Stroke Rate vs Stroke Length, which is more difficult?
Former Member
This topic may have been discussed in the past but a search gave too many hits. I am very interested by your comment and advices for the following real scenario. This is for kids but may be this could apply to masters. BTW, I am just a parent swimmer, very interested in swimming in general but unfortunately not a good enough swimmer.
Two age group swimmers (11-12 years old) coming from different swimming history have opposite swimming style:
Swimmer 1 (let's call the higher stroke rate swimmer) swims 50 meters freestyle, taking 60 strokes. Swimmer2 does it in 45 strokes, with a time 0.5 to 1 second slower.
In general, Swimmer1 beats Swimmer2 in all distances (freestyle and back). Including a 2000 meter freestyle test set, faster by about 20 seconds. In this particular 2000m, aside the time and stroke rate, Swimmer2 (slower stroke rate) did it with even splits while Swimmer1 positive splits toward the last 25% of the distance.
Q1. Assuming two swimmers have similar aerobic conditions, which one will have better margin of progression? More exactly, would it be "easier" for Swimmer1 to improve the technique or for Swimmer2 to improve the Stroke Rate?
Q2. What would you recommend to these swimmers to get better?
To these two swimmers, stroke rate seems to be the winning bet. Swimmer2 was taught with a focus on excellent technique (and indeed looks better in the water), but is confused as this skill doesn't translate into better performance.
Of course, we are talking about SL and SR relative to a context where the swimmers already know about swimming.
Thanks you in advance for your help.
Parents
Former Member
The fastest any human has ever swum is about 5mph, maintained for less than a minute. I've read that hydroplaning for a vessel such as a human body occurs at 33mph. Allen Stark messaged me that he's gotten his sunfish to hydroplane at 10mph, but consider the two key differences in that vessel vs the human vessel. His sunfish sits much higher in the water at rest and is always sleekly shaped. Not so the human body. And 10mph is still twice as fast as any human has ever swum.
The maximum speed of a saiboat (a displacement vessel) is a function of it's length at the waterline, the so-called hull speed (which can be calculated). However, that speed can be exceeded when the vessel hydroplanes. Thus, a 37 foot sailboat with a hull speed of 7 knots can achieve speeds in excess of 10 knots when hydroplaning. Minimzing the "wetted surface" translates to faster movement through the water (which is why a sailboat that is heeling over loses speed).
The fastest any human has ever swum is about 5mph, maintained for less than a minute. I've read that hydroplaning for a vessel such as a human body occurs at 33mph. Allen Stark messaged me that he's gotten his sunfish to hydroplane at 10mph, but consider the two key differences in that vessel vs the human vessel. His sunfish sits much higher in the water at rest and is always sleekly shaped. Not so the human body. And 10mph is still twice as fast as any human has ever swum.
The maximum speed of a saiboat (a displacement vessel) is a function of it's length at the waterline, the so-called hull speed (which can be calculated). However, that speed can be exceeded when the vessel hydroplanes. Thus, a 37 foot sailboat with a hull speed of 7 knots can achieve speeds in excess of 10 knots when hydroplaning. Minimzing the "wetted surface" translates to faster movement through the water (which is why a sailboat that is heeling over loses speed).
