Absent technique improvement, I am wondering if each swimmer has a ceiling that can never really be broken once a minimal amount of training has occurred. This is my theory based on my own swimming experience over the last year.
No matter how fast I flail my arms the result in the 50 free always seems to be the same - 28.5, 29.2, 28.7. Seems like a random result +- 0.5 seconds. :frustrated:
Can someone with those kinds of results ever eventually go 26 something just by training harder, doing more and more sprints, etc.. I would hope to hear that is a possibility even though I know I have some fundamental flaws.
Parents
Former Member
I completely disagree with this. If you continue to do something wrong over and over and over your body may adapt to it but certainly you won't see any improvement. It's not like driving a lot on a flat tire makes it magically repair itself. Proper training, proper technique, drilling and conscious effort leads to improvement, not the continued repetition of mistakes.
Unconscious inevitable improvement is an oxymoron. I've seen the same people do the same stroke with the same flaws for years and years and their times get slower and slower and slower.
Gotta agree with the Geek. As the saying goes, "practice doesn't make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect". If you do dozens of lazy FR flip turns every day, and hundreds every week, and thousands every month, there is NO way you will do a proper one in the one meet you swim every 8-12 weeks.
You need to ingrain good habits (don't breath out of turn, don't breath inside flags, take 4 SDKs off every wall, or - my favorite - do TWO handed BR turns every time) in practice so that you don't have to think about it when racing.
:2cents:
I completely disagree with this. If you continue to do something wrong over and over and over your body may adapt to it but certainly you won't see any improvement. It's not like driving a lot on a flat tire makes it magically repair itself. Proper training, proper technique, drilling and conscious effort leads to improvement, not the continued repetition of mistakes.
Unconscious inevitable improvement is an oxymoron. I've seen the same people do the same stroke with the same flaws for years and years and their times get slower and slower and slower.
Gotta agree with the Geek. As the saying goes, "practice doesn't make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect". If you do dozens of lazy FR flip turns every day, and hundreds every week, and thousands every month, there is NO way you will do a proper one in the one meet you swim every 8-12 weeks.
You need to ingrain good habits (don't breath out of turn, don't breath inside flags, take 4 SDKs off every wall, or - my favorite - do TWO handed BR turns every time) in practice so that you don't have to think about it when racing.
:2cents:
