Distance per stroke

If you were to interrupt me in the middle of a workout, and ask me how many strokes did I just do in the last 25 yards, I would say ... Uh, 17.. or what ever....I count my strokes per lap continuously, automatically...I always strive for less...whether swimming fast, medium or slow...this the measure of our efficiency in the water...I believe, like TI, that this reduction in drag is where we can build speed as we get older.

Originally posted by Paul Smith I'm a big fan of DPS drills, but the common mistake I see is that people use them but don't take the next step which is increasing speed. One of the sets Popov was famous for was a series of 50s, each one had to maintain the same stroke count but drop a second. He'd go until his stroke count incresed, then back off and start over. DPS is great, but DPS with speed is a whole different animal! Yeah, our coach has us doing that... start off noice and slow with a count, then makes us try and descend it. Tough sets!

Old dog, I agree with you. The best way to improve is to work on technique. I'm impressed with your ability to count your strokes on every lap. If I did that, i'd probably run into the wall. I'm lucky to remember how many laps I've done if it's anything over a 200!:p

I'm a big fan of DPS drills, but the common mistake I see is that people use them but don't take the next step which is increasing speed. One of the sets Popov was famous for was a series of 50s, each one had to maintain the same stroke count but drop a second. He'd go until his stroke count incresed, then back off and start over. DPS is great, but DPS with speed is a whole different animal!

a while back i was practicing distance per stroke,i think it was after being on the same thread about it,when i noticed that even without increasing speed(ie.not pulling faster)i seemed to be doing really good times compared to normal,these were breaststroke sets.I do more free now ...i wonder if i can see the same improvement if i do some with free???!!!***i know ive been doing increased strokes per breath lately(4)so maybe i'll incorporate lengthy strokes too!!

Originally posted by knelson I don't think you're going to get all that long of streamline unless you kick, though! You'll just cork up to the surface at some point. You'd be wrong, for me at least. I'm not much a kicker (too much distance training will do that to ya) and I've got good push offs from the walls without really kicking. As for floating up to the surface, it's just a matter of knowing how far you can push off before you lose forward momentum. Then accomidate for that distance and angle your body to reach the surface before you lose forward momentum. Hope that made sense. But kicking off the wall is a good idea - I'm just lazy ;)