I was noticing that it took me about 22 pulls to get accross our 25 yard pool. I am a big guy with long arms, so I realized that this is rather high. (was I right?) So I decided to work on getting it lower.
I took some tips from my coach regarding my stroke (my arms were crossing over a bit and I needed to roll more). I also did some 25 yard drills where I simply concentrated on nothing more than getting across the pool in as few strokes as possible.
I'm to the point where if I do a good push off glide after a short rest and really concentrate I can make it in 17 or 18 strokes (is that still really bad?).
But out of a flip turn my SPL is still over 20. Sometimes as high as 23. (Are my flip turns the real problem?)
Now I'm going to pose something that flies in the face of conventional wisdom to the point of swimming blaspemy. In cycling one tries to maintain an optimum cadence for maximum effiency. In general, you shoot for the highest cadence where you are not bouncing in your seat. Mashing in really high gears is discouraged. Sure, you get really good speed initially, but riding the big gears will wear a rider out more quickly than spinning the smaller gears.
Why doesn't this apply to swimming? Especially long distance or open water swimmers? When I get across the pool in 19 strokes or less, my arms feel like my legs do when I've been riding big gears at a lower speed. In other words, I seem to get tapped out faster when I'm working to get my stroke count down.
The bottom line is that I train soley for open water and triathlon events. Should I worry as much about my SPL as a someone who trains for pool events?
Parents
Former Member
Mr. Jolsen,
Reducing your stroke rate is an excellent idea. However, just willing it lower and working on your turns will only get you half way to your potential. My advice is to find a knowledgable coach or a school of thought, and work on the drills and technical fine points they can teach you.
Me, I prefer Total Immersion (www.totalimmersion.net). I have got my stroke count when I contrate during warm-ups down to a reliable 11 strokes (or 5.5 full cycles or 5 breaths) per 25 yards, and I'm right around 14 for most freestyle sets.
Robert Strauss has a very interesting discussion thread going right now on the subject of stroke length.
However, the key is to find a coach and a style that makes sense to you, and work on the fine points that they emphasize. Just throwing yards at you and expecting conditioning to solve all is a flawed approach. I like to think swimming has a lot more in common with the martial arts, and a lot less in common with running or bicyling, than you first think.
Matt
Mr. Jolsen,
Reducing your stroke rate is an excellent idea. However, just willing it lower and working on your turns will only get you half way to your potential. My advice is to find a knowledgable coach or a school of thought, and work on the drills and technical fine points they can teach you.
Me, I prefer Total Immersion (www.totalimmersion.net). I have got my stroke count when I contrate during warm-ups down to a reliable 11 strokes (or 5.5 full cycles or 5 breaths) per 25 yards, and I'm right around 14 for most freestyle sets.
Robert Strauss has a very interesting discussion thread going right now on the subject of stroke length.
However, the key is to find a coach and a style that makes sense to you, and work on the fine points that they emphasize. Just throwing yards at you and expecting conditioning to solve all is a flawed approach. I like to think swimming has a lot more in common with the martial arts, and a lot less in common with running or bicyling, than you first think.
Matt
