Well, I know you guys love helping out less than stellar swimmers because really, it's lonely at the top. I've got a few pressing concerns with my stroke(s), I will list them off. You guys are welcome to offer input to help out an eager athlete, poke fun, or just look for pictures of me and paste them onto Michael Phelps. Whichever will get me gold medals ASAP. :weightlifter:
Now for the strokes (in order of importance):
Breaststroke:
Current Time:
100scy: 1:08.16
50scy: 30.07
I was watching a few videos of Olympic level athletes swimming the B-stroke and I noticed something, they glide a hell of a lot more than me! I've been wondering why I'm always dying at the end of a 100 or 200 and I think it might be because I turn over far too much.
What sort of rhythm should I aim for? How long between strokes? How should I kick to maximize the effects? Well, I guess this is sort of tough to answer without a video of my stroke, I'll record one at some point this week. :)
I have never had a split or 50 time under 30 seconds. I see guys going under 27 seconds as their opening split. How the hell do I do that? :P
Freestyle:
Current Time:
100scy: 1:01.32
50scy: 26.73
My coach (as well as many people who watched my most recent 50) said that it looked like I was in slow motion swimming, my stroke was that of a cruise-moderate pace swimmer yet I got a 26ish time. What am I doing wrong? :cry:
Again, I'll record an attempt at a 50 sprint and you guys pick it apart for me.
Butterfly: :drown:
Current Time:
100scy: 1:10.36
50scy: 28.81
My fly is terrible, it has ZERO form but it still gets me places in a decent amount of time, it suffices for a 200IM etc but after that, just shoot me!
How can I improve my dolphin kick and my stroke?
Videos etc soon.
Backstroke:
Current Time:
100scy: No Clue
50scy: No Clue
My backstroke is a throbbing call for help, I can't stop doing a breaststroke kick during my backstroke but I do LOVE the underwater dolphin kick off the wall. That is the only redeeming quality I see of the Backstroke currently, maybe because I'm so bad at it?
I need drills and such to work on my individual strokes, I want to get my times down. :)
Thanks USMS, I hope I can count on you!
It would be really cool if you could post videos as I think the forum can provide a lot better insight that way. Unfortunately, I'm not going to be much help for you on breaststroke, backstroke or butterfly, but here are some initial thoughts and questions on freestyle:
Body/hip position: ideally, your body should be high in the water and as flat as possible. Many swimmers tend to swim at an angle with their head high, their hips lower and their feet even lower. Anytime your body angle moves from being parallel to the top of the water, you're essentially putting on the brakes. One of the biggest keys to body position is your ...
Head position: are you swimming with your head in a neutral position/eyes looking down at the bottom of the pool? Think of your head as a lever that can adjust your body position from flat to angled. For most swimmers (especially those of us who were coached to swim with our eyes forward), you almost have to consciously think about burying your head.
Kick: what kind of "beat" are you doing? Many swimmers do a two-beat kick, meaning that for every arm stroke (think hand entering the water), they are matching that with a single kick. To go faster, you need to try to rev that up to a 6 beat kick.
Rotation: Ideally, your body is rotating from the core from side to side with every arm stroke. A common problem slowing down many swimmers is that they swim "flat" in the water, whereas the fastest swimmers actually spend most of their stroke on their sides.
There are a number of great drill books and videos out there. I'm sure there are some free ones, but I've tried those found at Total Immersion (www.totalimmersion.net) to be quite good at breaking down the fundamentals listed above and providing great drills that allow you to isolate specific parts of your stroke.
It would be really cool if you could post videos as I think the forum can provide a lot better insight that way. Unfortunately, I'm not going to be much help for you on breaststroke, backstroke or butterfly, but here are some initial thoughts and questions on freestyle:
Body/hip position: ideally, your body should be high in the water and as flat as possible. Many swimmers tend to swim at an angle with their head high, their hips lower and their feet even lower. Anytime your body angle moves from being parallel to the top of the water, you're essentially putting on the brakes. One of the biggest keys to body position is your ...
Head position: are you swimming with your head in a neutral position/eyes looking down at the bottom of the pool? Think of your head as a lever that can adjust your body position from flat to angled. For most swimmers (especially those of us who were coached to swim with our eyes forward), you almost have to consciously think about burying your head.
Kick: what kind of "beat" are you doing? Many swimmers do a two-beat kick, meaning that for every arm stroke (think hand entering the water), they are matching that with a single kick. To go faster, you need to try to rev that up to a 6 beat kick.
Rotation: Ideally, your body is rotating from the core from side to side with every arm stroke. A common problem slowing down many swimmers is that they swim "flat" in the water, whereas the fastest swimmers actually spend most of their stroke on their sides.
There are a number of great drill books and videos out there. I'm sure there are some free ones, but I've tried those found at Total Immersion (www.totalimmersion.net) to be quite good at breaking down the fundamentals listed above and providing great drills that allow you to isolate specific parts of your stroke.
