Haley Chura — — Page 15

In the News!

by Haley on January 3, 2014

January has really kicked off as a great media month for both myself and Dynamo. In case you missed any of it, here’s a quick recap!

Dynamo Swim Club Head Coach Jason Turcotte featured in Swimming World Magazine!

Between masters swim practices, indoor cycling, and strength training, I spend a TON of time at the Dynamo Swimming Pool. The Masters and Multisport programs are basically the reason I can call myself a pro triathlete today. The Swim Club has a 50 year history full of Olympians and National Champions. Dynamo kids have always been FAST!

This month, Swimming World Mag did a profile on the current head coach, Jason Turcotte. It’s a really great look into how Jason is planning to continue the winning tradition, and small glimpse into what makes Dynamo so special.

My favorite part of the article is when Jason says he operates Dynamo like a college program. I didn’t grow up in Atlanta, but I remember being in high school and seeing the Dynamo swimmers with their matching t-shirts and close team camaraderie. I wanted so bad to be a part of a team like that! Seeing them was a big part of why I committed to the swimming powerhouse University of Georgia where I enjoyed four wonderful years of matching t-shirts, amazing friendships, and of course, won a National Championship!

Read the full article HERE.

Best Self Atlanta Fitness Bloggers Fitness Trends

I picked Dynamo Masters Swimming as my top 2014 fitness trend in this month’s issue of Best Self Atlanta Magazine!

At the photo shoot (my first ever!) I got to meet a lot of other fabulous health and fitness bloggers and get my hair and makeup done!

Kind of amazing how much work goes into getting a “fitness” look!

Read the full article and check out the other fitness trends HERE.

Interview with First Time Ironman

The folks at First Time Ironman asked me all the tough questions in a fun Q&A interview.

I shared my thoughts on going pro, my favorite workouts, training tips, and more!

Read the full Q&A HERE.

What a year it’s been so far! Cheers to the remaining 362 days of health and happiness in 2014!!!

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Swimming into the New Year Giveaway Results!

by Haley on January 2, 2014

Wow! You guys had some serious swimming fun on New Year’s Eve and Day! I absolutely LOVED seeing all the pics and made a fun collage of my favorites below!

On New Year’s Eve I pulled into a PACKED Dynamo parking lot a little before our schedule 3:30am start time. Coach Maria came up with the most amazing 14,000 meter workout and the laps really flew by! It’s amazing what you can do when you put your mind to it, and have good friends keeping you company, of course!

Thanks to Osmo Nutrition for keeping all of us Dynamo swimmers well hydrated and to Coach Andrew Shanks and Ryann Kopacka for helping me get the coolers all set up! Thanks to all3sports for helping me out with the giveaway prizes, and GIANT THANK YOU to everyone who tweeted, Facebooked, or Instagramed a pic! You all inspire me!

The giveaway winner is Allen Lopez, and I’ll be sending him a tub of Osmo and an all3sports t-shirt!

Keep Swimming!! Happy New Year!!!!

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New Year’s Giveaway!

by Haley on December 29, 2013

Between a trip to the Nutcracker with my aunt and cousin, Christmas feasting with the Joyce family, and general good times with friends and family this week, I am STILL in the Holiday spirit!

So when THIS showed up on my doorstep, I was pushed over the edge!!

Yes, there will be plenty of Osmo Active Hydration to test out at the Dynamo New Year’s Eve Swim on Tuesday. But thanks to my scheming and the generosity of my friends at all3sports, now there’s a chance for ANYONE to try Osmo because I’ve decided to do a New Year’s Giveaway!

The Prizes

* One 40 serving tub of Osmo Active Hydration:

* A super stylish and comfy all3sports t-shirt, infamously memorialized in this amazing graphic:

How to Win

(1) Do a swim workout on either New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day

(2) Snap a picture!

(3) Post the pic and tag me on at least one social media platform!

* Twitter: @haleychura

* Facebook: Haley Chura

* Instagram: @haleychura23

I’ll do a random drawing of all entries submitted by midnight January 1st and announce the winner (and post some of my favorite pics!) on the 2nd!

Need a workout?

My friends and I like closing out the year with a MONSTER swim session. Not required for entry, but if you need a fun New Year’s set, send me an email and I’ll see what I can do!

Dynamo Swimmers are still eligible to win! Happy New Year!

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TYR Swim Set of the Week – Dryland Edition

by Haley on December 27, 2013

Not all swim work has to be done in the pool. This week’s TYR Swim Set of the Week is a strength routine I do 1-2 times per week immediately after my swim workouts. This 20 minute circuit focuses on arm and core strength, two critical areas when it comes to fast times in the water.

My coach knows I’m not the most coordinated on dry land, so thankfully he usually includes YouTube video links for me to watch before the workout. Form is super important in strength work, and since I usually do these short circuits solo, I make sure to watch the videos early in case I have questions about any of the exercises. I think it’s ESPECIALLY important to watch the stretch cords video (featuring super swimmer Chris Hauth) because even I have a bad habit of dropping my elbows when I get tired.

First, here’s the workout:

Second, here are the YouTube video links:

* Plank with leg lift: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1MeMvqSNqA

* Stretch Cords: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBb_Jek_skk

* Swiss Ball Knee Tuck: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2y03dkaK1O0

* Bench Crunch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_uVa0pwI7c

* Oblique Band Rotation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3KDopQEl0A

I’m lucky to have stretch cords and swiss balls available for use at the Dynamo pool. If your pool or gym doesn’t have these, you can probably find them at any sporting goods store, or online. I would suggest the medium to heavy strength stretch cords, such as these ones I found by googling “stretch cords.”

I do want to stress that with limited time in your schedule, any dry land strength routines should be done “in addition to” swimming, never “in place of.” The best way to become a better swimmer is to spend quality time in the water, so no getting out of practice early – the stretch cords can wait!

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