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?
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.
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.
