Do most of the in-swimming-shape and experienced swimmers among you go all out for a whole 50 yards or is there some pacing? In other words are you going top speed the whole time? The reason I'm asking is that right now I can do 25 yards from a standstill in 13 seconds, but my best 50 yard time from a standstill is 33 seconds. (I'm a horrible diver at this point, but once I get my stroke in order I'll start working on that). Anyhow, is it reasonable for me to shoot for a 26 second 50 by just improving my endurance and flip turns, or is it like comparing 50's and 100's where a 50 time will always be less than half a hundred. Thanks for your thoughts.
I don't do a lot of sprinting, but once in a while give it a few shots just to see where I am. Unfortunately I'm unable to do a master's class because I work in shifts and would miss half of them, so I'm pretty much on my own trying to get better. :badday:
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The threshold limit is about 40 secs for a well conditioned athlete to go all out, then the lactic starts to kick in. For most of us that is about 3 lengths in the pool or the first 300 of a 400 meter dash, after that you hit the wall, that is why you have to pace a little in the beginning of both of these events, so you can bring it on home. I am no real expert, but from what I understand even the best conditioned athletes can't break through that 40 sec barrier of all out speed. What they can do is perfect their form to increase speed with less effort as close to lactic threshold as possible without going in debt until the final meters of the race. Stroke form in swimming is where you can really make up the speed, just ask Popov. It always amazes me that the Olympic finalist in swimming generally got there by swimming faster and more efficiently with about 14-20% less wattage than the ones who didn't make the finals. A fifty is well under the threshold and most of us swim fifties all out during speed workouts with little difficulty. But also, maybe what is being implied by some as pacing is perhaps more of a concern with form rather than slapping the water as hard as you can. Moving your arms faster doesn't necessarily equate to a faster 50 free, especially if you are not catching the water. Take a look at Ian Thorpe if you want to see someone who can really combine form and speed, see the link. I don't think he is holding anything back, but he is cycling through a near or perfect stroke, at least for his physique.
video.aol.com/.../170213568
The threshold limit is about 40 secs for a well conditioned athlete to go all out, then the lactic starts to kick in. For most of us that is about 3 lengths in the pool or the first 300 of a 400 meter dash, after that you hit the wall, that is why you have to pace a little in the beginning of both of these events, so you can bring it on home. I am no real expert, but from what I understand even the best conditioned athletes can't break through that 40 sec barrier of all out speed. What they can do is perfect their form to increase speed with less effort as close to lactic threshold as possible without going in debt until the final meters of the race. Stroke form in swimming is where you can really make up the speed, just ask Popov. It always amazes me that the Olympic finalist in swimming generally got there by swimming faster and more efficiently with about 14-20% less wattage than the ones who didn't make the finals. A fifty is well under the threshold and most of us swim fifties all out during speed workouts with little difficulty. But also, maybe what is being implied by some as pacing is perhaps more of a concern with form rather than slapping the water as hard as you can. Moving your arms faster doesn't necessarily equate to a faster 50 free, especially if you are not catching the water. Take a look at Ian Thorpe if you want to see someone who can really combine form and speed, see the link. I don't think he is holding anything back, but he is cycling through a near or perfect stroke, at least for his physique.
video.aol.com/.../170213568
