I was reviewing a video of myself swimming a 50 free (scm) and was alarmed to find that I took 21 strokes on the first 25 and 25 strokes on the second 25. I had no idea I took that many strokes as, when I swim 100's at medium pace, it is more like 17 or 18. 19 or 20 when I am tired.
So what is the optimal number of strokes per length or is that going to depend on the size of the individual? I am either 180 or 181cm (I always forget) tall and have a wingspan of (just measured this) 186cm. Does it sound like my stroke rate is too high? Should I be doing more with that that pull under the water and slow down the turnover?
Swimming short course yards I routinely take 13-14 strokes, 11-12 if I'm working on distance per stroke. I'm 6'-0" to 6'1" tall (182-185 cm). You might want to post the video and get some feedback from the experts here.
Skip
Syd,
You are probably getting exciting during your race and are spinning your arms too fast. I have fought the same thing as I try to get back into race shape. In a race in December, I took 17 strokes up and 24 strokes back in a 50 SCM race but at Nationals 3 weeks ago I took 42 strokes for 50 LCM. So with no turn, I took 1 more stroke.
I am 6'3" (1.90m) with a wing span of 6'6" (1.98m). When I swim medium speed 50s SCM, I am 12 strokes down and 13-14 stroke back from a push. In a race, I'm at 16 down (always flip off the left shoulder) and 19 back and am trying to lower those numbers by about 2 strokes per length.
It's a matter fo staying calm and relaxed, even during your races. It's when you try to hard to go fast that your turn over increases too much and you start spinning your arms.
In your practices, do some repeats where you try to go as fast as you can while keeping your stroke as long as possible. Do a set of 4 50s on a 3:00 interval where the focus is going as fast as possible while keeping your stroke long, really focus on the length of your stroke more than how fast you are swimming.
For a fun way to work on your strokes per length, play golf - do a 50 and figure out your score as: Time + # of strokes. If you take 30 strokes and swim your 50 in 30 seconds, your score is 60.
Then try to lower your score - take less strokes, or go faster, or both.
I've found that a useful focal point for increasing stroke length in a sprint is the water pressure against the hands. Instead of judging my effort by turnover, I judge it by force. Going all out means going for maximum force on the hands underwater. I think this focus helped me conserve energy with a very fast top speed at LCM Nationals this year.
Does anyone else think about this? It would be cool if some people tried it and reported back about any changes in stroke length.
I've found that a useful focal point for increasing stroke length in a sprint is the water pressure against the hands. Instead of judging my effort by turnover, I judge it by force. Going all out means going for maximum force on the hands underwater. I think this focus helped me conserve energy with a very fast top speed at LCM Nationals this year.
Does anyone else think about this? It would be cool if some people tried it and reported back about any changes in stroke length.
I'm thinking about the force/pressure on hands/arms about 60% of the time. When I work on spl then it's 100% of the time, on distance work my mind wanders. I do ok for a "short" guy. At 5'10" I can average 12 spl on a 25yd pool, with about 2-3 sdk's, 10-11 if I'm really stretching it. I agree that thinking about the pressure associated with each pull helps.
:banana:
depends on your
height
weight
body shape
speed and
technique
efficient swimmers take fewer strokes
you'll take few strokes by improving your stroke efficiency
which is about your feel for the water
you need to be gripping instead of slipping
I was reviewing a video of myself swimming a 50 free (scm) and was alarmed to find that I took 21 strokes on the first 25 and 25 strokes on the second 25. I had no idea I took that many strokes as, when I swim 100's at medium pace, it is more like 17 or 18. 19 or 20 when I am tired.
So what is the optimal number of strokes per length or is that going to depend on the size of the individual? I am either 180 or 181cm (I always forget) tall and have a wingspan of (just measured this) 186cm. Does it sound like my stroke rate is too high? Should I be doing more with that that pull under the water and slow down the turnover?
The correct stroke count depends a lot on your body proportions.
Swimming in a SCY pool, I usually take 8-9 strokes per length. WHen I get tired, it goes to 10. That's at solid aerobic swimming. If I'm sprinting, it probably bumps up to 11-12.
I'm 6'3" and have pretty long arms, and I get a pretty good distance off each wall.
-Rick
The correct stroke count depends a lot on your body proportions.
Swimming in a SCY pool, I usually take 8-9 strokes per length. WHen I get tired, it goes to 10. That's at solid aerobic swimming. If I'm sprinting, it probably bumps up to 11-12.
I'm 6'3" and have pretty long arms, and I get a pretty good distance off each wall.
-Rick
That sounds about right. I'm the same height.
I take 8 strokes for back...with a good underwater kick. (less than 8 when I kick half the pool).
And for freestyle, 10 on average, with a long loose stroke.
That changes when sprinting, by about 25%. (12-14 is more like it with a fast turn-over).
The streamline off the walls can be a big factor in how many strokes per length.
Thanks for everyone's advice. Paul, I think you have a point there: perhaps I am getting too excited because, after a race, I have no memory of any conscious strategy - just remember going as fast as I possibly could. I need to be more aware of my stroke in a race situation. I guess it will come with more race practice. I have only swam in two meets since I started swimming masters. I like Jazz' suggestion, though. I think I have been sacrificing feel for turnover and need to discover my optimum stroke rate. I have definitely become more aware of it in practice.
