Bob de Wolf (BEL) on FB-Optimizer I just want to let you know how much I appreciate your coaching Foli!
Here is how I will describe you and your training:
Training with Foli is totally different from any training I have experienced. Foli coaches you! A lot of trainers try to make you swim like the perfect stroke. They make you do all drills to make you swim the only right technique. I tried a lot of those training the last 2 years. After a year I still swam as bad as before I came to La Santa. Foli is the first trainer who makes me feel I am making progress.
I work now together with Foli for half a year and the results are there. From a 1h06 Ironman swim in IM Nice, I improved to a 1h02 swim in Ironman Lanzarote. That was only after 2months of training. In the 70.3 IM from Antwerp, I swam under 30minutes. The benefit of getting faster in the wather pays of at the finish line. 26th place in IM Lanzarote, qualification for WC in Hawaii, 16th place in IM Antwerp, 2nd age grouper overall.
Why do I improve with Foli and not before. Foli works with you as a person, with your body, with your limits and strenghts. He teaches you the things that work for you. He makes you swim as fast as possible with your techinique. Foli understand you as a person and athlete. He will push you over your limits when you are capable too, when you can do it. He will ease you off at the right moment. Because Foli is a great athlete as well he reads your body sometimes better then yourself. He will not force you to a hard session when he notices you are too tierd. On the other hand he will stimulate you to swim times, sets, sessions you could never do on your own.
Foli coaches with is heart, because he loves to do it. He wants to see you improving. It is that passion, together with his expertise, what makes him the best swim coach I ever had.
Let's see in Hawaii.
Thanks,
Bob DE WOLF.
Max Oster (GER) on FB-Optimizer"Hi Foli
Langsam wird es ernst und uns steht der 1/2 marathon von arrecife vor der tuer. Dank Deiner Unterstuetzung und Deines Trainings mit mir sehe ich dem Ganzen recht gelassen entgegen, und freue mich auf den Wettkampf.Ich haette nie gedacht so weit zu kommen.Deine Trainingsmethoden sind sensationell!!! Auf zum ironman 2009
Vielen Dank fuer alles. Max"
Rasmus Severin (DEN) on FB-Optimizer“Thx for your way of training me and for your nice way to approach new people. I have really been inspired by you and your training. I would like to hear your oppinion and suggestions og how I should do my daily workout until dec. where I will be back at Club La Santa…
....I can mention, that I had a really nice session yesterday, where i ran 10k on 38.35. So all the training on The Rock :) helped a little. I did focus all the way on your runinng techniques and found that it helped me a lot. So hopefully i can improve far more over the next 5 months.
Hope to hear from you soon. Kind Regards Rasmus”
Volker Keim (GER) on FB-Optimizer"Servus Folkert, herzlichen Dank nochmals für Deine hervorragenden Anregungen und Tipps. Ich bin jetzt überzeugt, dass ich in meinem Schwimmtraining aus der Sackgasse bin und hier auch bei vertretbarem (Zeit-)Aufwand noch eine Menge Verbesserungspotential besteht. Kannst Du mir Infos/Links bezüglich des erwähnten Krafttrainings (Handtuchübungen) senden?... ... Beste Grüße aus Frankfurt Volker"
Mark Whittaker (GBR) on FB-Optimizer"Hi Foli,
Thanks for your help in the pool last week, I really appreciated that you spent some time with me and I found it very useful...shame we only had one and a half sessions! ... ...The biggest thing I found was I was able to keep my breathing so much more relaxed and easier than before. This helps to keep everything else in my stroke more relaxed, though I still found myself not swimming long and completely relaxed at times. But now I know what to feel for I just have to relax more and be dynamic under the water...I tried to picture you at the side of the pool giving me the 'longer' sign (and occasionally the easy sign). The doggy paddle drill also works well, thanks!
The thing I really liked about your approach was how you didn't try to make me swim by numbers, or drastically change my stroke to conform to the perfect textbook stroke...It is called freestyle after all! Simply working with what I've got and tweaking it, working on the most important things - relaxation, feel for the water and being dynamic/relaxed at the appropriate time, made life so much simpler for me. I was also very impressed with your observations of my swimming, very accurate and no one has ever picked up on my slight discomfort in the water...a problem you saw and largely fixed in about 10 minutes! I really think you have something with the way you coach, and are going to have lots of success...
...Once again, thanks for your time and coaching,
Take it easy
Mark
PS Bob had a top race - watched him cross the line and he looked so smashed! That's the only way to do and Ironman, leave everything on the course!"
Waltraud Stadelmann (GER) on FB-Optimizer„…Da ich wegen meines Bandscheibenvorfalles ohnehin zwei mal pro Woche ins REHA-Fittness-Studio "muss" um bestimmte Muskelgruppen zu trainieren, bin ich an einer individuellen Behandlung von Folkert… …interessiert. Die Übungen mit dem Handtuch haben mich begeistert, weil danach meine Verspannungen im Nacken- Schulterbereich völlig verschwunden waren. Ich baue sie fast täglich in mein Übungsprogramm mit ein. Nochmals vielen Dank für Eure Bemühungen! Waltraud Stadelmann“
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