muscular endurance

By "leisurely" I think Terry is saying the same thing as "Don't rush the catch," which I've read elsewhere. But when sprinting, how do you determine the proper trade-off between stroke rate and stroke length? Does not rushing the catch still apply?

I have to confess to being unsure what the "TI way" to kick is. Except that we really emphasize "tuning" the kick so it blends seamlessly with the overall body motion. I.E. We prefer that no particular aspect of the stroke be more noticeable or apparent than any other. What's your definition? Timing the kick with the rotation and hand entry rather than just a random "thrashing" of the legs. I try to time the kick to drive the rotation with the hand entry so that as I reach full extension my hips have reached the point of max. rotation. It's hard to put into words, it's more of a "feel" thing. I believe you have alluded to this elsewhere on the forum.

I can endure and I can sprint... but then again...I am the SwimStud... *insert bicep flexing smiley here* But are you doing it leisurely or effortfully? Or just making it appear that way? It seems that, ideally, it would be best if it at least felt somewhat smooth while your muscles are burning and that it also appeared smooth. Is there slippage on breaststroke?

But are you doing it leisurely or effortfully? Or just making it appear that way? It seems that, ideally, it would be best if it at least felt somewhat smooth while your muscles are burning and that it also appeared smooth. Is there slippage on breaststroke? I guess there must be but I'm not smart enough to know. I am trying to do 2 things. Keep my chin tucked and get my *** into the kick... It's OK but more work to go. My muscles burned pretty darn good in workout the other night. My lungs were burning a bit too does that count?

I guess there must be but I'm not smart enough to know. I am trying to do 2 things. Keep my chin tucked and get my *** into the kick... It's OK but more work to go. My muscles burned pretty darn good in workout the other night. My lungs were burning a bit too does that count? I think it means it's effortful. Sounds like some engine building going on too. Gull: It seems like "not rushing the catch" may apply in sprinting -- I wouldn't know, not a sprinter, but it seems that Terry was saying you may want to wait an extra millisecond or too to avoid slippage. Determinnig the proper 'tradeoff" sounds like a trick question. It's probably different for everyone.

But when sprinting, how do you determine the proper trade-off between stroke rate and stroke length? golf. if by adding a stroke you can't swim any faster then i would say that stroke is wasted effort.

golf. if by adding a stroke you can't swim any faster then i would say that stroke is wasted effort. Shouldn't that be: Time. If by adding a stroke you can't swim any faster then I would say that stroke is wasted effort. ? ;) I.e. if I add one stroke to my 50 and swim 0.5s faster is that a wasted effort?

Shouldn't that be: Time. If by adding a stroke you can't swim any faster then I would say that stroke is wasted effort. ? ;) I.e. if I add one stroke to my 50 and swim 0.5s faster is that a wasted effort? true. thanks for keeping me honest.

The basic laws of hydrodynamics tell us that as you apply more force (as sprinters do) the water will give way faster, i.e. more slippage will occur. If there were a way for sprinters to swim more efficiently/with less slippage than distance swimmers the distance swimmers would adopt the same changes as efficiency is "more important" in distance swimming - because sprinters can trade some efficiency for more speed over a shorter distance. At Terry pointed out, I botched the wording of this, efficiency should always be used with respect to some measure, in this case I used it with respect to slippage, as indicated by the / in the sentence. This meaning was completely lost when Terry only quoted half the sentence. I meant to say: If sprinters found a way to reduce their slippage, despite the greater force they apply, the distance swimmers would adopt the same technique. But I should have qualified it even further to restrict the discussion to changes in the pull, as we know sprinters will use a very strong kick, despite it's energy cost, because speed, not total energy used or minimal slippage, is the goal. With a strong enough kick one can reduce slippage to zero, although with a very likely loss of speed as zero slippage will occur at the point where zero force is applied.

My coach calls that golf too though. Actually we do a serious of "swolfs" We swim a 50, with the lowest stroke count we can get...and get our time for the 50. You add your # of strokes to your time..thats your swolf score. Then you try to increase your speed (lower your time), which generally will mean increasing your stroke rate...but you want to maintain your original swolf score, or better it. This is really hard for me, because I tend to take a zillion strokes and swim really fast. So I can get a really good swolf score, but only because I can do the 50 in a relatively quick time. But, I have been working on taking less strokes as I increase my stroke rate...rotating more and more and more--thats all I ever hear!