What is the fastest age for a swimmer(mine seems to be faster as i get older and yes i swam as a youngster...now im 37..)?
Former Member
Originally posted by lefty
Lets regroup this discussion a little, the tangents are becoming outlandish.
Ion core belief:
Not swimming from age 13-19 is a hinderance to swimming development. His explanation for this hinderance is that is the age when VO2 max is developed. Connie and myself agree with Ion in that not swimming from age 13-19 is a hinderance, but we believe that the root of the hinderance has many parts of which VO2 developement max is one.
I do not know were geek, Arcuni, jeff, gull or anyone else stands on the issue.
So I am drawing the line in the sand: Make your opinion known here and now!
In a nutshell - Not Swimming from 13-19 is a limiting factor to your success as an adult swimmer - IF you define success by the time it takes you to get from point A to point B.
I believe that learning fine motor skillsand coordination is the biggest issue - not VO2 max.
No Michael, he just wants a praise Ion list.
Michael in this long, long thread I said what you just said, so I agree.
My son was pushed up into the higher training levels because of his speed at 10. Because of that at 16 he is fighting some technique issues. His "VO2" is probably great based on ION's theory, but what he is lacking is some technique that is holding him back from achieving things like Y-nat cuts. The coach recognizes this, is working hard to correct it, and I see some improvements, and with these improvements has come a drop in time 200 free 2:02 to 1:56 this year. Just this year my son has told me he can now feel when the stroke goes bad and that makes him correct. Sometimes though he just gets too tired! He can churn out the yards and do 8000 yard practice every night, he is strong. But he will not go sub 1:50 in the 200 until he can hold his stroke technique throughout the whole race.
So there are many reasons why an age group swimmer has an advantage, but I don't believe VO2 is the top reason. That muscle memory and good technique can make a person who has not stepped into the water for 10 years, still jump in and be able to skim across the water with ease. They may feel out of shape, but to the average adult beginner, they are speedy.
And Connie, my son plays soccer in the fall. When he starts swimming in November, it is like he was not out of the water. Soccer is a tremendous cross training tool and conditioning wise he does not lose much. What he loses is the "feel"(technique) for the water. That takes longer for him to get back.
Go get em Connie, I want to watch the head to head race some day!
Ion,
I based my proof on the parameters given and agreed upon, 1. No competitive swimming during growth years (13 - 19) and 2. successful master swimmer able to produce a top ten time. You then went and changed the parameters to fit the need to try and disprove me after I discredited your theory. You discredit Rich's performance because he is in an older age bracket (which wasn't mentioned in your criteria until near the end about only 40-44 age, but I responded back which you never answered so I took the liberty that you would agree). Secondly, sorry to burst your bubble I didn't play waterpolo until college, needed something to do in the fall after my first season of swimming to keep in the water. I did no semblance of competitive aquatic sports or exercise from druing my time from quitting Rosemead to swimming college.
In regards to where my stand on this, I agree not swimming when younger puts someone at a disadvantge (but not in regards to VO2 develpment). As time passes if the person applies themselves this disadvantage can be diminshed, completely eliminated probably not (IMHO), but there are so many other factors that play into wether someone can be successful. Tom Dolan is a prime example, he probably could be a faster swimmer if he didn't suffer from exercise induced asthma and a narrowing in the trachia - but come on even with this handicaps which I think are pretty big he still was able to be an Olympic champion. Olympic champions, world champions are proof that just because you have the biggest VO2 doesn't mean you are going to win, cause if that was the case, why swim everyone submits their VO2 test results and the winner is........Hopefully Lefty that shows my stand on this VO2 discussion.
Originally posted by swimr4life
Weird...now it is back to 74 after I posted that reply. Why does it do that?
Hmmm... just noticed that the anti-virus thread just got sent back to the top of the list. Coincidence? :confused:
(In all seriousness, the page counter has been working consistently for me, so I can't comment on what you are seeing.)
