Are flip turns all that fast when you consider how much oxygen they take up??.I have found that I am more able to swim at a regular tempo by doing "open" turns, than trying to do flip turns, which always put me out of my regular breathing pattern.:(
A mediocre flip turn is much faster, a good flip turn is a weapon.
As you practice them three things happen. You become better at them so you don't expend as much energy. Becoming better at them also means you do them faster, less breath holding time. The third thing is that you will build up more tolerance to the high levels of CO2 that come with holding your breath.
I think many problems come from us not actually practicing them. It is a skill that we should dedicate time to every week.
I heard you could save as much as 1-2 sec per lap with two flip turns...that adds up when doing some of the longer swims. Heck, that time-savings could add up even with a short race.
Originally posted by mark_varney47
My flip turns have to be the worst that anybody could witness.Basically,I get my balance all wrong as soon as I try to bend and bring my feet over my head.Then I end up on my side with my feet barely making contact with the wall.:mad:
Use the T on the bottom of the pool and practice just your flip turn at the wall to learn when to start your turn. Doing 10 or so at once can really help you gauge your distance.
You want to end up on your side, pushing off (as opposed to facing up or facing the bottom). As you push off the wall, your body turns to the face down position.
I read an article on adjustments for aging masters swimmers and it suggested that as we get older their comes a point where the open turn becomes preferred, mostly to maintain the flow of oxygen. I'm not sure if it said so in the article but there may also be a point where the slower speed no longer provides the momentum to get an advantage from the flip turn and it is better to just concentrate on getting a good streamlined push off the wall.
Personally, I find that I get a better push-off when I do an open turn (by at least an additional body length). I think that's because I get my body closer to the wall on the open turn, so therefore I get a fuller "spring" out of my legs. So on a flip turn I might get 7-8 yards off the wall on the push, and with the open turn I get 10. (Our lane lines have a mark at 10 yards out, and I consistently hit that on an open turn or on my initial push off to start the set, so that's how I know it's 10.)
I also appreciate the extra breath on the open turn.
But having said that, I still almost always do a flip turn, and it is faster by far. What I gain from the push on the open turn does not beat what I gain from the speed of turning around (open vs flip). Nor does it compensate for the fact that on a flip turn I don't have to swim all the way to the wall. (We could say that on an open turn your head gets all the way to the wall. On the flip it only goes some distance away from the wall, and that distance depends on how well you do a flip.) For me it's about one stroke less that if I do an open turn.
Originally posted by mark_varney47
Are flip turns all that fast when you consider how much oxygen they take up??.I have found that I am more able to swim at a regular tempo by doing "open" turns, than trying to do flip turns, which always put me out of my regular breathing pattern.:(
Much faster, learn them well and you'll be a happy camper!
Originally posted by aquageek
I'll put this bluntly - without a flip turn, you can't hope to be competitive.
This reminds me of a story. At last year's Nationals in Indy I was waiting behind the blocks and a couple heats ahead of me was a men's relay team. These guys were probably all in their 50s and all wearing the expensive full-body suits. The funny thing is they all did open turns! I'm thinking to myself "shouldn't you learn how to do flip turns before you buy the fancy suit?" To me it's analogous to a skier who can only snowplow using Bode Miller's skis :)
Originally posted by mark_varney47
Are flip turns all that fast when you consider how much oxygen they take up??
Also you're probably exhaling too much during your flip turn (many people do to avoid getting water up their nose) -- with time you learn to hold your breath so you don't have to exhale during it, saving your breath for a few kicks until you clear the water!
I'll put this bluntly--without a flip turn, you can't hope to be competitive.
Originally posted by jim clemmons
With the possible exception of 80+ age groups........
Good point. My 82 year old dad posted three top ten times this year for scm--without flip turns. As the baby boomers age, perhaps we'll see a wave (pun intended) of octogenarians doing flip turns in the next thirty years.
