Much as I'd like it to be "Buns of Steel," it's looking like legs and butt of lead in the pool. They're definitely sinking.
Background: I'm returning to the pool after something on the order of 15 years (I've only completed 2 workouts in this, my first week back). I swam competitively in high school, and a year of Masters in college. I was reasonably fast in high school but since I went to Kenyon College, I was never going to be fast enough to make the workout squad, much less the competing team, so it was Masters or nothing.
I was pretty much fat-free when I was swimming competitively, but now, while still not fat, I've gotten a little more well-marbled and have a little fat around the middle and upper body while my legs remain quite lean.
I was a freestyle and fly sprinter, and I'd love to get my 50 free back under :30 and my 100 back under 1:00. Right now, I'd just love to be able to do a 50 or 100 fly without stopping.
I've always had a fairly weak kick.
I've stayed pretty strong with rowing and martial arts, so my wind and endurance haven't been too much of an issue. I never had trouble with my legs sinking in the past, but now it seems to be an issue.
Here's the question: Should I be worrying about my sinking leg problems at this early stage? I'm really just getting my stroke back--could my relative slowness be the cause of my body position problems, or could it be that my bodyfat distribution has changed enough to mean I need to take corrective action?
I have heard phrases like "pressing the T" and "downhill swimming", but don't really get them. Can somebody recommend a drill or drills that I could try? I feel that I understand the concepts of good body position, but can't come up with any techniques for improving it. Even if my problem really IS just how slow I am right now, there's always room for improving my body position.
Sorry for such a long post on my first one, but I figured I'd better cover all the bases so I'd get more accurate advice.
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What are the TI magic words? I didn't mean to use them. I'm not opposed to TI, but one must be cautious when you can summon such powerful demons without meaning to.
I read Coach Hines' article, and did glean a couple of useful things from it, but I'm looking for more. I may investigate TI, as it doesn't seem that they're teaching heresy, but rather throwing away dogma or voodoo, which appeals to me. Also, the bits I've read just "feel" right. I could be wrong, though--I know TI has its detractors. Maybe I just like the sound of a swimming concept that doesn't make me feel like a weakling because of my crappy kick.
As for Kenyon, during my years there Swimming was pretty much the main point of pride, athletically speaking. If we hadn't had the swim team, we'd have had nothing. Even so, I don't know how many times I went to watch a meet and the gallery was mostly empty. I understand that Kenyon's had some success in other sports in recent years, but any school that's so likely to attract the hand-eye challenged (at least in my experience, 1/2 of swimmers are "differently abled" in this respect) is at a disadvantage in dry land sports.
As to the Div III thing, as I remember it, Kenyon was able to dominate Div III, but struggled a bit more against Div II or Div I schools (ie, didn't win ALL their meets). Given that, I wouldn't say they were sandbagging.
What are the TI magic words? I didn't mean to use them. I'm not opposed to TI, but one must be cautious when you can summon such powerful demons without meaning to.
I read Coach Hines' article, and did glean a couple of useful things from it, but I'm looking for more. I may investigate TI, as it doesn't seem that they're teaching heresy, but rather throwing away dogma or voodoo, which appeals to me. Also, the bits I've read just "feel" right. I could be wrong, though--I know TI has its detractors. Maybe I just like the sound of a swimming concept that doesn't make me feel like a weakling because of my crappy kick.
As for Kenyon, during my years there Swimming was pretty much the main point of pride, athletically speaking. If we hadn't had the swim team, we'd have had nothing. Even so, I don't know how many times I went to watch a meet and the gallery was mostly empty. I understand that Kenyon's had some success in other sports in recent years, but any school that's so likely to attract the hand-eye challenged (at least in my experience, 1/2 of swimmers are "differently abled" in this respect) is at a disadvantage in dry land sports.
As to the Div III thing, as I remember it, Kenyon was able to dominate Div III, but struggled a bit more against Div II or Div I schools (ie, didn't win ALL their meets). Given that, I wouldn't say they were sandbagging.
