I'm back at school now and it feels so much better swimming at my schools pool than at my local Y becasuse my school pool has a 13 feet deep end. the Y is shallow, its 3 feet on one end.
Deep water is so much better than shallow water.
My pool is 3.5 at one end and 6 at the other. I sometimes have problems with my backstroke turn on the shallow end. I'll get too close to the bottom as I SDK away, my heels and butt keep hitting bottom and I can't get away. End up doing a double arm pull and flutter kick to get back to the surface.
Anyone else experienced this?
I think you are right about having SDK reflecting back up at you.
Perhaps more importantly is the increased shear created from your body moving over the narrower column of water in the shallow end. Remember water has viscosity (the measured resistance of a fluid to flow). I'd have to crack open a fluid mechanics book from college to go into it further. Without having to open it though, I know for a fact that the deeper water is faster.
It is easier to "hang out" in the shallow end between repeats, but I wish it was deeper. Flip turns in 3 feet of water can be hazardous.
...he was talking to us the other day about how when you do dolphin kick off the walls/starts you create these things like little eddy's in the water that project from your kicks radius upward and downward...the farther you project these eddy's (aka the more powerful and whip like your dolphin kick is) the faster you will move...however in the shallow water, those swirls can only go as far as the bottom of the pool--which is obviously very close...so you do not get as much momentum and speed from your efforts....
According to our age group club coach, that's why they want their swimmers to dolphin on their side rather than flat on the back or belly. The only problem with this would be the possibility of rotating past vertical and getting DQ'd.
It is easier to "hang out" in the shallow end between repeats, but I wish it was deeper. Flip turns in 3 feet of water can be hazardous.
I have heard that deep pools are faster as well. Intersting discussions on the reason for it. My pool is 7 feet deep where I swim by one of the ends of the pool. (50 meters long, 7 feet deep on each end and 4 ft deep in the middle. It is set up for 25 yards right now, which is the width of the pool). It is great for the SDK's, not having to worry about how deep I go. It is a drag, though, having to hang on to the gutter while trying to breathe between sets.
Hmm? 3 feet is pretty shallow but I do sometimes enjoy swimming in the shallow end of our teams pool..4 feet. To me it seems to be faster than the deep end but it might just be an illusion created by being closer to the lines on the pool bottom.
Deep water is faster...at least according to my assistant coach...
he was talking to us the other day about how when you do dolphin kick off the walls/starts you create these things like little eddy's in the water that project from your kicks radius upward and downward...the farther you project these eddy's (aka the more powerful and whip like your dolphin kick is) the faster you will move...however in the shallow water, those swirls can only go as far as the bottom of the pool--which is obviously very close...so you do not get as much momentum and speed from your efforts....
idk how true that is...but my deep end turns have always felt more powerful and efficient.
I've also heard that you want to be an equal distance between the surface and the bottom (esp. in the shallow end) for optimal use of the water?
Morgan
I think you are right about having SDK reflecting back up at you.
Perhaps more importantly is the increased shear created from your body moving over the narrower column of water in the shallow end. Remember water has viscosity (the measured resistance of a fluid to flow). I'd have to crack open a fluid mechanics book from college to go into it further. Without having to open it though, I know for a fact that the deeper water is faster.
It is easier to "hang out" in the shallow end between repeats, but I wish it was deeper. Flip turns in 3 feet of water can be hazardous.
Perhaps I am misunderstanding the principle but I fail to see what the depth of the water has to do with the viscosity of the water near the surface where we swim. :dunno:
