Lead Butt (legs sinking)

RE: Lead Butt (legs sinking)

Former Member — Fri, 15 Nov 2002 16:27:25 GMT

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.

RE: Lead Butt (legs sinking)

Former Member — Thu, 14 Nov 2002 08:12:47 GMT

I've also got a bunch of articles posted at my www.h2oustonswims.org site that you might find useful.

RE: Lead Butt (legs sinking)

Former Member — Thu, 14 Nov 2002 07:48:51 GMT

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.

RE: Lead Butt (legs sinking)

Former Member — Thu, 14 Nov 2002 07:03:58 GMT

Mark, Man you shoulda come swum with us at Lake Forest College. Div III program where everybody swims meets. Kenyon is Div III only in that they don't give scholarships. Any time you reel off as many National Championships in a row as they did, that should be your first clue you are in the wrong league. In answer to your question, read Emmett Hines article "Of Air and Gravity", which you can find on this very website, www.usms.org/training/airgrav.htm. He has a number of other fine articles listed there as well. If you are interested in Total Immersion (critics please note he said the magic words first, not me), you can go to their website, www.totalimmersion.net, and find lots of posted articles (almost ad nauseum) on a variety of subjects. Good luck. You will get better as you get used to the water again, and your swimming muscles get back into shape. However, you will get better faster if you learn/relearn good technique. Matt

RE: Lead Butt (legs sinking)

Kevin in MD — Thu, 14 Nov 2002 04:40:37 GMT

That's the one sentance version of the suggestions you'll get form both emmett's site and the total immersion site. Your legs sink because you are lifting your head not because they are somehow heavy or dense or that your kick is weak. So keep your head down and read what the sites have to say.