I need some theories on why this could be true: Assuming that both swimmers are kicking/pulling/swimming freestyle for the same distance with the same effort and without fins and paddles, swimmer A consistently kicks slower than swimmer B and swimmer A consistently pulls slower than swimmer B but swimmer A consistently swims full stroke faster than swimmer B.
The only thing I can think of that might make this true is that swimmer A's body positioning in the water and/or body rotation changes somehow when swimming full stroke and that that change reduces drag but I can't think of what that "somehow" could be. Maybe the rotation that occurs when pulling is making the kick more effective than when only kicking..?
I agree, B must be doing something to slow himself down in full stroke.
I agree.
It occurred to me when using a pull buoy this morning that swimmer B may be benefiting from better body position and more speed from the pull buoy's floatation. When B is swimming full stroke (without a buoy's floatation), the back end is sinking and creating more drag, even though kicking. If B's times for 100m pulling and full stroke are pretty close, you might conclude it's the buoy creating the better body position when B pulls. You could time both A and B and count strokes (pulling and full stroke) and then compare the data in a excel table to see if it tells a story. Maybe even take time and stroke count splits and compare.
I think there was a USMS article on the web or in Swimmer (or someone like swimspire posted an article) about finding one's balance point when swimming, maybe a year or so back. If that's the problem, it might help B to get "balanced" as when using the buoy.
I agree, B must be doing something to slow himself down in full stroke.
I agree.
It occurred to me when using a pull buoy this morning that swimmer B may be benefiting from better body position and more speed from the pull buoy's floatation. When B is swimming full stroke (without a buoy's floatation), the back end is sinking and creating more drag, even though kicking. If B's times for 100m pulling and full stroke are pretty close, you might conclude it's the buoy creating the better body position when B pulls. You could time both A and B and count strokes (pulling and full stroke) and then compare the data in a excel table to see if it tells a story. Maybe even take time and stroke count splits and compare.
I think there was a USMS article on the web or in Swimmer (or someone like swimspire posted an article) about finding one's balance point when swimming, maybe a year or so back. If that's the problem, it might help B to get "balanced" as when using the buoy.
