I was just wondering. At what point is ones swimming career while they realise that they have hit the wall, and then sur passed it and they cant possibly go faster??
The reason I ask is because Phelphs is "retiring" after the 2012 games.
But then I see athlets go out and compete that are well into their late 20's and early 30's.
What is the averge prime age for a male swimmer before times start becoming slower???
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Former Member
When you get older you have to train differently... less yardage, more high-quality yardage.
The obvious poster child of excelling past 40 is Dara Torres. She has written a couple books about swimming, not sure if she discusses her plans there. However, her stroke when she came back into the water with Richard Quick evolved into something very different than what she made her first Olympics at age 14... see the Bill Boomer Morning Swim Show interview about leopards and cheetahs for more details.
Jason Lezak was 32 in Beijing when he threw down the fastest 100 free relay split in history.
Both these swimmers swim far less now than they did as age groupers and in college. As great as their form is (which is significantly more efficient/less strenuous for the body than the average swimmer), you can't keep grinding out those millions of shoulder rotations without musculoskeletal consequences.
The body stops gaining muscle mass (I think especially fast twitch muscles get harder to maintain but I don't have a study so don't hold me to that) as easily starting in the 30s.... the advantage that older athletes have over their younger selves is greater experience and better imprinted neural patterns for how to swim (assuming proper form has been imprinted into the brain through the years).
As to the original question:
At what point is ones swimming career while they realise that they have hit the wall, and then sur passed it and they cant possibly go faster??
As John Barrymore said... "A Man Is Not Old Until Regrets Take the Place of Dreams".... there's always something you can improve in. I know it's kinda zen, but ultimately you kill off any potential to go faster when YOU decide you can't get any faster.
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Former Member
When you get older you have to train differently... less yardage, more high-quality yardage.
The obvious poster child of excelling past 40 is Dara Torres. She has written a couple books about swimming, not sure if she discusses her plans there. However, her stroke when she came back into the water with Richard Quick evolved into something very different than what she made her first Olympics at age 14... see the Bill Boomer Morning Swim Show interview about leopards and cheetahs for more details.
Jason Lezak was 32 in Beijing when he threw down the fastest 100 free relay split in history.
Both these swimmers swim far less now than they did as age groupers and in college. As great as their form is (which is significantly more efficient/less strenuous for the body than the average swimmer), you can't keep grinding out those millions of shoulder rotations without musculoskeletal consequences.
The body stops gaining muscle mass (I think especially fast twitch muscles get harder to maintain but I don't have a study so don't hold me to that) as easily starting in the 30s.... the advantage that older athletes have over their younger selves is greater experience and better imprinted neural patterns for how to swim (assuming proper form has been imprinted into the brain through the years).
As to the original question:
At what point is ones swimming career while they realise that they have hit the wall, and then sur passed it and they cant possibly go faster??
As John Barrymore said... "A Man Is Not Old Until Regrets Take the Place of Dreams".... there's always something you can improve in. I know it's kinda zen, but ultimately you kill off any potential to go faster when YOU decide you can't get any faster.
