Hi, I'm 5'8 and I swim at a 25 yard pool. I can swim 1,800 yards in 42 minutes. Swimming freestyle, my right hand enters the water 12 times per length. I have read (www.totalimmersion.net/) that I should do 25 yards with 18 strokes (or 9 right hand entries) per length. What is the best way to reduce my strokes per length? Thanks! Don
Work on: catch, kick, streamline, and rotation. Not necessarily in that order. In other words, refine your stroke to be more efficient.
A coach would probably help a lot.
don,
yes do stroke drills to improve your effeciency.
like the "zipper", "finger tip drag" and "catchup"
steve GO HOGS GO
ps my name is in the sidewalk over by grad-ed and the library
and on the wall in hyper
I'd like to be able to do as well, so I have engaged a coach. We'll see in a few weeks if it does any good. I'm older, 68, and shorter, 5'5". If I do quick 50yd repeats, just under 60 seconds, I'm taking 15 strokes with a stroke length over 1.6. Doing easy warmup or distances from 500-2000 yds, I do 18 strokes with a stroke length between 1.2 and 1.4.
I'd like to be able to do as well, so I have engaged a coach. We'll see in a few weeks if it does any good. I'm older, 68, and shorter, 5'5". If I do quick 50yd repeats, just under 60 seconds, I'm taking 15 strokes with a stroke length over 1.6. Doing easy warmup or distances from 500-2000 yds, I do 18 strokes with a stroke length between 1.2 and 1.4.
Watch Sun Yang videos.
Where is your hand entering the water at the end of recovery? Are you getting full extension? Make sure your hand is entering the water out in front of your head and isn't entering the water close to your head...and then being pushed out to full extension under water. That's counter-productive. On your pull, pull all the way through. Don't flail when your hand is below your hip. Think about feeling your hand bush past your thigh and pull all the way.
Dan
I addition to working on stroke efficiency, how is your kick; and how good are you walls - udk, and breakout; how often are you breathing; and are you up on top of the water with your head down. I'm 67 and 5'-9", doing about 18 strokes per length and swimming about 10k yds per week. 23-24 strokes isn't too bad, but you can work it down. Make sure you take 3 underwater dolphin kicks off the wall at least in the short stuff and try to be as streamlined as possible on EVERY turn. Get your kick going at least 6 beats or more per cycle and don't breathe every stroke when you are working on distance per stroke (DPS) or stroke count. Be sure your body is properly aligned, up high in the water with your head down and eyes looking at the bottom.
Try doing these things for one length at a time and keep concentrating on each of them until they are instinctive. You may not be able to get down to where some younger swimmers are (12s or lower), but I think 15 for 25 scy is achievable and maybe better even if you are 60+. Also, remember that your stroke count goes up when you are sprinting.
