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!
Parents
Former Member
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?
Bad news dude. You might be a 200er, or worse a distance guy.
You are in High School right? Are you a freshman? Huge gains can still be made early in high school, because you are not done developing physically.
Focus on technique. The biggest gains are to be had there, no matter the stroke. Once you provide videos, some real experts can step in and provide good advice.
I can tell you that if you have not broken a minute yet in the 100 yd free, you need to work on your stroke every day. Especially with your slow mo style, you want to push as much water behind you as possible, with the least number of strokes, while cutting through the water.
What is your yardage like? If you are dying on the back half of a 100, I have to think WTF? If you are not already swimming club, swim club. If you are already swimming club, bust your ass to move up to the next group. You shouldn't die on a 100. Your aerobic base should be strong enough that dying on a 100 is a 4 second difference between your first and second 50.
If you just started club swimming this year, you could see a huge drop this season and another huge drop over the summer season. But you won't see the improvement until the end of the season. In season, you are going to be broken down, and not really feel like you are getting anywhere. Don't worry about that.
Focus on practice. Are you increasing the number of fast 100s you can make before missing one? Are you moving up to faster lanes. Are you leading the lane? Are you doing 100% of the workout, and are you pushing yourself when you are tired? Are you holding your stroke together, even when you are tired?
I wouldn't worry about your style being slow motion. Put in the work, and figure out what events you can be most competitive at. High school swimmers have much less control over their workout than do master's swimmers. Some of the advice you will get on how to train, you won't be able to use for 10 years. Just keep that in the back of your head.
My first club coach was fond of saying "Practice doesn't make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect." Yes, we wanted to drown him when he said it, but he was right. If you notice a little thing that you are doing wrong and you start to do it right in practice, then you will do it right in a race. This is why you don't breath inside the flags, you take dolphin kicks off of the walls, you do flip turns all the time, you don't glide into a flip turn, and you finish to the wall. These things add up, plus all the small things you notice with hand position and kick tempo for different distances and everything else.
My stroke is slow motion style by the way. People told me it looked like I wasn't trying in high school. 20 years later, at my last swim meet, my wife told me to just give up on the 50 free because my turn over was so slow. The goal is to swim FAST, not to splash a lot. Focus on making your stroke the best it can be, not what someone else thinks looks right for a 50.
NOTE Master's swimmers: I do not believe all my advice is appropriate for a Master's swimmer, but I do believe it is appropriate for a competitive high school swimmer.
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?
Bad news dude. You might be a 200er, or worse a distance guy.
You are in High School right? Are you a freshman? Huge gains can still be made early in high school, because you are not done developing physically.
Focus on technique. The biggest gains are to be had there, no matter the stroke. Once you provide videos, some real experts can step in and provide good advice.
I can tell you that if you have not broken a minute yet in the 100 yd free, you need to work on your stroke every day. Especially with your slow mo style, you want to push as much water behind you as possible, with the least number of strokes, while cutting through the water.
What is your yardage like? If you are dying on the back half of a 100, I have to think WTF? If you are not already swimming club, swim club. If you are already swimming club, bust your ass to move up to the next group. You shouldn't die on a 100. Your aerobic base should be strong enough that dying on a 100 is a 4 second difference between your first and second 50.
If you just started club swimming this year, you could see a huge drop this season and another huge drop over the summer season. But you won't see the improvement until the end of the season. In season, you are going to be broken down, and not really feel like you are getting anywhere. Don't worry about that.
Focus on practice. Are you increasing the number of fast 100s you can make before missing one? Are you moving up to faster lanes. Are you leading the lane? Are you doing 100% of the workout, and are you pushing yourself when you are tired? Are you holding your stroke together, even when you are tired?
I wouldn't worry about your style being slow motion. Put in the work, and figure out what events you can be most competitive at. High school swimmers have much less control over their workout than do master's swimmers. Some of the advice you will get on how to train, you won't be able to use for 10 years. Just keep that in the back of your head.
My first club coach was fond of saying "Practice doesn't make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect." Yes, we wanted to drown him when he said it, but he was right. If you notice a little thing that you are doing wrong and you start to do it right in practice, then you will do it right in a race. This is why you don't breath inside the flags, you take dolphin kicks off of the walls, you do flip turns all the time, you don't glide into a flip turn, and you finish to the wall. These things add up, plus all the small things you notice with hand position and kick tempo for different distances and everything else.
My stroke is slow motion style by the way. People told me it looked like I wasn't trying in high school. 20 years later, at my last swim meet, my wife told me to just give up on the 50 free because my turn over was so slow. The goal is to swim FAST, not to splash a lot. Focus on making your stroke the best it can be, not what someone else thinks looks right for a 50.
NOTE Master's swimmers: I do not believe all my advice is appropriate for a Master's swimmer, but I do believe it is appropriate for a competitive high school swimmer.
