give advice and help any way we can.
And for all those of you already training with Coach Karl -
Karl is super excited to see everyone’s efforts and workouts on Strava and Training Peaks during this difficult time, and cannot wait to see you all back in person once conditions allow. In the meantime - as always - he will continue to offer all of you advice and suggestions. You all know he's committed and dedicated to making sure his athletes get the very best out of not only themselves but also the sport in general. If you'd like more specific information on a certain aspect of triathlon training, Coach Karl will be taking requests for a more comprehensive set of articles, individualised to the needs of you the athlete, so please feel free to contact us if you have anything you'd like Karl to cover.





Luckily, people (although not created for the life aquatic) are pretty smart. So smart, in fact, that we learned how to make the water work for us. The physics of it comes from Newton, specifically his Third Law: for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. We just need to manipulate the medium to get what we want - we learn the principles and skills needed to move us through the water.
Good body position is the first step to decrease the resistance that hampers our movement through water, and cannot be skipped over in early learning. We need to make ourselves hydrodynamic, by changing our silhouette to more closely resemble something that does move easily and quickly through water. You'll hear BritSwim teachers asking students to be a rocket, or a shark - that is, to make themselves long and thin, by squeezing the head between their arms, by pointing their toes, by engaging their core. All this creates a smaller shape to move through the water with speed and strength.
This all helps us to swim well and also keeps our swim comfortable and injury-free (as well as loopholing the laws of physics). We work with the water, identifying its challenges and understanding it. Body position will come up in every single BritSwim class, because without it, you'll never master the water.

