I've just watched the video by Swim Smooth on instagram:
www.instagram.com/.../
The description mentions;
Now take a closer look at the amount of kick required to sustain such a long, gliding stroke in the first clip - it’s huge! I can barely hold this pace for more than the 70m of this clip! I’m totally exhausted and starting to drop off @karyn_aus and @rrobbo83 pace.
But my question is: How the heck is he possible to sustain 74 spm for 3 km? Won't such a high stroke rate tire the arms and the whole upper body a lot?! And for the 46 spm swim, why he is kicking so frequently? If he can do 46 spm with 2-beat kick it would be PERFECT for extra-long distance swim, which I am aiming for.
Anecdotally, I disagree with his whole premise that a long stroke rate requires additional kicking. The whole point of a lower stroke rate is to make the stroke more efficient. That means you get more out of each pull. My pull sets will typically require only 2 additional strokes per (25 yard) length. Now I will say that I do get tired, and over the course of, say, a mile (1650yards/1500meters), my stroke count will go up, usually by 2 by the end of the swim.
Actually, here. swimswam.com/.../ The world's best distance swimmers have a stroke rate of 32-35spm. You don't see good distance swimmers with a high stroke rate......not that I am saying the average Masters swimmer should try to emulate Sun Yang. Just saying that their method refutes the premise posted by the Instagram guy.
Yeah, I don't agree with the premise either. I have to kick more to keep rhythm the higher my stroke rate gets - in fact, I'm pretty much a 2-beat kick for any stroke rate slower than 200 pace or so. Others' mileage may vary.
I think the stroke rate question is interesting - Sun Yang (and others like Clark Smith from an American standpoint) are at the long stroke range of the spectrum, but guys like Paltrinieri and Wilimovsky (also from an American standpoint) are fast stroke rate. Of course the confounding factor is that Wilimovsky is primarily an elite open water swimmer, better at that than pool swimming.
Anecdotally, I disagree with his whole premise that a long stroke rate requires additional kicking. The whole point of a lower stroke rate is to make the stroke more efficient. That means you get more out of each pull. My pull sets will typically require only 2 additional strokes per (25 yard) length. Now I will say that I do get tired, and over the course of, say, a mile (1650yards/1500meters), my stroke count will go up, usually by 2 by the end of the swim.
Actually, here. swimswam.com/.../ The world's best distance swimmers have a stroke rate of 32-35spm. You don't see good distance swimmers with a high stroke rate......not that I am saying the average Masters swimmer should try to emulate Sun Yang. Just saying that their method refutes the premise posted by the Instagram guy.
Yeah, I don't agree with the premise either. I have to kick more to keep rhythm the higher my stroke rate gets - in fact, I'm pretty much a 2-beat kick for any stroke rate slower than 200 pace or so. Others' mileage may vary.
I think the stroke rate question is interesting - Sun Yang (and others like Clark Smith from an American standpoint) are at the long stroke range of the spectrum, but guys like Paltrinieri and Wilimovsky (also from an American standpoint) are fast stroke rate. Of course the confounding factor is that Wilimovsky is primarily an elite open water swimmer, better at that than pool swimming.
