SDK and Pool Depth

Former Member
Former Member
As I got older and kept swimming, I eventually had the good fortune to train with great coaches, teammates, and pools. These resources reached a peak for me in college. We learned to train and develop our SDK, which was still fairly new at the time. One of the big differences for me as a masters swimmer now is the actual pool itself. The facilities I train in now tend to be older and non-competition based. There’s a shallow end and deep end, often with the pool depth being so shallow that it greatly inhibits SDK training. You have to be able to obtain a specific depth to engage maximum benefit from your SDK. This is one of the reasons why I think many masters swimmers are weak in this area, aside from not developing the skill as a youngster because it simply did not exist. Have any of you encountered the same problem? Also, it’s difficult for younger swimmers who train in the same kind of environment to develop their SDK. I wonder if other countries have more competition-based pools in which their swimmers can learn the necessary skills to compete globally.
  • Former Member
    Former Member
    On holiday in Greece some quarter century ago. There were these two German brothers (Andreas and Mattaeus; I wonder if they remember my name?) who callenged me to underwater endurance swim feats in the hotel pool. It started with half the pool, then 3/4 the pool, then to the end wall and finally to the alcove that extended beyond the end of the pool. It was quite fun with all the people lounging around suddenly having there own International swimming competition. There were many British tourists cheering for me. I swam underwater Breaststroke--I did my country proud. Hmm SDK's have helped my Breaststroke today and my Fly and overall conditioning...I say do it anyhow but check what works best in a race! Great story SwimStud/Chuck, thanks for sharing!
  • Former Member
    Former Member
    Here's video of the 200 backstroke event in the Athens Olympics that clearly shows the underwater dolphin kicking after the start and turns: youtube.com/watch Awesome. I have only learned to do this (backstroke start SDK's) recently myself and watching that video gave me goosebumps!
  • Former Member
    Former Member
    I heard a story that Ion got a little combative on the forums and was shown the door.
  • Former Member
    Former Member
    Worse than this one? forums.usms.org/showthread.php - Who is Ion? Sure seems dedicated. Wonder why no one else responded.
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