We have threads about each stroke and about kicking, so i thought it would be good to have one about starts and turns to deal with questions and tips.
When I transitioned from the grab start to the track start i had a great deal of trouble with repeatability. I was either too deep or too shallow. Through trial and error i discovered that if I focused on getting a good push from my rear leg my entry was much more consistent, YMMV.
For back - *** transition, anyone use the “suicide” turn: Basically a flip turn from back to belly, no rotation?
I did the suicide turn as a kid, then switched to an open turn, then switched to the crossover turn right before I went off to college. As a Masters swimmer, I've tried the suicide turn a few times in practice, but I don't have the coordination that comes from repetition to pull it off well. One of my teammates does it from time to time in his 100 IM and disastrously did it once in his 200 IM.
I much prefer the crossover turn for the 100/200 IM, though I default to the open turn if it's the 400 IM.
It's much more natural feeling for me to do the crossover turn if I touch the wall with my right arm--I can do it if I touch with my left arm, but it's pretty darn awkward and I haven't mastered consistently coming straight off the wall if I touch with my left arm. I'm at the point where I can almost always adjust my stroke count if needed so that I can do the crossover turn successfully with a right hand touch for a 100 or 200 IM. Thinking back on the handful of 100/200 IMs I've swum over the last year, I only had one 200 IM where I did an open turn, and that's because I just had a brain fart and completely screwed up my stroke count.
For back - *** transition, anyone use the “suicide” turn: Basically a flip turn from back to belly, no rotation?
I did the suicide turn as a kid, then switched to an open turn, then switched to the crossover turn right before I went off to college. As a Masters swimmer, I've tried the suicide turn a few times in practice, but I don't have the coordination that comes from repetition to pull it off well. One of my teammates does it from time to time in his 100 IM and disastrously did it once in his 200 IM.
I much prefer the crossover turn for the 100/200 IM, though I default to the open turn if it's the 400 IM.
It's much more natural feeling for me to do the crossover turn if I touch the wall with my right arm--I can do it if I touch with my left arm, but it's pretty darn awkward and I haven't mastered consistently coming straight off the wall if I touch with my left arm. I'm at the point where I can almost always adjust my stroke count if needed so that I can do the crossover turn successfully with a right hand touch for a 100 or 200 IM. Thinking back on the handful of 100/200 IMs I've swum over the last year, I only had one 200 IM where I did an open turn, and that's because I just had a brain fart and completely screwed up my stroke count.
