So I recently went to my first meet a week ago and another one this weekend (yay!). A swam a couple of different events and learned a lot of stuff from the experience. Both weekends I raced the 100 back, and I'm using the term race loosely here. I just cannot seem to crank up the speed on this stroke. I went 1:48.9 the first weekend and 1:49 this weekend. My 100 ***, easily my worst stroke, was 1:52. This doesn't really make sense to me as I've always considered my backstroke to be a lot better than my breaststroke. Ultimately my question boils down to how do you race backstroke? I'm clearly doing it wrong and it's starting to frustrate me.
Any tips would be greatly appreciated!
Kick Kick Kick Kick Kick Kick. Every good backstroker I know has a strong kick and does a lot of hard kicking in workouts.
Very true, but kicking on your back is different than kicking on your stomach. I agree it takes practice to get better too.
I'm a pretty decent kicker, but for some reason when I get on my back and begin backstroke, my kick just disappears.
SG - if possible, videotape your backstroke and post a link here (YouTube). Sometimes by seeing how you swim, specific suggestions can be offered to help you swim faster.
I'm a pretty decent kicker, but for some reason when I get on my back and begin backstroke, my kick just disappears.
I have the same issue! I have a pretty good flutter kick for my freestyle, but I feel like my whole lower body is sinking in backstroke.
Also, I do flip turns but I feel like I have pretty much got those down. We work on those a fair amount in practice.
I have the same issue! I have a pretty good flutter kick for my freestyle, but I feel like my whole lower body is sinking in backstroke.
I am the opposite. In freestyle I have a two-beat crossover kick and my kick sets with a kickboard are more pathetic than a kitten in a rainstorm. However, I have a pretty decent backstroke kick. Go figure.
Since I hate kicking except on my back and since I don't have a coach to make me do otherwise, I do practically all my kick sets on my back, which also allows me to get a lot of practice on my turns and underwaters.
I'm wondering if maybe you are trying to crank up your arm rotation too fast when you're racing and are losing your rhythm and technique. You could be expending too much energy on the recovery, leaving less for the underwater push. You could also be zigging and zagging in the lane which also does you no favors. But that is all a guess since I haven't actually seen you swim.
What you do in practice, you will do in a meet. If you have technical flaws in practice, they will be exacerbated when you try to "go fast" in a meet.
That is why so many on these forums espouse fast sets during practice. As has been previously suggested, get some video of your swim, and you will get better responses.
So I recently went to my first meet a week ago and another one this weekend (yay!). A swam a couple of different events and learned a lot of stuff from the experience. Both weekends I raced the 100 back, and I'm using the term race loosely here. I just cannot seem to crank up the speed on this stroke. I went 1:48.9 the first weekend and 1:49 this weekend. My 100 ***, easily my worst stroke, was 1:52. This doesn't really make sense to me as I've always considered my backstroke to be a lot better than my breaststroke. Ultimately my question boils down to how do you race backstroke? I'm clearly doing it wrong and it's starting to frustrate me.
Any tips would be greatly appreciated!
Practice makes perfect. Here is a link to the Aaron Piersol video on YouTube. http://youtu.be/fX1jlMCM9vc
Pick one thing to work on each practice or week then incorporate it into your stroke until it becomes second nature.
goswim098 has a ton of videos too.
So I recently went to my first meet a week ago and another one this weekend (yay!). A swam a couple of different events and learned a lot of stuff from the experience. Both weekends I raced the 100 back, and I'm using the term race loosely here. I just cannot seem to crank up the speed on this stroke. I went 1:48.9 the first weekend and 1:49 this weekend. My 100 ***, easily my worst stroke, was 1:52. This doesn't really make sense to me as I've always considered my backstroke to be a lot better than my breaststroke. Ultimately my question boils down to how do you race backstroke? I'm clearly doing it wrong and it's starting to frustrate me. Any tips would be greatly appreciated!
First, have a friend video you swimming a fast 100 back
Preferably from the side.
You're probably making several technique mistakes but we don't know what they are until we see them.
Then put the video on youtube and ask folks to watch it and offer suggestions. Then take a few ideas to practice and try them out.
Get one on one backstroke lessons from a good coach or backstroker.
I'm sure you can improve your start, streamline, SDK, swimming backstroke, and turns.
The most common backstrokes are
HEAD TOO HIGH BUTT TOO LOW
Kick to weak arms too slow
The cures are
Head: lay it back
Butt: keep it up, lay down, don't sit
Kick: kick strong and fast
Arms: turn your arms over faster
you've got to lay your head back and keep your hips up.
a 1:48.9 100 bk is averaging 27.2 sec per 25
you've got to work on improving your:
15 meter & 25 backstroke speed
streamline dolphin kicking SDK
flutter kicking speed on your belly and back
what are your times for 15, 25 & 50?
FIND OUT NOW!!!
Also when you improve your conditioning, your 100 back will get faster
the best way to do this is to train for the 200 & 500 FR mid season.
what pace can you hold on 5 x 100 fr with 5 seconds rest after each?
How many times per week do you swim?
How far do you go per practice?
What kinds of sets do you do?
You'd definitely benefit from MORE & faster.
If you're heavy, lose weight.
If you're weak, gain strength.
Most of all swim fast in practice and have fun.
you can swim faster faster
Good Luck keep us posted.
Ande
Thanks for all the advice guys! I'll definitely try to get a video of my backstroke sometime this week, but I'm beginning to strongly suspect that it's my hip position. I find it incredibly difficult to keep my hips up when I'm doing the full stroke for some reason.
I'll also try to get some times for the 25 and 50 distances to see if I'm having a stamina issue (which may also contribute).
I talked to my coach a little today and he says I'm gliding a little too much into the wall and flipping too early so I'll work on those things as well.
