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.
Parents
Former Member
Thanks to everyone who suggested articles and sites and such. Very interesting reading.
After last night's workout, it's really beginning to look like my problem has been that I've been going much slower than I used to. We had an 8x50 (on :60 intervals) set, and it's the first timed intervals I've done in a while (15 years). I easily did all 8 on :45s. Everything was easier and worked better at that speed, which is much faster than I've been going the last two workouts. :45s are not spectacular, but it did indicate to me that I've maybe been taking it a little too cautiously, and that I'm actually interfering with my natural stroke by going too slowly.
By bringing up my speed even that small amount, I found I was comfortable enough to work on breathing on both sides (boy, that one-sided breathing is a tough habit), and analyzing my kicking.
Finally, thanks to something I saw on the TI site, I've realized that my flutter kick isn't all that weak. I took a little time before the workout to find my "sweet spot" on my side so I could do the kick portion of the workout without a board, and found I was much faster. Not as fast as the good kickers, but not last either.
Thanks to everyone who suggested articles and sites and such. Very interesting reading.
After last night's workout, it's really beginning to look like my problem has been that I've been going much slower than I used to. We had an 8x50 (on :60 intervals) set, and it's the first timed intervals I've done in a while (15 years). I easily did all 8 on :45s. Everything was easier and worked better at that speed, which is much faster than I've been going the last two workouts. :45s are not spectacular, but it did indicate to me that I've maybe been taking it a little too cautiously, and that I'm actually interfering with my natural stroke by going too slowly.
By bringing up my speed even that small amount, I found I was comfortable enough to work on breathing on both sides (boy, that one-sided breathing is a tough habit), and analyzing my kicking.
Finally, thanks to something I saw on the TI site, I've realized that my flutter kick isn't all that weak. I took a little time before the workout to find my "sweet spot" on my side so I could do the kick portion of the workout without a board, and found I was much faster. Not as fast as the good kickers, but not last either.
