Sprint vs. Distance

Completely agree with you, Swimstud. I think we all should train a little of both. It makes us better and gives our bodies a chance to be in the water without using the same muscles day in and day out. I think triathletes miss a big advantage by only training freestyle. I find that when i even train breastroke(which takes a really freaking long time) that I do learn something that I can use in my other strokes. Pluse it is a nice diversion from the norm...even better when I pass freestyle at my local pool, using my crappy stroke.

I guess I'm sol at this swimming thing. I'm of average height (5'10"), and seem to have a preponderance of fast-twitch fibers. So…my glass is either half empty (too short to be effective at sprints) or half full (lots of fast-twitch muscles for speed). However, since I'm not so good at math, I gravitate towards the sprints because they are easier to count :laugh2:

I think triathletes miss a big advantage by only training freestyle. I find that when i even train breastroke(which takes a really freaking long time) that I do learn something that I can use in my other strokes. Pluse it is a nice diversion from the norm...even better when I pass freestyle at my local pool, using my crappy stroke. Plus Breaststroke makes you a real swimmer and builds nice big biceps and shoulders...any old kicking stick can swim front crawl... ;) OK and wth the bait laid out...I'm going home! lol :D

Fly Queen,Quit picking on your fellow short axis brothers and sisters.Head up reststroke is not breaststroke.:dedhorse: Also,the choice between sprinting and distance is obvious,if you can sprint then become a sprinter,if you can't become, a distance swimmer(and if you can do a good whip kick become a breaststroker and forget the rest.):dedhorse: :rofl: :rofl:

I see more old ladies swimming breaststroke than anything else ... A girl after my own heart....."Just say no to breastroke" (or go back to gymanstics)! :banana: PS: You don't "pick" your events.....if your smart they choose you....in other words be self aware and understand what your physiological make up is....just because I "want" to be a drop dead 50 freestyler doesn't mean its what I'm "built" for (guess that explains my even splitting my 100 and negative splitting the 200/500). Oh...and by the way....people forget that "drop dead" sprinter Gary hall jr. also went 1:33 in the 200 free as a freshman in college, Phelps may be our best 100 freestyler in Beijing but also can throw down a pretty impressive 400....and KPN now owns every freestyle record from 50-1650 except the 100/500.....which she will get next month.......

A girl after my own heart....."Just say no to breastroke" (or go back to gymanstics)! :banana: PS: You don't "pick" your events.....if your smart they choose you....in other words be self aware and understand what your physiological make up is....just because I "want" to be a drop dead 50 freestyler doesn't mean its what I'm "built" for (guess that explains my even splitting my 100 and negative splitting the 200/500). Oh...and by the way....people forget that "drop dead" sprinter Gary hall jr. also went 1:33 in the 200 free as a freshman in college, Phelps may be our best 100 freestyler in Beijing but also can throw down a pretty impressive 400....and KPN now owns every freestyle record from 50-1650 except the 100/500.....which she will get next month....... Paul, I agree! I think you can do both with lots of training. And believe me...I know about KPN...she's almost exactly the same age as me...when I age up so does she! She is amazing at all lengths and all strokes! I agree with thewookie. You should train both sprint and distance of all stokes. You have to have endurance to swim a 100 and/or a 200. A distance swimmer needs speed work also. I do think that as Masters we often don't have the time to train a lot and you may be more successful if you stress one or the other due to time constraints.

PS: You don't "pick" your events.....if your smart they choose you....in other words be self aware and understand what your physiological make up is....just because I "want" to be a drop dead 50 freestyler doesn't mean its what I'm "built" for (guess that explains my even splitting my 100 and negative splitting the 200/500). Oh...and by the way....people forget that "drop dead" sprinter Gary hall jr. also went 1:33 in the 200 free as a freshman in college, Phelps may be our best 100 freestyler in Beijing but also can throw down a pretty impressive 400....and KPN now owns every freestyle record from 50-1650 except the 100/500.....which she will get next month....... These two paragraphs seem contradictory, Mr. Smith. :thhbbb: You have the ideal build of a drop dead sprinter -- you're really, really tall. I think some people who have a lot of time to train like KPN may be able to stretch more. I stretched way more as an age grouper than I do now when I did mega yardage. I could even do a decent 400 IM. Everyone CAN stretch, it's just a matter of whether you want to and whether you have the time. And, as a master, you can swim anything that strikes your fancy despite a prediposition to sprints or distance. I know sprinters who prefer to engine build and they are doing extremely well in longer events. Ideally, you would train some of both. But you can only fight the physiology so much. I'm a drop dead sprinter, and would actually prefer to be more versatile and do a real bang up 200. But it ain't happening right now. I'd need more time and better shoulders to train properly for that. Plus, if bang for your buck is what you want, you should focus on what you're good at and not fight the slow/fast twitch genetics. Distance specific training should yield better results. But, in the end, it's all what you want to do.

Even the athletes from the two areas look different - much leaner for the distance runners and muscular for the sprinters. I suspect that reduced gravity considerations in the water may account for the fact that there are fewer visible muscular differences between sprint and distance swimmers. That's more speculation on my part than anything though. Skip

The old fuddy duddy old ladies all swam head up breaststroke in Mexico, they did not want to get their hair wet. I taught all kinds of them how to glide.

The old fuddy duddy old ladies all swam head up breaststroke in Mexico, they did not want to get their hair wet. I taught all kinds of them how to glide. George you're such a stud...why you need to come here and brag about your exploits? At least now we know who was paying for all the birdbath mageritas! ;)