reaction time

Anyone have ideas on reducing the reaction time off the blocks? Only one of my events at Nationals posted a reaction time, and it looks like I went ahead and finished a cup of coffee before I left. Was I just thinking too much? Or do I need a cattle prod? I think a cattle prod might be a good idea. I knew I was slow getting off of the blocks but not that slow. I think my average reaction time is just under 0.90. What do those guys do that have reactions around the low .7's?

Did you notice the lights between the upper surface and the platform of the starting blocks? Watch for the light, don't listen for the "horn". The visual clue is faster than the audible clue. That will get you started (reacting) faster.

My reaction time varied from .70 to .73. I didn't realize that I had good reaction time until I saw my numbers next to others' on the results. It's interesting because, although I seem to have decent reaction time, I do not break the surface in the lead. My theory is that I react fairly quickly but do not use my legs enough to push off. I only got times for 3 of the 5 events that I swam. Both times that I did not get a time I was in lane 5 of the pool closest to the dive tank. Did anyone else notice a trend with a certain lane that wasn't registering reaction time, or is it just a fluke?

I was really happy to see the reaction time thing used. I have always been curious to see the numbers, as I have been told that my starts are really slow. And I can finally tell all the naysayers that I'm just as fast as everyone else. As for how to improve, I have a few suggestions. Following the light is huge, as we all know light travels faster than sound. If there aren't lights on your blocks, bend your head towards the starter just a little, or look out of the corner of your eye for the flash. Anticipation - go hang out behind the starter a few heats before yours. Get a feel for when they're hitting the button so when you get up on the blocks, you know its "Take your Mark," 1and2and3and GO!!!. Change your start. I switched from 2-footed grab to the track start and saw some improvements. I'll probably switch back at some point. And again and again. Work on starts in practice. Have someone stand behind you with a kickboard. They say take your mark, then bang the kickboard twice (you leave as soon as you hear a bang), and then wind up for a whack of your rear. One slow start and one sore butt later and you'll be flying off those blocks quicker. Go to more meets. There's no practice like the real thing.One thing that can suck about watching the light is camera flashes. The only time I ever false started was because I flew off the blocks when a camera flashed. The starter never hit the button, and I came up off my dive screaming "I SAW A FLASH!!!" They let me back up, yelled at the cameraman, and I was still the first guy off the blocks next heat. The only bad thing about the reaction time stuff is they can dq your relays a lot easier:doh: Poolraat, I was at .71 for the dives; .62 for backstroke

I used to do some martial arts training in high school, and one of the things our instructor would tell us was to relax as much as possible when punching, kicking, blocking while performing the movement, and at the last moment "tense up." The idea behind this was that a relaxed muscle and mind would react faster than a tense one. So I would carry this over to my starts. Relax and be ready on the "take your marks" and then "spring" when you hear the horn, see the light, etc. However, I haven't had my reaction time taken so right now this is in theory. In a few meets that I've raced in and had my wife video, my start seems to be at least as fast as anyone else's. Now here's the bouncy thing :bouncing:

As for track vs. grab, Kirk, I agree with you. I was somewhat vague in my comments about which to change to for this reason, but mentioned that I have already made one flip flop and will probably make many more. Whatever it takes to make sure I can beat you in the 500 next year in Austin!!! OK, game on! I've always used a grab start and hadn't even tried a track start in a long time because they never felt right. I actually tried a few recently and they felt pretty good, so I might consider switching, too. At Nationals I used grab starts for all my individual events, but did use a step-up start stepping with only one foot for the relays, so that was effectively a track start. Out of curiosity were the reaction times used on false starts too? I assume you mean on non-relays? I don't really see how they could. Even if you were moving on the start your reaction time would be greater than zero. You only need to be moving when the start is signalled for it to be a false start.

Here's a real-world relay example of a negative reaction time that wasn't DQ'd: 12 OREG 'C' 1:57.50 1:55.42 1) Hathaway, David L M46 2) Sumerfield, Bill H M46r:-0.12 3) Wren, Mark B M48 r:+0.24 4) Boone, Lou M46 r:+0.34 r:+0.59 29.59 1:01.45 (31.86) 1:29.88 (28.43) 1:55.42 (25.54) I knew it was really, really close as I left the blocks. In the 50 ***, I got off in .51 and swam a lousy time for me. So reaction time ain't everything.

I assume you mean on non-relays? I don't really see how they could. Even if you were moving on the start your reaction time would be greater than zero. You only need to be moving when the start is signalled for it to be a false start. I'm referring to regular race starts. The thought behind the question is this....in national and international track competition (I'm not sure if swimming has adopted this also) if the reaction time is faster than a certain time it is considered a jump because the "experts" have determined that the human cannot possibly react any faster than that. I'm not sure what that threshold time is, but it is a time greater than zero. I've seen this happen at track meets and have heard the time being discussed but don't remember what it is.

I'm referring to regular race starts. The thought behind the question is this....in national and international track competition (I'm not sure if swimming has adopted this also) if the reaction time is faster than a certain time it is considered a jump because the "experts" have determined that the human cannot possibly react any faster than that. I'm not sure what that threshold time is, but it is a time greater than zero. I've seen this happen at track meets and have heard the time being discussed but don't remember what it is. Now THAT is a bunch of crap! I mentioned anticipation in my recommendation list above. If one of these track guys/gals does my "spy on the starter" trick and it works, they could be screwed out of a legitimate, albiet fast, start. What happened to the good ole days where we didn't need technology to do all this? Speaking of, I attended a swim meet very recently that didn't have a starting machine so they used the gun. It was awesome! Just like the old days!

Rob, Out of curiosity were the reaction times used on false starts too? The dual confirmation applies here as in the take-offs. As a starter, if I observe a false start then I go to the referee for confirmation. Would the reaction times then be looked at for confirmation?No, reaction time is only used on relay starts. If you think about it, to get a forward start (regular start) reaction time of less than 0.00, your feet have left the block which usually means that your body is out over the water. Any starter/referee who doesn’t notice a swimmer stretched out over the pool before the horn should get a white cane and a dog. Note the difference between track reaction times and swimming reaction time measurements is that in a track start, the reaction time is a measure of when pressure is applied to the starting block, in swimming it is a measure of when there is no pressure once the swimmer has left.