Why are some people so much faster?

I understand that at the Olympic Training Center that Janet tested more efficient in oxygen use than anyone tested. That is a tough one. Was she born that way or did her body adapt because she busted her a.. to get to where she was? If you tested her today, will she still be off the charts? That is more of an aside. I think too much credit is given to "natural talent". And if natural talent is really a factor, who cares? We can't change it. But there is always something we can improve in our swimming.

Amy, I think hard work, technique, and motivation will generally will get someone to state even when they don't have a lot in the way of physical talent. I would say that you have to dedicate yourself to swimming more than your many of your teammates to catch or surpass them. That dedication may be building strength outside the pool, spending extra time with your coaches on technique (or videos, drills, reading, clinics, etc.), putting in extra time on starts and turns on your own, goal setting, etc. You need to think about your weaknesses, identify them (on your own or with help from others), and then develop and dedicate yourself to a plan to improve. I have seen many swimmers overcome all kinds of physical short-comings (lack of physical strength, lack of height, too heavy, coordination, lack of feel for the water, etc.) and generally all those things can be overcome with the proper plan and dedication. I always liked starting with a new team/lane and finding myself starting last on sets and slowly catching the people in front over time. Try to chase down the bubbles in front of you every set and when you aren't swimming think about what you need to do next time to close the gap on the bubbles more next time. Before you know it you will be touching the feet of the less dedicated and you will be on your way. Physical talent is a great thing and certainly makes it easier at any level of swimming, but it is not necessary to reach state qualifying times in my opinion. There are also many people that swim at a national level that are not physically gifted, but they are highly motivated. Good luck with making your state times, Tim I think that is the most inspiring thing I have ever read! Thanks everyone for the encouragment!

Thanks for the helpful articles Ande! I still have one question though: What do you think is more important in swimming sucess: talent or hard work? An example of my point is that if a person with the natural ability of a back-of-the-pack swimmer worked really hard and did everything right that they could, would it be possible for this said person to ever qualify for state? Does talent determine most of your sucess in swimming, or can hard work ever overcome lack of talent?Talent is rarely a determining factor in swimming. At almost every level hard work trumps talent in swimming. For example, Micheal Phelps works out and burns 14,000 calories a day. The average person eats 2,000. He does a heck of a lot more than most people, even most Olympians. One of the reasons you may be having trouble succeeding is the people you're with. Perhaps you're on a really good team? Or competing in a really tough league? You're probably already better than your average person. Personally, I love that type of competition. It pushes me, but it gets frustrating when you never seem to improve. Have you been swimming with the same group the whole time? Perhaps they have been improving with you. Are you doing it five times a week? A lot of people think they're working really hard at something, but in swimming it's pretty standard that you work out five days a week, two hours at a time, if you want to improve by a large amount. Have you had different coaches? Perhaps the flaw is your coach. A lot of coaches don't actually understand the proper stroke mechanics. They can probably work you really hard, but if you're practicing it wrong, you're not going to get better. Are you: reaching, pulling yourself through the water every time, doing flip turns quickly, breathing every 3 strokes, able to dive in and stream line half way, able to do every stroke, do you have a best stroke, make every set, have a coach that makes sets that are next to impossible to make, kicking constantly, not walking, and actually trying to keep up with the people in your lane? If not, do it. You will improve. I really don't know what level of swimmer you're at. But if you're middle school, you could get in about 3,500 yards. High school 5-6k. At the peek of your work outs. Swimming is not about natural talent. It's about how hard you work. Coaches help, talent does help, but working out is the determining factor.

Talent is rarely a determining factor in swimming. At almost every level hard work trumps talent in swimming. For example, Micheal Phelps works out and burns 14,000 calories a day. The average person eats 2,000. He does a heck of a lot more than most people, even most Olympians. One of the reasons you may be having trouble succeeding is the people you're with. Perhaps you're on a really good team? Or competing in a really tough league? You're probably already better than your average person. Personally, I love that type of competition. It pushes me, but it gets frustrating when you never seem to improve. Have you been swimming with the same group the whole time? Perhaps they have been improving with you. Are you doing it five times a week? A lot of people think they're working really hard at something, but in swimming it's pretty standard that you work out five days a week, two hours at a time, if you want to improve by a large amount. Have you had different coaches? Perhaps the flaw is your coach. A lot of coaches don't actually understand the proper stroke mechanics. They can probably work you really hard, but if you're practicing it wrong, you're not going to get better. Are you: reaching, pulling yourself through the water every time, doing flip turns quickly, breathing every 3 strokes, able to dive in and stream line half way, able to do every stroke, do you have a best stroke, make every set, have a coach that makes sets that are next to impossible to make, kicking constantly, not walking, and actually trying to keep up with the people in your lane? If not, do it. You will improve. I really don't know what level of swimmer you're at. But if you're middle school, you could get in about 3,500 yards. High school 5-6k. At the peek of your work outs. Swimming is not about natural talent. It's about how hard you work. Coaches help, talent does help, but working out is the determining factor. Thanks for the advice! To answer a couple of your questions: Yes I am swimming with a team that is really good. Over half the people on my team go to state every year, and my coach qualified for the 1980 Olympic trials. I don't believe the problem is my coach. I have a really good coach. It's encouraging to know that I might be improving with my team, instead of just staying the same. I have been working out 5 days a week, 1.5 to 2 hours at a time. I'm currently in high school. Do you think I should be working out more? I'm not quite sure what reaching and pulling myself through the water means. I do flip turns but I can probably improve on them. I breathe every 4 strokes. I do have a best stroke: freestyle. My coach also has sets that are next to impossible to make (and I never make them!). The rest of the people in my lane can make the sets, but I am SO much slower than them! I guess I should try harder to keep up though. Thanks for the help! I hope this post answers your questions. If anybody has any advice/tips for me, feel free to share. You all seem like really good swimmers and it is really great to be learning from you!

Thanks for the advice! To answer a couple of your questions: Yes I am swimming with a team that is really good. Over half the people on my team go to state every year, and my coach qualified for the 1980 Olympic trials. I don't believe the problem is my coach. I have a really good coach. It's encouraging to know that I might be improving with my team, instead of just staying the same. I have been working out 5 days a week, 1.5 to 2 hours at a time. I'm currently in high school. Do you think I should be working out more? I'm not quite sure what reaching and pulling myself through the water means. I do flip turns but I can probably improve on them. I breathe every 4 strokes. I do have a best stroke: freestyle. My coach also has sets that are next to impossible to make (and I never make them!). The rest of the people in my lane can make the sets, but I am SO much slower than them! I guess I should try harder to keep up though. Thanks for the help! I hope this post answers your questions. If anybody has any advice/tips for me, feel free to share. You all seem like really good swimmers and it is really great to be learning from you!Try different strokes. In my experience, backstroke is a good way to teach people to kick down. Butter fly is a good way to teach people overall water agility. You might not be good at them, but you need to develop overall water agility, too. It sounds to me like you're not putting a lot of emphasis on your times. That's generally how you can tell if you are or aren't improving. Do you swim a lot of swim meets? Do you also set goals as far as breaking your personal bests? Do you count the distance you go during practice? All of those are great ways to tell if you're improving. As a coach, I know swimming has a lot of psychology in it. I am constantly giving them their times, and rewarding them if they do well. I give them complements and keep them happy. I keep track of how far they go, and I do things like push ups and sit up sets that increase each week. My entire emphasis is on improvement. Reach and pulling yourself through the water means exactly what it sounds like. Each stroke is a stream line. You should be reaching above your head, as it enters the water, as far as you can, even turning your shoulders each stroke. You should then put a fair amount of force into pulling all the way down, not hitting your body at any point, and flinging water at the end of your stroke, each and every stroke. And of course, when your arm is out of the water, elbow up, hand less than an inch away from the surface. Your shoulders should be rotating up, with your elbow. Another place where the best swimmers make up most of their time is their turns and STREAMLINE. For my next meet I'm thinking of bringing a volley ball to hit my girls with if they don't keep their hands together. It's killing me. You should be able to easily streamline past the flags each turn. In fact, I make sure my best swimmers don't breath between the flags and the wall. You ought to be doing that, too, since you're in high school. Your work out periods are fine. You'll find that the longer you work out, the less the quality of work is anyways. In a 2 hour work out period, you ought to be able to get in 3,500 to 4,500yrds depending on your style and age. 5,000 if you're really good. Also, the best athletes are not always the best coaches. Some times they are so far above you that they can't help you. I wouldn't be surprised if you make a good coach simply because you're taking the time to learn about this stuff. I taught swimming for three years to little kids before I started coaching, and I'm getting great results. However, I obviously think I can do better, which is why I'm here. Diligent people struggle through adversity, and that breeds excellence.

My coach also has sets that are next to impossible to make (and I never make them!). The rest of the people in my lane can make the sets, but I am SO much slower than them! I guess I should try harder to keep up though. Hey Amy, This looks like the reason you can't keep up. It is not a question of if you can or can't, it is a question of when and what you need to do to get to that point. Talk to your coach before or after practice about your nutrition, technique and endurance. To a trained eye, there are probably some easy corrections to be made. Touch base with your coach frequently when you think you have improved upon issues that have been pointed out to you. And by easy, I mean they are obvious and will have great benefit, not that they will be easy for you to implement. There is a lot of hard work in your future. So believe in yourself and adapt.

6. Beer I completely attribute my success (in being able to swim in cold water at least) to this most important of factors. The promise of a beer at the finish line shaved 10 minutes off my 3K one summer. Burgers help, too. I should probably add something a little more helpful and encouraging, though. Growing up, I found my swimming progress to be in quantum leaps rather than steady progress. I didn't start serious swimming on a club until 8th grade which meant I was lapped by 8-year-olds for my first year of practice. I remember the day that fly suddenly clicked. Later in high school, I couldn't get a 100 fly under 1:03 until it clicked one meet (after a bunch of hamburgers between prelims and finals) and I qualified for state with a low 0:58. I also remember the flutter kick clicking for me one day, the flip turn, and the start. Nothing has ever clicked on backstroke, though, unless the popping noise in my shoulders counts.

I don't think that talent and hard work should be separated by the more important swimming success. They're a package that comes together. But natural talent is very special! So if this answers your question, with hard work comes talent.