Backstrokers unite.
We know every detail of the ceilings where we train unless it's the sky which is ever changing.
We SDK every day. It's breath taking.
We go forwards in reverse.
We get to flip over on turns. We gotta stay on our back.
We swim back. We kick back.
Aaron's the man
YouTube- Aaron Peirsol gets title and new record, from Universal Sports
YouTube- Aaron Peirsol Late Night Appearance/Interview (8.28.08)
What did you do in practice today?
the breastroke lane
The Middle Distance Lane
The Backstroke Lane
The Butterfly Lane
The SDK Lane
The Taper Lane
The Distance Lane
The IM Lane
The Sprint Free Lane
The Pool Deck
Habu,
Thanks for the tips. You mentioned that you had a coach that told you to swim with your chin almost touching your chest? Did I read that correctly?
Seems like that would make your neck muscles tight and breathing very difficult for you.
That's correct--the coach told me to swim with my chin almost touching my chest. With how I float in the water, when my head is in the neutral position, I've got water constantly washing over my face on backstroke.
Back in highschool, I was plateaued at 1:00 in my 100 back for about an entire season. Both of my coaches threw pretty much everything in the book at me, trying to get me to break that plateau, but nothing worked. One of them finally told me to curl my head forward and sit up more in the water. The next meet, I dropped about half a second in the 100.
It's never been a source of breathing difficulty for me, though. Yes, it is easier to breathe with my head in the neutral position (well, ignoring the water that is constantly washing over my face), but it isn't markedly difficult to breathe with it tilted forward. It doesn't especially feel like my neck muscles are tight, although I've had my current coach (the one who gave me lessons all summer) point out several times that she can see how tight they are.
On a slightly different note, I've always been mystified that the elite backstrokes are able to swim with their foreheads so high out of the water while their necks are relaxed, since that is impossible for me, haha.
Habu,
Thanks for the tips. You mentioned that you had a coach that told you to swim with your chin almost touching your chest? Did I read that correctly?
Seems like that would make your neck muscles tight and breathing very difficult for you.
That's correct--the coach told me to swim with my chin almost touching my chest. With how I float in the water, when my head is in the neutral position, I've got water constantly washing over my face on backstroke.
Back in highschool, I was plateaued at 1:00 in my 100 back for about an entire season. Both of my coaches threw pretty much everything in the book at me, trying to get me to break that plateau, but nothing worked. One of them finally told me to curl my head forward and sit up more in the water. The next meet, I dropped about half a second in the 100.
It's never been a source of breathing difficulty for me, though. Yes, it is easier to breathe with my head in the neutral position (well, ignoring the water that is constantly washing over my face), but it isn't markedly difficult to breathe with it tilted forward. It doesn't especially feel like my neck muscles are tight, although I've had my current coach (the one who gave me lessons all summer) point out several times that she can see how tight they are.
On a slightly different note, I've always been mystified that the elite backstrokes are able to swim with their foreheads so high out of the water while their necks are relaxed, since that is impossible for me, haha.
