I'm a masters swimmer who primarily swims distances. I have a strong six beat kick and a relatively weak pull. My kick certainly overpowers my pull as I try to increase my speed.
My coach says my pull looks technically correct -- no dropped elbow! I have a long stroke with decent distance per stroke (generally I average 14-15 strokes per 25 meters, up to 16 at faster speeds).
Any suggestions on what to try to increase the propulsion of my pull? I bought a pair of the techpaddles and have been using them for about a week, but while I feel stronger, it is too early to tell there will be any resulting increase in speed.
First off, I'm no coach. Take all the following with a huge grain of salt.
It seems to me that your DPS is pretty good. I would work on increasing your turnover while maintaining your DPS. You'll need more power and conditioning from your arms+core to do so.
It is not all that uncommon for kick-dominated swimmers to pull more slowly than they swim; I am the same way. Your comment that the pull bouy brings you TOO HIGH is puzzling to me though; swimmers who are fast pullers (and there are many who speed up greatly once they put on a pull bouy) generally are so because the buoy lifts their hips up.
Suggestion: assuming your shoulders are okay, try doing some work with paddles alone, without the buoy. Try some shorter repeats with a higher turnover, for swimming-specific conditioning/strength training. Especially good if you have access to a 50m pool. Breate bilaterally on these (eg, every 3).
First off, I'm no coach. Take all the following with a huge grain of salt.
It seems to me that your DPS is pretty good. I would work on increasing your turnover while maintaining your DPS. You'll need more power and conditioning from your arms+core to do so.
It is not all that uncommon for kick-dominated swimmers to pull more slowly than they swim; I am the same way. Your comment that the pull bouy brings you TOO HIGH is puzzling to me though; swimmers who are fast pullers (and there are many who speed up greatly once they put on a pull bouy) generally are so because the buoy lifts their hips up.
Suggestion: assuming your shoulders are okay, try doing some work with paddles alone, without the buoy. Try some shorter repeats with a higher turnover, for swimming-specific conditioning/strength training. Especially good if you have access to a 50m pool. Breate bilaterally on these (eg, every 3).
