Five Fast Facts: 50 *** is the title of an article in the latest January 2007 USMS Swimmer magazine, page 10. This is under training and technique.
I normally like the USMS Swimmer magazine, but has anyone else but me been truly upset by such garbage!
They wasted 35 words saying that you have to surface before 15 meters!!!!!
Obviously the writer knew NOTHING about breaststroke, NO SUCH RULE exists for breaststroke.
Then they waste more space with " a scissor kick is illegal in competition.
And "the best *** swimmers spend more than half the race underwater is also JUST WRONG. That may be true in the 200 sc yards or meters, but not the 50 ***.
I am sorry to offend anyone, including the writer, but you should have checked your sources, there are many that could have put together MUCH better tips. It would have taken 10 seconds to email a masters breaststroker to confirn the information.:dedhorse:
I invite people like Allen Stark, Jeff Commings, Seth Van Neerden, Roque J Santos, David M Guthrie, Jack Groselle etc. to come up with 5 fast facts and tips for the 50 ***.
I already e-mailed the mag about their mistake.I think you have to lift weights to sprint breaststroke.I don't think you can develop enough power from water work alone. Wayne was a little confusing as he said you are both faster on the surface and underwater. You are faster underwater because you have no wave resistance,but as was noted as you are only allowed one stroke underwater(plus the outsweep of the second) you will soon slow down to slower than you can swim at the surface. Since in a 50 you are going faster at the surface than at longer distances you should not be underwater as long.How long you should stay underwater depends on how fast your surface breaststroke is and how fast your pullout is.My teammate Bob Smith is a great sprinter in all 4 strokes and has great starts and turns. I am faster than he is breaststroke at the surface but he can keep close in a 50 SCY.I have seen him go 50 ft off the block(more than 15M) before slowing to his surface speed. For those with relatively weak breaststrokes and good pullouts the longer underwater the better. Remember,surface when you slow down to YOUR surface speed.
I already e-mailed the mag about their mistake.I think you have to lift weights to sprint breaststroke.I don't think you can develop enough power from water work alone. Wayne was a little confusing as he said you are both faster on the surface and underwater. You are faster underwater because you have no wave resistance,but as was noted as you are only allowed one stroke underwater(plus the outsweep of the second) you will soon slow down to slower than you can swim at the surface. Since in a 50 you are going faster at the surface than at longer distances you should not be underwater as long.How long you should stay underwater depends on how fast your surface breaststroke is and how fast your pullout is.My teammate Bob Smith is a great sprinter in all 4 strokes and has great starts and turns. I am faster than he is breaststroke at the surface but he can keep close in a 50 SCY.I have seen him go 50 ft off the block(more than 15M) before slowing to his surface speed. For those with relatively weak breaststrokes and good pullouts the longer underwater the better. Remember,surface when you slow down to YOUR surface speed.
