I just finished my 3rd year of competitive swimming and my Junior year of highschool. I swim for a 4A school during the highschool swim season and a not very competitive club team year round. The team I swim for in highschool is relatively competitive as far as 4A gets, and I am one of the faster swimmers on the team. I had a couple questions going into my senior year.
1. Over this past season, I dropped 4 seconds in my 100 free going from a 59 to a 55. My coach wants me at a 51 by next year. Being a small guy, (5'5") I do not have height as an advantage to drop time. Are there training techniques that anybody knows to help drop time? As in, what aspect of swimming fast should I focus on? Power, stamina, technique, stroke rate, etc. I swim 2 hrs a day 4 days a week in summer and I will be running and going to the gym as well.
2. Are there any suggestions on staying focused and motivated during practice? I have a tendency to lose focus and swim mindlessly during longer practices.
3. In the 100 free, what is more important to focus on, making that first 50 faster, or shrinking the time difference between the first and second 50? My splits are currently 26 and 29. My 50 free PR is a 24.9
4. What is the best way to tackle dropping time in the 50 free as a fairly short guy?
Thanks so much for your help!
There is some very good advice here.
Don't ever think of your height as a limitation. There are many excellent sprinters under six feet. I swam D1 and we had a fellow who was 5'-7" and he could churn out a low to mid :20 (for the 50 free) pretty much any day of the week - which was very fast in the early 80's.
Strength and flexibility will pay big dividends. Running is great for active rest, but you may only wind up getting better ...at running! Hop on your bike as well. Your ankles won't tighten up as much, and it only takes a small dip in the road to twist an ankle - maybe because swimmers tend to have slightly more flex in this area.
Pace is key in that the 100 is more of a distance sprint - not an all out race like the 50. Think of it like letting air out of a balloon. You do not want to be empty by the third turn. The key is in saving some gas for the last lap. Easy speed means fast, but loose. You'll be going fast enough - but mentally it won't feel that way if you think of it as easy speed. ...For the 50...don't leave anything in the pool. Just turn it over.
Lastly, perfect your turns and the start...and when you practice - come into the wall with a real finish. Whatever you do in the pool during practice - you will do in a race. Best technique will sooner or later become second nature.
All the best to you.
2. Are there any suggestions on staying focused and motivated during practice? I have a tendency to lose focus and swim mindlessly during longer practices.
You should be in tune with your body. Focus on your hand entry, then your sweep, then check in with your kicking, think about your turns, your streamlines, etc. If you're always focusing in on tiny aspects of your stroke every practice, every lap, you'll get better. Play with the clock a bit too. If you're doing a long set or a series of 500s, for example, work to make your 50s the same pace. Nail them.
As soon as you find your mind wandering, snap it back into focusing on your body.
Tresham,
Congrats on your improvement and your future goals. So, not to evasive, have you asked your coach these questions? If you have not asked him, this should be the first thing you do.
If your coach tends to be a "stand back and watch them swim" kind of coach, start asking for feedback. Swimming, like any sport, is just like a class. When you struggle in the classroom, you ask your teacher for help, right? You should expect the same thing from your swim coach and she/he should be thrilled that you want feedback.
A note of caution though - if your coach gives you feedback and suggests what to work on, work on those things. As soon as you say "I am tired today" or "I want to work on something else" or some other reason to not try, your coach may sense you don't want to put the effort in and back off.
Good Luck...
First, congrats on dropping from 59 to 55!
I'm 5' 7", so I'm very sympathetic the challenge of swimming against taller swimmers. I was fortunate to have Sheila Taormina coach my Masters team for a couple of years. At 5' 2-1/2", she is the shortest Olympic Gold Medalist in swimming, and obviously knew something about how to overcome a height disadvantage.
Some thoughts in no particular order:
1. Everyday pick one or two specific things to focus on at practice.
2. Work on your catch every day. Sculling drills are great for this.
2. Accelerate into your turns & tight streamline off the wall.
3. Finish hard into the wall every time. Don't glide in.
4. A minimum of two dolphins off EVERY wall in practice (breaststroke excepted, of course).
5. Stay long and make your catch out front to maximize pull stroke distance.
6. Accelerate the arm pull (this is one I have to remind myself to do all the time - it makes a big difference).
7. Lots of kick sets, including dolphins on both chest & back.
8. Stay on the interval your coach gives you, no cheating.
9. Swim with faster swimmers.
10. Body alignment, especially head position.
11. Work on core strength and maintaining core tone throughout your stroke.
12. Only increase your stroke rate when you can still maintain good technique.
In my particular situation, most of my improvement in my 100 times have come from improving my second fifty. I attribute that to better conditioning and being able hold my technique longer.
Hope this helps. Good luck.
I just finished my 3rd year of competitive swimming and my Junior year of highschool. I swim for a 4A school during the highschool swim season and a not very competitive club team year round. The team I swim for in highschool is relatively competitive as far as 4A gets, and I am one of the faster swimmers on the team. I had a couple questions going into my senior year.
1. Over this past season, I dropped 4 seconds in my 100 free going from a 59 to a 55. My coach wants me at a 51 by next year. Being a small guy, (5'5") I do not have height as an advantage to drop time. Are there training techniques that anybody knows to help drop time? As in, what aspect of swimming fast should I focus on? Power, stamina, technique, stroke rate, etc. I swim 2 hrs a day 4 days a week in summer and I will be running and going to the gym as well.
2. Are there any suggestions on staying focused and motivated during practice? I have a tendency to lose focus and swim mindlessly during longer practices.
3. In the 100 free, what is more important to focus on, making that first 50 faster, or shrinking the time difference between the first and second 50? My splits are currently 26 and 29. My 50 free PR is a 24.9
4. What is the best way to tackle dropping time in the 50 free as a fairly short guy?
Thanks so much for your help!
I had the same thing with butterfly. For years I was stuck at 1:08 to 1:07. In my senior year I finally got down to 1:05.8. Now this is impressive for me since my freestyle best was only 1:03.7. I was between 5'3" to 5'4" most of my swimming career. Try to get your coach to have you swim back or fly in some dual meets. Maybe, doing a different stroke will helped. I mainly did fly and *** in high school since they were my best events. As a Senior I swam 500 freestyle and it might have helped to improved my fly.
Hey Tresham!
Great work (and advice) thus far! Only one addition from me...
- Try working on negative splitting your 100 free sets in practice, bringing back your second 50 faster than your first.
When you do this, don't cheat it by loafing your first 50... try 75% then 100% thru a set or two. It will take yor wind the first few times, but if you stick with it, your 100 will be more balanced, time-wise.
Good luck!
Even if you do go faster remember to enjoy what you have in the love of swimming.
Some taller swimmers can not do the times you are posting as a "youngster"
