What do YOU need to do to have a major swimming breakthrough?"
I started this thread over in the work outs section which I think doesn't get as much traffic as the general discussion board
so here's the link
forums.usms.org/showthread.php
but my point is,
No matter what, the time between right now and your focus meet is going to pass, and the things you do to prepare for your meet is of the UTMOST importance.
the choices you make
the chances you take
swim hard in practice
rehearse racing
I want to read your story about your breakthrough.
Decide it starts today
that this season will be your best season EVER
What do you need to do to make this true?
Ande
This post is for Tom Topolski in particular. I had bought the tech paddles about 3 years ago, and honestly at the time I was a pretty bad swimmer. I was looking hard for improvement and when I didn't see it (after putting in a lot of yards using them) I kind of gave up. I remember it feeling very odd, and I was unable to carry that feeling to bare hand swimming.
In the last 3 years I've improved a lot, and while my EVF is far from perfect I understand and have a better feel for the high elbow. A couple days ago I saw the tech paddles in my closet and decided to give them a spin again, just to mix things up a little. I swam a few hundred yards with them and had a completely different feel than I remember 3 years ago. I was much more aware of my forearm dropping into position and then anchoring into the water. When I took the paddles off that feeling continued and my stroke count was without a doubt lower for a couple hundred yards.
I think what I realized from this is that most water aides are not going to help much until you develop a certain level of shoulder flexibility and feel for the water. Things like the tech paddle are not really valuable for the person starting from scratch; it's too dramatic a change for the body to comprehend. But fat this point in my development I'm really excited to continue to train with it and I'm pretty confident it will help me improve if I am persistent. (please note I receive no royalties from the product, :laugh2:
This post is for Tom Topolski in particular. I had bought the tech paddles about 3 years ago, and honestly at the time I was a pretty bad swimmer. I was looking hard for improvement and when I didn't see it (after putting in a lot of yards using them) I kind of gave up. I remember it feeling very odd, and I was unable to carry that feeling to bare hand swimming.
In the last 3 years I've improved a lot, and while my EVF is far from perfect I understand and have a better feel for the high elbow. A couple days ago I saw the tech paddles in my closet and decided to give them a spin again, just to mix things up a little. I swam a few hundred yards with them and had a completely different feel than I remember 3 years ago. I was much more aware of my forearm dropping into position and then anchoring into the water. When I took the paddles off that feeling continued and my stroke count was without a doubt lower for a couple hundred yards.
I think what I realized from this is that most water aides are not going to help much until you develop a certain level of shoulder flexibility and feel for the water. Things like the tech paddle are not really valuable for the person starting from scratch; it's too dramatic a change for the body to comprehend. But fat this point in my development I'm really excited to continue to train with it and I'm pretty confident it will help me improve if I am persistent. (please note I receive no royalties from the product, :laugh2:
