I'm 35 years old 175cm 64kg male self taught swimmer starting from zero 5 years ago. I swam laps for a while, but soon developed interest and passion in swimming fast over short distances and relentless daily practice.
I have times in all strokes, but use freestyle as main benchmark. First time I tried to swim short course 100m freestyle I timed around 1:40. Over time this improved to 1:35, 1:27, 1:17 and reached a plateau there.
So I went through a year or so of the Starting Strength program, deadlifted 100kg in sets of 5 and squatted 80kg. I began to feel like my body line, explosiveness, starts and push offs improved. Freestyle time didn't improve dramatically, only down to 1:15.
At that point I felt I knew plenty about training of energy systems from Olbrecht, so I decided to only focus on improving my pure speed. I take 17 seconds for a push 25 in 18 strokes at 90-100 spm.
I followed Boomer's Freestyle Reimagined and took my stroke apart 4 weeks ago. A stroke change is clearly going to take 4 months or years to happen, not 4 weeks, but I am beginning to lose the enjoyment. I am hugely motivated to see myself break the 15sec 25m and ultimately the freestyle minute, and have no idea whether it is possible with no youth swimming background.
I posted on the UK Swimming Forum, but had no reply and thought I would post here too in search for tips or similar experiences. Would appreciate any comments!
I've seen an adult successfully join an age group program, and haven't tried that myself. I swam with a masters club for 2 years, which was a lot of fun, but these seem to be geared towards fitness and training rather than focused development of speed. Moreover, I am not quite so fast and fit to join some of the higher profile clubs. I've been to see a number of coaches/swimmers for advice, including Swim Smooth, who all had valuable input, but nothing seemed to really point me towards some a big area of improvement. I feel like I might be missing an obvious one. There are definitely areas like "feel for water" and "stroke efficicency" that remain mystical to me despite having read volumes.
Regarding the 100 SCM fr video above: Respectful swim, very respectful considering areas of form that could be corrected. Dropping 5+ seconds just with a better start and 3 turns seems realistic (to me). Also a few things on the surface, but need to see what’s happening UW for commenting that. Take my interpretation for what it is, I also learned as an adult (@40) and my feedback is just that.
The start: Try to get the legs straight, feet together, and pointed before entering the water and hold that solidly to the UW kicking.
Breakouts: Looks like you might be dropping excessive momentum while surfacing to stroke (4x with turns). Breakouts should be a transfer of maximum UW momentum to stroke. UW video can help you see what you are doing.
Turns: Never hesitate into the turn. Think of it as just a change in direction with added boost from the wall.
Try to recover your arm more relaxed. Enter the fingernails first, then hand, then elbow - this will set you up for a quicker, more efficient catch.
Minimize moving head from centerline during each breath. I need to work on this one too.
Regarding the 100 SCM fr video above: Respectful swim, very respectful considering areas of form that could be corrected. Dropping 5+ seconds just with a better start and 3 turns seems realistic (to me). Also a few things on the surface, but need to see what’s happening UW for commenting that. Take my interpretation for what it is, I also learned as an adult (@40) and my feedback is just that.
The start: Try to get the legs straight, feet together, and pointed before entering the water and hold that solidly to the UW kicking.
Breakouts: Looks like you might be dropping excessive momentum while surfacing to stroke (4x with turns). Breakouts should be a transfer of maximum UW momentum to stroke. UW video can help you see what you are doing.
Turns: Never hesitate into the turn. Think of it as just a change in direction with added boost from the wall.
Try to recover your arm more relaxed. Enter the fingernails first, then hand, then elbow - this will set you up for a quicker, more efficient catch.
Minimize moving head from centerline during each breath. I need to work on this one too.
