Hi,
I am based in England and I need some advise as to how I can speed up my freestyle.I am currently able to swim 25M laps in 20 strokes.However my time has not dropped despite the fact that I am doing the laps in less strokes than before.Does anyone have any tips as to how I can get my time down without losing the efficiency of stroke rate that I have established.
Thanks in advance,
Mark Varney
Parents
Former Member
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.
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.
