We work on stroke counts alot over the summer break, I was wondering what a reasonable stroke count is for each of the strokes. I know it depends alot on height, kick off the wall etc.
On an aerobic set (this is short course meters!) I can hold 9-11 on fly (with 6-8kicks off wall), 12-14 on back (with 6-8kicks off wall), 6-7 on breastsroke and 13-15 on freestyle.
Being a freestyler thats the one I concentrate on most. I can swim a 50 in about 34 secs holding 13-14 strokes on an aerobic set, yet when I race (26 for the 50m) I go 18-20 strokes. I know this is alot of difference to the aerobic set, so was wondering whether most swimmers have such a big difference?
I find it really hard (impossible!) to lower my stroke rate whilst going flat out to less than 18/19 strokes. I have chatted to my coach about it and he thinks that it is my optimal stroke rate but I still need to improve my stroke length. Any less strokes than this I end up feeling mechanical and loose my rythm!
Just wondered if anyone had any views on the above!!:D
Parents
Former Member
Have you asked your coach about this ? From what I can gather he seems to be able to answer the question and your own coach should be the first person to ask.
A 'hard entry' is where the recovery hand is thrust into the water forcefully, possibly slapping the water as it enters. This causes a number of problems:
1- whenever you forcefully push against the water it pushes back just as hard ( you create more drag ) that slows you down.
2 - Air bubbles can be trapped around the hand and these prevent an effective catch or hold on the water.
3 - Whenever you hear 'noise' from your actions when swimming it is a sign of energy being wasted. Wasted energy cannot be transferred into moving forward.
A 'soft entry' creates less drag, can eliminate trapped air bubbles from your hand & arm and conserves energy. It also enables the momentum from your stroking hand finishing its pull to be transmitted into forward acceleration.
You can check if you have a soft entry by swimming and 'hearing' to see if you make any noise - 'slaps' or 'plops'. Also look to see if any bubbles attach to your hand as it enters the water.
A sprinter, 50m free, has to keep his stroke rate very high so the most important thing is to recover quickly, a hard entry is less harmful to his speed than too slow a turnover.
However any event over 100m in length really should be swum with a soft entry.
Have you asked your coach about this ? From what I can gather he seems to be able to answer the question and your own coach should be the first person to ask.
A 'hard entry' is where the recovery hand is thrust into the water forcefully, possibly slapping the water as it enters. This causes a number of problems:
1- whenever you forcefully push against the water it pushes back just as hard ( you create more drag ) that slows you down.
2 - Air bubbles can be trapped around the hand and these prevent an effective catch or hold on the water.
3 - Whenever you hear 'noise' from your actions when swimming it is a sign of energy being wasted. Wasted energy cannot be transferred into moving forward.
A 'soft entry' creates less drag, can eliminate trapped air bubbles from your hand & arm and conserves energy. It also enables the momentum from your stroking hand finishing its pull to be transmitted into forward acceleration.
You can check if you have a soft entry by swimming and 'hearing' to see if you make any noise - 'slaps' or 'plops'. Also look to see if any bubbles attach to your hand as it enters the water.
A sprinter, 50m free, has to keep his stroke rate very high so the most important thing is to recover quickly, a hard entry is less harmful to his speed than too slow a turnover.
However any event over 100m in length really should be swum with a soft entry.
