Is natural talent largely irrelevant to great success? Or is it "you've either got it or you don't"?
Check out this article at biz.yahoo.com/.../great_1.html called "What It Takes To Be Great."
If we are indeed talking about the Michael Phelps/Natalie Coughlin's of the world then it is both natural talent/ability AND hardwork ... I don't think anyone could swim lazily in pratices then churn out world record times.
As for the lazy sprinters you describe, I for one can not hold a decent pace on a distance set to save my life. The interval I should be able to hold and the one I can hold are different. I bust my butt on distance sets as much as possible, but I'm not swimming as fast as teammates who I can beat in sprints.
Sprinters in general don't have to do the yardage in practice that everyone else does, but in theory are upping the intensity. SO they may float through the distance sets (who needs endurance in a 50) and then bust their butts on the sets that actually are relevant to their success/stroke/event like 10 x 50 on 1:30. I have teammates that *gasp* complain about 50's on 1:30 ... to me it is heaven ...
In my opinion the most successful masters swimmers have been swimming for a long time and in turn have fabulous technique ... that is the key to fast swimming.
If we are indeed talking about the Michael Phelps/Natalie Coughlin's of the world then it is both natural talent/ability AND hardwork ... I don't think anyone could swim lazily in pratices then churn out world record times.
As for the lazy sprinters you describe, I for one can not hold a decent pace on a distance set to save my life. The interval I should be able to hold and the one I can hold are different. I bust my butt on distance sets as much as possible, but I'm not swimming as fast as teammates who I can beat in sprints.
Sprinters in general don't have to do the yardage in practice that everyone else does, but in theory are upping the intensity. SO they may float through the distance sets (who needs endurance in a 50) and then bust their butts on the sets that actually are relevant to their success/stroke/event like 10 x 50 on 1:30. I have teammates that *gasp* complain about 50's on 1:30 ... to me it is heaven ...
In my opinion the most successful masters swimmers have been swimming for a long time and in turn have fabulous technique ... that is the key to fast swimming.
