Now that I've gone through the hassle of signing up as a member of this dicussion group, this gets more and more fun. Maybe I'll get fired from my job :)
Anyway... I'm sure that ALL Masters level swimmers have heard of Total Immersion (from now on referred to as TI) swimming, correct? What are everyone's opinions about TI swimming? I am most curious because as a coach of age group swimmers, I was looking for training videos for our kids. I happened upon TI and liked what I saw... at first.
Here's some background for my experience with TI... very well put together, most of what they teach has been in existence for some time anyway, and they certainly are good for teaching novice/beginner swimmers the basic technique for swimming.
However, when looking to swim fast, and I mean fast, not lap swim quality, but truly competitively, I thing TI has missed to boat completely. Yes, smooth and efficient swimming is nice, but did anyone see the NCAA's? There are 20 year old men swimming 9 strokes per length in breaststroke! We have a number of age group coaches in my area teaching their kids how to swim breaststroke at 6 or 7 strokes a length!!! What gives? Extended glide is one thing, but when you slow down your stroke to such an extent just to achieve long and fluid strokes you sacrifice speed tremendously.
Hey, if you can swim 9 strokes a length at 1 second per stroke that is WAY better than 6 strokes a length at 2 seconds per stroke. Simple math.
Anthony Ervin of Cal swam the 100 free in the follwing SPL... 12 (start)/15/16/16. I could be off but that's what I was able to get from the (ahem- PALTRY) ESPN coverage. Now TI has goal SPL's of 12/13! Hello, if the BEST sprinter in history takes 8 cycles, shouldn't that tell us something? Turnover is very important. Same with streamlining, yes streamlines are nice and quite important but A.E. pops up after 5 yards MAX out of each turn. You only serve yourself well if your streamline is faster than you can swim, most age group swimmers would be well-served to explode out of the turn and swim within 3-4 yards.
Alas, it's been a slow day finishing my work for the week. Just looking to start a nice discussion. It's been my experience that a lot of Masters level swimmers are also engaged in coaching age group swimming at some level, and therefore I feel we can get some good dialogue going on this issue.
Now I've just used TI as an example because that's what I've had my experience with, but more general is what keys do you all stress when trying to mold competitive swimmers?
Au revoir,
-Rain Man
Parents
Former Member
Paul, et. al.,
Thank you for your compliments. I feel priviledged to used as an example and mentioned in the same sentence as the truly phenomenal swimmers you have cited. A bit of truth in advertising, though, is necessary. If you check my times from 2001 and 2002 Nationals, you will not find a dramatic difference. Granted, the 200 did go from a disappointing 2:32 to a much better 2:28; however, the 400 (what I feel is my best event) went from 5:18 in 2001 to 5:21 in 2002. I am not disappointed in 5:21 per se, but after all the yoga and refined stroke work, I was hoping for better. But, I think that brings up an important aspect of swimming this thread has overlooked thus far--mental. (As Yogi Berra would put it, swimming is 50% conditioning, 50% stroke mechanics, and 50% mental.) I still have a subjective feeling I am sitting on another big drop, and that this year's Nationals was not my best performance of the season, and a really fast swim at the Chicago Big Shoulders 5K tends to support that theory. We will see; I feel a lot better in this fall's workouts than last year's.
Ion, just a note for your consideration: is oxygen debt holding you back? One aspect of lowering SL is that you get fewer breaths per length. That just about killed me when I tried to hold a low SL in 200 and 500 yard free races this past spring. It is possible to think too much about TI mechanics DURING A RACE. I feel that the key is to focus on mechanics in practice, then let 'er rip in your races. Also, getting back to the mental aspect, is it possible you want to swim fast in meets TOO MUCH? I know that when I want to swim fast, I do well, but when I REALLY WANT TO SWIM FAST, I do so-so. I think a bit of that was at work with me in Cleveland.
Finally, do not get too down on yourself. There are aspects of your stroke that are very good. For those of you who have not seen Ion swim, he has an interesting breathing pattern. Because of ahsma issues, he breaths every 1. (Yup, not every 3 or even every 2; every 1--both sides. I know; I counted for him in his 2001 800 free when he went 11:20.) The only way he can do that without having his hips sink way below the water and swimming like a cement truck, is by having excellent balance, spot on perfect head position, and good body roll. I am experimenting with that skill to see if I can use it when my oxygen debt has me turning blue in these stinkin' 25 yard bathtubs.
Lastly, hey Wayne et. al., how does one get certified as a TI instructor? I used my imperfect understanding of TI this past summer with our Youth League Team, and did OK. I probably ought to get serious about learning how to coach this stuff (or just plain learning how to coach).
Matt
Paul, et. al.,
Thank you for your compliments. I feel priviledged to used as an example and mentioned in the same sentence as the truly phenomenal swimmers you have cited. A bit of truth in advertising, though, is necessary. If you check my times from 2001 and 2002 Nationals, you will not find a dramatic difference. Granted, the 200 did go from a disappointing 2:32 to a much better 2:28; however, the 400 (what I feel is my best event) went from 5:18 in 2001 to 5:21 in 2002. I am not disappointed in 5:21 per se, but after all the yoga and refined stroke work, I was hoping for better. But, I think that brings up an important aspect of swimming this thread has overlooked thus far--mental. (As Yogi Berra would put it, swimming is 50% conditioning, 50% stroke mechanics, and 50% mental.) I still have a subjective feeling I am sitting on another big drop, and that this year's Nationals was not my best performance of the season, and a really fast swim at the Chicago Big Shoulders 5K tends to support that theory. We will see; I feel a lot better in this fall's workouts than last year's.
Ion, just a note for your consideration: is oxygen debt holding you back? One aspect of lowering SL is that you get fewer breaths per length. That just about killed me when I tried to hold a low SL in 200 and 500 yard free races this past spring. It is possible to think too much about TI mechanics DURING A RACE. I feel that the key is to focus on mechanics in practice, then let 'er rip in your races. Also, getting back to the mental aspect, is it possible you want to swim fast in meets TOO MUCH? I know that when I want to swim fast, I do well, but when I REALLY WANT TO SWIM FAST, I do so-so. I think a bit of that was at work with me in Cleveland.
Finally, do not get too down on yourself. There are aspects of your stroke that are very good. For those of you who have not seen Ion swim, he has an interesting breathing pattern. Because of ahsma issues, he breaths every 1. (Yup, not every 3 or even every 2; every 1--both sides. I know; I counted for him in his 2001 800 free when he went 11:20.) The only way he can do that without having his hips sink way below the water and swimming like a cement truck, is by having excellent balance, spot on perfect head position, and good body roll. I am experimenting with that skill to see if I can use it when my oxygen debt has me turning blue in these stinkin' 25 yard bathtubs.
Lastly, hey Wayne et. al., how does one get certified as a TI instructor? I used my imperfect understanding of TI this past summer with our Youth League Team, and did OK. I probably ought to get serious about learning how to coach this stuff (or just plain learning how to coach).
Matt
