attention sprinters, have a question on your strength

Rtodd......I'm 6'6" and weigh 240 (heavy at the moment), my wingspan is 6'6" and I'm more of the build that Crocker has. Even at 20 years old with 3% bodyfat I didn't have ripped abs.....but I tested out at nationals at one of the highest "power" rankings on a swim bench test....then again I'm not a pure sprinter (consider myself of 200 freestyer) as I even split most of my races.... Bottom line is I suck in the wieght room and have no interest in getting "big" (I never do bench press or pull-ups anymore as they directly contribute to shoulder problems)...however I continue to work on my flexibility/strength thru yoga, minimal weights 2x a week and swimming specific work (bands, power sprints w/paddles, etc.). As for quantifying your kick....hard fo me to explain this...better if I could watch. You can't gauge the value of a kick on kicking times...its how well you can integrate that kick into your stroke, Case in point was a swimmer from this forum (Ion) who could kick extremally fast times....but when he attempted to integrate that into swimming in my opinion it worked against him.

In football there is something called field strength. For example, two guys equal weight, one can lift heavier weights than the other. The one that can lift more gets thrown around up and down the field by the guy that is weaker in the weight room because he has more field strength. I think this same concept can be applied to swimming. Pool strength

So is either model better? It seems from my reading on the forum that the Crocker model is the more advised/ideal model? But can a Lezak type transform into a Crocker? Or are both superior models, and you should choose the one best that suits your own body type best? Success comes in many sizes and shapes ... ? And while Ande's statement seems clearly correct, it might be a little vague to apply. Maybe we need to know more about how to weight/other train for a Lezak/JSmith type and how to train for a Crock/PSmith body type? Or more about RTodd? Fort.....IMHO your body type as well as your genetic predisposition (fast twitch/slow twitch) should dicatate not only how you train but what you compete in. Rich Abrahams, Jason Lezak and guys of like them have and can build muscle/power quickly and probably need to worry more about putting on to much bulk and loss of flexibility.....they also are pretty much 50/100 specialists and their training involves a lot of short quality based swimming and heavy weights. Rowdy Gaines, Ian Crocker, John Smith, Gary Hall Jr. etc. are all very lean, very powerful, have speed but can extend into 200/500/+ (Rowdy at one time held every masters WR from the 50 to the 1500. Although John has speed....he was a 200 specialist in college and just won the 200IM at worlds. All of the above at one time or another (myslef included) would/will train middle distance/distance, still weight train although less emphasis on pure power. Look at th differance in builds between the 100 specialists in track vs. those that run the 100 but excel at the 200/400.....

Strength is not an issue for you I am quite certain. If you are working hard in the pool, I think you will find your goal but it will take time. Aren't you only about 2 years into swimming anyhow?

I don't think swimming fast is as simple as lifting weights. I can tell you that the fastest sprinters on our USS team are the leanest/skinniest kids of the group. One of them, a fairly thin 6-0 15 year old was swimming 21 high 50 SCY's last year and a 47 high 100 SCY..Free. IMHO, maximizing your efficiency in the water is going to improve your swimming FAR more than lifting weights. I recall reading somewhere before the 04 Olympics that Phelps tested out to be one of the weaker members of the US Team. I don't know too many people that would call him slow with a straight face. Some weights are good for us in general as they help maintain bone density but I would not count on them as a ticket to faster swims.

Yea, I guess it is all technique. I realized that watching the 1650 at the big east finals when their 100 splits were all under 60 seconds. Apparently technique should get you under 60 and maybe even under 50. Then maybe raw strength becomes more important to get from there to 45. I think I need to worry about technique and efficiency. I've been told I over reach and my hand is entering past the centerline of my head, where as it should enter not past my ear. This is something I am always working to correct and I may forget in my races. I also have a habit of dropping my elbows. I guess these two things spell disaster. I have not been swimming "long" but two years is starting to be a long time and I want better times. I ran the 100,200 and 400m. All equally bad!!

I think a guy I work with has an under water video system from scuba diving. If he does, I will try to get some video posted. This may help expose what I am doing wrong.

Ande, I was just looking at some of your weight lifting routines, and they look very conservative yet you are so fast. From this I would guess that I have enough strength, but lack efficiency and certainly strength endurance. I know alot about anaerobic strength endurance and speed reserve from running 1/4 miles. I think I am lacking somewhat in this department since it can take more than two years to build it up. I can handle that as long as I am imprinting good form, which I don't know if I am. Can I do some sort of stroke count analysis? I can glide (warm up speed) across my 100ft pool in 14 strokes, so that would be 42 strokes per 100yd. is this good or lousy? What should a stroke count be for sprinting? does it go down? I would guess it shouldn't because the kick picks up.

If you're interested and because it is somewhat related, on another thread there is a graph showing time variances in different freestyle distances as you age. It purports to show that times drop off on a percentage basis as you age up the longer the distance gets. Obviously, this isn't true for everyone here, but it is for me. So there will be no 500 or 1650 free for me. I still think you need to do some engine building for those events. Post #61 (page 4) forums.usms.org/showthread.php

Hi rtodd, I think I remember you posting your time for the 50 as :26-something. Based on that time, and on your 1:04 time for the 100, I'm with Matt - your problem isn't strength. You said you are a runner by background. What was your track event? Were you a drop-dead sprinter? Here's a comparison for you: I am a drop-dead sprinter (alas, not a particularly fast one, but still). My time for the 50 free is a 27.7 and my time for the 100 is a 1:01.7. I'm betting you are A LOT stronger than I am, especially based on that 50 time. Having never ever seen your stroke, I'd guess based on your times that you get through your 50 with raw power, but that your ability to power through starts to fall apart on the 100 as technique flaws take you down. Watch those really fast swimmers at Championships. See how they never seem to fall apart? Their 50 is power... their 100 is power too. You've only been swimming for 2 years... your times are FANTASTIC! Hang in there... as your technique improves, you will see some huge drops in your 100 and 200.