I am working out in a pool that does not have blocks, so obviously I time myslef from a push start.My question is:what should I expect my times to be if I start from blocks vs. push off the wall, what is the time difference between the two?
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As I said, my blocks vs. wall time comparison is: standing at the block start vs. horizontal, in the water about to push off the wall. Given my two starts I don't see any noticeable difference between my times off the wall vs. off the blocks.
Of course a legal block start vs. a legal wall start will be different by a second, maybe two - depending on the swimmer. But, I like the fact that I've found a way to measure my potential race speed without using much math.
Defending the wall clock: I'd give a ~1/2 second variation on operating the stopwatch itself. This is about the same variation I get from the wall clock. A wall clock may seem less accurate, but a stopwatch changes your stroke slightly, from weight / friction, and most especially in your final stroke to the wall as you press the button. Stopping or looking at your watch at the exact moment each time you get to the wall is also a variable. A stopwatch, worn by the swimmer, will at the very least have a ~1/4 second variation, but I think it's more like a ~1/2 second variation.
You asked how much faster you'll go from the blocks. - It's a reasonable question. But, there's no telling what's going to happen when you actually dive off the blocks. Depending on the race, the day, or what you had for breakfast, you may find that the race itself is ~1/2 to ~1 seconds different than what you expected.
You should compare your workout sprints with your competition races of the same length. Find the percentage of difference between the two and use it to measure your improvement while training. This is the only accurate way to make a guess as to how fast you're going to be at the next race. Making the assertion that the starting blocks will give you an advantage of a given number of seconds is simply wrong. You don't know until you measure it. Then, everyone is going to have different answers not only because everyone has different starts, but because everyone is measuring the difference starting and stopping at different times. In competition, and all dives being equal, this means that a fast swimmer will see less of an effect from diving than a slower swimmer.
As I said, my blocks vs. wall time comparison is: standing at the block start vs. horizontal, in the water about to push off the wall. Given my two starts I don't see any noticeable difference between my times off the wall vs. off the blocks.
Of course a legal block start vs. a legal wall start will be different by a second, maybe two - depending on the swimmer. But, I like the fact that I've found a way to measure my potential race speed without using much math.
Defending the wall clock: I'd give a ~1/2 second variation on operating the stopwatch itself. This is about the same variation I get from the wall clock. A wall clock may seem less accurate, but a stopwatch changes your stroke slightly, from weight / friction, and most especially in your final stroke to the wall as you press the button. Stopping or looking at your watch at the exact moment each time you get to the wall is also a variable. A stopwatch, worn by the swimmer, will at the very least have a ~1/4 second variation, but I think it's more like a ~1/2 second variation.
You asked how much faster you'll go from the blocks. - It's a reasonable question. But, there's no telling what's going to happen when you actually dive off the blocks. Depending on the race, the day, or what you had for breakfast, you may find that the race itself is ~1/2 to ~1 seconds different than what you expected.
You should compare your workout sprints with your competition races of the same length. Find the percentage of difference between the two and use it to measure your improvement while training. This is the only accurate way to make a guess as to how fast you're going to be at the next race. Making the assertion that the starting blocks will give you an advantage of a given number of seconds is simply wrong. You don't know until you measure it. Then, everyone is going to have different answers not only because everyone has different starts, but because everyone is measuring the difference starting and stopping at different times. In competition, and all dives being equal, this means that a fast swimmer will see less of an effect from diving than a slower swimmer.
