I'm trying to determine what level of strength is required to be a good sprinter (i.e. 100 free).
Could you list your max repetitions of push ups, pull ups and dips? This would give me some assesment on power to weight ratio and strength endurance.
Also, what is your max bench press if you know it? or reps of 225 lbs. I'm curious about what level of pure strength sprinters have.
I think I am deficient mostly in technique and then strength endurance but maybe this post would show me I need weight room work.
Parents
Former Member
rtodd,
A few summary points that I hope won't be controversial but that I hope will be corrected if they are incorrect:
A large majority of the swimmers that make your goal times do so with significantly lower SPL than you are currently swimming with.
There are a large number of people that are faster than you that are not as strong as you.
If, as you say, you have a tendency to drop your elbows there is probably very little else you could work on that would help as much as fixing that. And not dropping your elbows will almost certainly improve your SPL.
SPL is a diagnostic test not a primary goal. If you find ways to swim more efficiently your SPL will drop and you will know you are heading in the right direction.
If you have any opportunity to get a good coach to look at your stroke and give you feedback, take it, it will be worth going out of your way and paying some bucks for, in terms of speeding up your improvement. A second place option is to get good video and get commentary on that. If you take that approach underwater video from the front and side will be the most useful as it is what is happening under the water that is most important. Video is good in that you can really see where what you think you are doing or what you are trying to do is not what you are actually doing.
rtodd,
A few summary points that I hope won't be controversial but that I hope will be corrected if they are incorrect:
A large majority of the swimmers that make your goal times do so with significantly lower SPL than you are currently swimming with.
There are a large number of people that are faster than you that are not as strong as you.
If, as you say, you have a tendency to drop your elbows there is probably very little else you could work on that would help as much as fixing that. And not dropping your elbows will almost certainly improve your SPL.
SPL is a diagnostic test not a primary goal. If you find ways to swim more efficiently your SPL will drop and you will know you are heading in the right direction.
If you have any opportunity to get a good coach to look at your stroke and give you feedback, take it, it will be worth going out of your way and paying some bucks for, in terms of speeding up your improvement. A second place option is to get good video and get commentary on that. If you take that approach underwater video from the front and side will be the most useful as it is what is happening under the water that is most important. Video is good in that you can really see where what you think you are doing or what you are trying to do is not what you are actually doing.
