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.
I have absolutely nothing against technique improvement. I think it is the root cause of my problems and frustration.
Unfortunately I think my swim stroke might be similar to my golf stroke. I was a decent golfer, for a weekend hack. I could consistently shoot mid 80s and occassionally break 80. Occassionally I would hear comments about how funky my stroke was. One day I was playing with a pro and he told me "honestly your stroke is so screwed up that I could help you but you would go through a whole year of misery to even get back to where you are at now so I don't think you even want to hear it".
I don't know how much swimming is like golf in that regard, but I imagine I have swam x million yards with a flawed stroke. I have finally got some coaching and I'm working on it but it is tough for me to translate. With workout sets, at least I know what I have to do.
I have been swimming Masters since 1974 with good success(several AAs in BR),but in 2003 I was fortunate to go to the swim camp at the Olympic Training Center.The coaches pointed out several stroke flaws.It took me about 6 mo before my stroke felt good again and my SCY meet in Apr was horrendous(one coach said I was thinking instead of swimming.)Since then I have gotten faster and always look at my stroke as a work in progress.Remember"good is the enemy of great."
I have absolutely nothing against technique improvement. I think it is the root cause of my problems and frustration.
Unfortunately I think my swim stroke might be similar to my golf stroke. I was a decent golfer, for a weekend hack. I could consistently shoot mid 80s and occassionally break 80. Occassionally I would hear comments about how funky my stroke was. One day I was playing with a pro and he told me "honestly your stroke is so screwed up that I could help you but you would go through a whole year of misery to even get back to where you are at now so I don't think you even want to hear it".
I don't know how much swimming is like golf in that regard, but I imagine I have swam x million yards with a flawed stroke. I have finally got some coaching and I'm working on it but it is tough for me to translate. With workout sets, at least I know what I have to do.
I have been swimming Masters since 1974 with good success(several AAs in BR),but in 2003 I was fortunate to go to the swim camp at the Olympic Training Center.The coaches pointed out several stroke flaws.It took me about 6 mo before my stroke felt good again and my SCY meet in Apr was horrendous(one coach said I was thinking instead of swimming.)Since then I have gotten faster and always look at my stroke as a work in progress.Remember"good is the enemy of great."
