Any old dogs out there trying new tricks? Any younger generation masters swimmers swimming this way?
www.goswim.tv/.../freestyle---loper-drill.html
"In watching the Olympics, we can't help but notice the impact that "lopers" are having in freestyle. While high-rate freestylers and straight-arm freestylers have been getting the most attention this year for the speeds they've achieved, lopers are certainly making a HUGE impact."
Former Member
seems to me that loping is nothing more than converting freestyle arms to modified fly arms. for instance, if anyone has ever done some degree of single arm butterfly (GoSwim.TV has a 3-3-3 Fly drill, for instance), the single-arm portions are loping strokes. The underwater pull is different, but the recovery is the same. Thus, although loping is predominantly done with same-side breathing, it can be done breathing every third stroke. In such case, you'd lope the breathing stroke. i tend to glide out my freestyle strokes a bit, so, with a bit more emphasis on the diving arm motion, i am pretty sure i could convert my stroke into a more loping stroke with little trouble. i'll have to try it.
--Sean
Even though I lope, I still don't quite understand why someone would change their stroke to adopt it.
My advice: let your need for oxygen decide your breathing pattern, and go from there. Probably loping is a natural result of breathing every other stroke (ie, always to one side). I can see why that breathing pattern would give the fastest times for certain distances. Try it both ways (eg every other and every third) and see which works best.
Whaaat?! I breathe to one side all the time and I'm pretty sure I don't lope.
*uber confused*
Whaaat?! I breathe to one side all the time and I'm pretty sure I don't lope.
*uber confused*
Seriously? He said that if you lope, this is probably because of breathing to one side. That doesn't mean breathing to one side guarantees a lope. And even if you feel like you don't lope, you probably do to some extent.
breathing on only one side often leads to a bad habit of over-emphasizing the breathing arm and under-emphasizing the non-breathing arm. thus, many people that breathe on a single side may be natural lopers. however, as was said above, that does not mean that all are.
--Sean
breathing on only one side often leads to a bad habit of over-emphasizing the breathing arm and under-emphasizing the non-breathing arm. thus, many people that breathe on a single side may be natural lopers. however, as was said above, that does not mean that all are.
--Sean
Which leads to the even worse habit of being one of the fastest swimmers in the world.
the over-emphasis of the breathing arm and under-emphasis of the non-breathing arm may lead to loping in some swimmers, but that is neither the norm nor a good habit. the reason why new learners of freestyle over-emphasize the breathing side and under-emphasize the non-breathing side is because of a fear of lack of breath. by practicing such a habit, one maximizes breathing time and minimizes non-breathing time. the loping effect comes about from the guilty-feeling swimmer trying to, literally, make up for the lost time caused by the excess time spent breathing. as one might imagine, this only manifests in competitive swimmers, and non-competitive swimmers, without intervention, continue to devolve their strokes until, in some of the more extreme cases, the swimmer ends up doggy-paddling with the non-breathing side and windmilling on the breathing side. loping is a good result that has been formulated from a bad habit. we should observe the effect and incorporate it into better habits.
--Sean
