Sorry if this is a repeat thread, but I searched and couldn't find anything. Is it odd to have your breaststroke be significantly faster than your front crawl? I thought breaststroke was supposed to be the slowest stroke, but it seems to be the opposite for me. My time for a 50y free used to be 45-50s, but it's about 35 now (VERY slow, I know). My time for 50y *** is between 28 and 29s even at the end of a long practice.
My coaches have watched my technique for both strokes, and they said that my front crawl technique is great. I'm probably taking about 10 strokes per 25 yards. The only thing I can think of is that my front crawl looks almost identical to Grant Hackett's, even when I'm trying to sprint. I think you're supposed to stay flat when you sprint, but it doesn't feel natural to me.
Anyway, does this just mean that *** is my natural stroke, or is there something horrifically wrong with my front crawl that 4 coaches and myself missed?
mjgold
I watched some video of 50 yard freestyle events. It is hard to count strokes exactly, but it seems like the top guys are taking 23-26 strokes. For a 19 second race, this means their turnover is between one stroke every 0.73 and 0.83 seconds. That is more than twice as fast as yours. I think it is safe to say that you should try to move in that direction.
Like anything else in swimming, your body will adjust in time. Keep in mind that you are going to give up some efficiency in return for the turnover. The key is to find the right balance.
Mike
And if you watch a video of Grant Hackett swimming, his turnover is around 0.9 - 1 s per stroke on the 1500. I mention this because mj said his freestyle "looks like Grant Hackett's".
mjgold
I watched some video of 50 yard freestyle events. It is hard to count strokes exactly, but it seems like the top guys are taking 23-26 strokes. For a 19 second race, this means their turnover is between one stroke every 0.73 and 0.83 seconds. That is more than twice as fast as yours. I think it is safe to say that you should try to move in that direction.
Like anything else in swimming, your body will adjust in time. Keep in mind that you are going to give up some efficiency in return for the turnover. The key is to find the right balance.
Mike
And if you watch a video of Grant Hackett swimming, his turnover is around 0.9 - 1 s per stroke on the 1500. I mention this because mj said his freestyle "looks like Grant Hackett's".
