Well, i am a student at Canisius College in Buffalo, NY that had the football team cut from the athletic program and instead had a swim team and a few other sports put in the program in its place. One day as i was working out in the gym this past september, the coach of the swim team saw me working out and asked me if i wanted to swim. He needed numbers more than anything since the collegiate competitive requirements are 11 participants a team. Mind you i am 5'7", 185 lbs, broad chest and shoulders with large legs. A running back figure. I have never swam before and i agreed to be on the swim team. The coach wants me to swim the 50 and 100 free and i like that for it is a fast twitch race more than slow twitch, and since i am a senior i don't really have time to increase my endurance and slow twitch. I was wondering if any of you had advice for me in my endeavour to become an excellent swimmer by february 2004, and hopefully win an event at the MAAC nationals. In my first meet on Oct. 11, i swam a 27.88 in the 50 free at Duquesne. If you couldn't tell by my hunting for a discussion ring and post, i am very intense and competitive, and am taking this very seriously. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you and hope to have some replies soon!
Former Member
When I coached high school swimming, the swim season was winter, so I recruited football player for their strength. Got them in the water and we always had a good 200 free relay. The football coach of course complained that his O-line was losing too much weight, but they were in great shape, had fun, and swam well. I could typicall get them down to 23-28 in a season. So 22 for a college football/swimmer should be reasonable.
Remember in the 50, you really don't need to breath and body roll is over rated (necessary, but not a major contributor in the 50). I've got a masters swimmer right now who goes 22 no breather, 25 with breathing (trying to figure that out so he can do a 100). Best of Luck and listen to your coach he sees what your doing everyday.
Morrison,
Maybe a swim snorkel is the answer?
I think that a quick exhale/inhale going into the turn is a key ingredient to a strong finish in the fifty. And to sneak in a breath now and again definitley involves some body roll. Minimal breathing is the quickest invite to wearing the proverbial piano on your back, especially on the last lap of a 100 free.
I think that the fastest swimmers are best able to remain streamlined during their breathing. Keeping a steady supply of oxygen in their lungs is a positive advantage. Obviously a sprinter doesn't want to breath every stroke, but every four, or even three can do the job. If taking a breath means putting on the brakes, it's time for some stroke correction.
Im not so sure about the whole breathing thing. In the 50, you really shouldn't breathe that much, i think 2 breaths a lap is pretty sufficient, if not too much. The 100 is more about breathing, so I usually take one every 4 on my hundred. Im no coach, but Im a sprinter, and it works fairly well for me. Anyway, back to the focus.
KEEP UP THE HARD WORK JB! You're doing awesome. :cool:
For breathing i do manage to take only one breath on the first 25, and the second 25 i take 3-4. I have been working on my turn and my start and both have improved immensely, yet are still far from perfect. I do think that a strong breath before the turn would help, since my capacity and efficiency aren't very high. Also, my coach and i have focused much on my stroke, and obviuosly it isn't flawless but keeps improving. Thanks for the advice and please keep it coming! (i do have a meet this weekend and will let you all know how i did!)
Joey,
This sounds a little touchy-feeley, but try closing your eyes, and seeing in your mind's eye what the perfect 50 free would look like. Can you see what doing the perfect turn would look like? If yes, try to spend a little time seeing yourself doing the perfect turn. Believe it or not, many world-class athletes have found that this mental rehersal can help them do it for real when they do the real race.
Just another tool for your journey. Use it if it works for you. In any event, you're doing great! Enjoy the trip.
Matt
VISUALIZATION WORKS! It sounds weird but, just try it. I did it a lot before a big regional meet when I was your age. I did all my lifetime best times at that meet! Do deep breathing and relax your body first. Then visualize yourself before,during and after your race. Write your own mental script of the "perfect race" and do it over and over. I believe the mind is about 75% of any performance! You have to believe you can achieve anything before you can actually do it! :D
yes it does! here is a link to an article written for age group swimmers, but it will give you an idea about how to do it
www.gaswim.org/.../swimtip60.htm
here is a link to more articles on the mental game of swimming. Again, written for the age group swimmer, but they are still applicable to us.
www.gaswim.org/.../swimtips.htm
Thank You for the links Laineybug. I found them to be very informative. I think Joey will find them useful in his search for information. The advice is really also very interchangeable regardless of what sport you participate in. I think it would be useful to start a thread that has all of the regulars here post their favorite links that they have found to be beneficial. I'll bet it would create quite a library for us, and Joey.
