Faster Freestyle??

Perhaps you need more power per stroke. If so, the weight room and/or paddles will help...focus on tricep pulldowns to get more oomph to the bottom part of your stroke. Having said this, also be aware of two possibilities: 1) as you have changed (improved) your stroke - evidenced by fewer spm - it may just take a few thousand more metres to get you turnover faster (while still maintaining stroke length). Patience is a virtue... 2) Have a coach (assuming you are not already coached) assess your new stroke. A "bad case" scenerio might be that you have slowed your stroke down - are gliding more - without having increased either the top or bottom end of your stroke.

Mark, I am glad you asked this question. My stroke count is exactly the same as yours and I too have been wondering how to develop more speed. How fast do you swim one lap with the 20 stroke count? 25 meters.

Hi Gil, Well I manage to swim 25 metre laps in 30 seconds on a stroke count of 20 strokes per lap.I can maintain this rate for 60+ laps.How about you??I have been told that I need to take more strokes but at a faster rate than I do at the moment.At the moment when I pull my hand through in completion of the stroke,I push it right back so that it brushes my hip.This obviously gives me the length for the stroke but at a disadvantage of taking longer to complete than a shorter stroke cycle.I think that I need to try and maintain my length of stroke but with a shorter stroke cycle.I guess that this sounds pretty basic stuff.

Hi Mark, I maintain the 20 stroke count for about ten laps and then it goes to 22 count for the rest of my swim which is 32 laps. I maintain a speed of 30 to 32 seconds per lap. I have been advised to not sacrifice stroke length for a quicker turnover and I do read the same in various swimming books. To ;improve strength I am following a routine on dry land using stretch bands. I hope the improved strength will help my turnover rate while keeping the same 20 stroke count. I hope others post here concerning this remedy.

While you are both justly proud of your stroke length, you should not stop trying to improve it. I take 13 - 14 strokes for a 25 meter length, at about 20 seconds/length. If you work it out, our stroke periods are about the same (20/13.5 ~ 30/20). At your level there is much more room for improvement in improving your stroke, than in stroking faster.

Thanks for the comments. 13 to 14 strokes per 25 meters seems beyond my reach. However, I will keep working on improvement.Currently reading Breakthrough Swimming by Colwin,and enjoying it. Would appreciate comments concerning dryland use of stretch bands to improve strength. I assume improved strength will help reduce strokes per length.

My impression is that speed derives from technique plus training. Have you read much on the subject? You might take a look at Swimming Fastest by Ernest Maglischo or Breakthrough Swimming by Cecil Colwin. Fitness Swimming by Emmitt Hines has workout suggestions which incorporate technique drills.

Mark, If you've ever noticed how a land animal moves,..it's very apparent that the faster they run the longer their strides are. This analogy holds somewhat true for swimmers as well. They key factor here is how well a swimmer can "hold" onto the water. Obviously the people who turn over like windmills will sooner or later find a faster to way to get from one end to the other. Faster speed requires a faster turnover. But when someone maintains a good anchor with their hand and forearm, they can grab much more water, making it rather difficult to "slip" through the stroke cycle. It's easy to pull the hands through the water when you aren't grabbing any. With better stroke mechanics, one should be able to generate much more force on the water, which in turn will slow down the rate... thereby taking fewer and fewer strokes. And to answer your question about the stroke rate,..yes it takes longer for an efficient swimmer to turnover. It actually looks like slow motion swimming. Add some stroke rate to the efficiency...and notice some faster times in the pool. Try to keep the focus on your getting your own stoke count lower. Then notice how the 'water slappers' won't be able to keep up with you after a while.

Just a quick link that may further help explain the efficiency factor, and some tips on how to "hold the water". Check out "Techniques" on the following home page. And have a look at "How well do you hold the water?" Good stuff. http://www.pullbuoy.co.uk/

I Thought this was a very informotive , article on holding water. And I will try on my next swim work out.:) :cool: