Since getting back into masters swimming after a long (12 year) hiatus I've been playing around with the track start which came into vogue after my first "retirement". I'm still torn between the two and have been trying to find what fits me best.
The last month or so I've had a chance to watch ASU, UA, Auburn and UNLV swim meets and what's interesting is that I only saw one or two swimmers using a traditonal "grab" start. I know a few of these coaches and they all said the same thing, it's hands down the fastest start of the two.
Recently a new group has introduced a program caller "PowerStarts" (www.quickgetaway.com) which advocates the complete opposite philosophy. By the way, I'm NOT endorsing this TI type program but do find it interesting!!!
I've had a chance to discuss some of this with Wayne and have basically come to the conclusion that a traditonal grab (power start style) start still works best for my body type (and lack of fast twitch ability!). I do however need to commit the workout time to run a series of 15 M sprints and see what really works.
Anyone else have any thoughts on this?
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Everytime I post I swear I will post less, but no way can I resist a post like Wayne's.
The phyics of swimming if very complicated, but the least complicated part is the start. After all, it is *only* rocket science!:D
By that I mean in both cases you have a body (rocket or swimmer) acted on by a propulsive force (legs or rocket exhaust) in gravity. I will talk about the propulsion in this post.
Before I continue I want to point out that 'grab' and 'track' are misnomers. I would never coach that the swimmer grab on the block, rather the hands are placed against the front of the block to help maintain balance and to perhaps aid in tipping the swimmer past balance at the very beginning of the start. Anyone who looks at a real track start recognizes that much of the runners weight is on the arms, which are well in front of the feet. It is a swimming rule that at least one of the feet be at the front of the block, and in practice all of the weight is on the feet. The most significant difference between both swimming starts is that the center of mass of the swimmer is over the feet, while in a track start the center of mass of the runner is well in front of the feet. This makes a runners start much more efficient translating the force of the start into forward momentum. In both swimming starts the center of mass must be shifted over the water before any push can be effective. This shift takes time, and any good start requires that before the gun blows the swimmer is teetering on the edge of balance. I don't see how the swimming track start can be more stable, and some of the previous posts indicate that for some it is, and for some it isn't.
Ignoring for the moment issues like reaction time and stability (which I think are marginal issues at best) it is common (and correct) sense that you want to push off the block with as much force as possible. The back leg of a track start can not be pushing as much as it could in a 'grab' start. I say this for two reasons - first, the back leg must start pushing at the same time as the front leg, but it must stop pushing well before the front leg stops pushing (this is for most swimmers who have legs of approximately the same length.) Second, you need something to push against to push hard. As someone mentioned, their foot slipped on one start. There is no way that the flat or slightly tilted starting-block surface provides as much resistance as the front of the block. The more resistance, the more push you can have.
None of this is why I responded to Wayne's post. That will have to wait.
Everytime I post I swear I will post less, but no way can I resist a post like Wayne's.
The phyics of swimming if very complicated, but the least complicated part is the start. After all, it is *only* rocket science!:D
By that I mean in both cases you have a body (rocket or swimmer) acted on by a propulsive force (legs or rocket exhaust) in gravity. I will talk about the propulsion in this post.
Before I continue I want to point out that 'grab' and 'track' are misnomers. I would never coach that the swimmer grab on the block, rather the hands are placed against the front of the block to help maintain balance and to perhaps aid in tipping the swimmer past balance at the very beginning of the start. Anyone who looks at a real track start recognizes that much of the runners weight is on the arms, which are well in front of the feet. It is a swimming rule that at least one of the feet be at the front of the block, and in practice all of the weight is on the feet. The most significant difference between both swimming starts is that the center of mass of the swimmer is over the feet, while in a track start the center of mass of the runner is well in front of the feet. This makes a runners start much more efficient translating the force of the start into forward momentum. In both swimming starts the center of mass must be shifted over the water before any push can be effective. This shift takes time, and any good start requires that before the gun blows the swimmer is teetering on the edge of balance. I don't see how the swimming track start can be more stable, and some of the previous posts indicate that for some it is, and for some it isn't.
Ignoring for the moment issues like reaction time and stability (which I think are marginal issues at best) it is common (and correct) sense that you want to push off the block with as much force as possible. The back leg of a track start can not be pushing as much as it could in a 'grab' start. I say this for two reasons - first, the back leg must start pushing at the same time as the front leg, but it must stop pushing well before the front leg stops pushing (this is for most swimmers who have legs of approximately the same length.) Second, you need something to push against to push hard. As someone mentioned, their foot slipped on one start. There is no way that the flat or slightly tilted starting-block surface provides as much resistance as the front of the block. The more resistance, the more push you can have.
None of this is why I responded to Wayne's post. That will have to wait.
