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
Jimbosback, you want to stretch your chest muscle! I was having this problem recently - I can't find the exact link I worked off, but basically as you swim your chest muscles build and tighten, which pulls the traps forward and makes them stiff/sore. Stretch out your chest muscles to keep them limber and loose so they're not straining the traps. These are simple and only take a couple minutes after every practice. I haven't had trap pain since I started them - www.wikihow.com/Perform-Chest-Stretches
If you have access to a coach you should also get feedback on your technique, in case you're rotating something strangely, but stretching will probably help.
Any tips for learning to relax my head and neck while swimming back? I usually only swim 25s or 50s in practice, since the only time I swim back is in 100 IM. But I have decided to incorporate longer swims. After about 75 yards, my neck (traps, really) really tightens up and hurts. I thought I was in a good relaxed position, but not so much. Is it just conditioning?
@Rksides -- I am no backstroker, but what helps me into the wall is to accelerate my kick after the flags. and 1-2-3-lunge. As a breaststroker, I could always get a better start when the backstroker finished with a strong lunge, too.
Jimbosback, you want to stretch your chest muscle! I was having this problem recently - I can't find the exact link I worked off, but basically as you swim your chest muscles build and tighten, which pulls the traps forward and makes them stiff/sore. Stretch out your chest muscles to keep them limber and loose so they're not straining the traps. These are simple and only take a couple minutes after every practice. I haven't had trap pain since I started them - www.wikihow.com/Perform-Chest-Stretches
If you have access to a coach you should also get feedback on your technique, in case you're rotating something strangely, but stretching will probably help.
(I thought I replied to this like a week ago!)
Thanks, polka_stripes. That makes some sense. I do back after a bunch of fly which probably tightens up my front. I do similar stretches on my off-days. Maybe I need to do
Any other suggestions?
Well try # 2 has worked out. I have used a piece of 1 1/2 inch PVC from home Depot. Drilled one hole in opposite end to run nylon rope thru to go around whatever block post/poles that you will be using with the starting block and used a caibineer to hold the 2 ends together with loops at the ends. This seems to work well as 4 of us tried it a practice last night. At least it will give me a chance to practice some type of starting ledge before Nationals.
Thanks! But here's a bummer. I emailed the Riverside CC head coach to find out if the starting blocks at the pool have a back foot wedge or would accept the backstroke wedge, and his answer to both was "no."
Every time the coach makes us do backstroke, my knuckles and wrists end up being bruised. For whatever reason, I am always slamming my hand on the lane dividers or unintentionally high fiving the swimmers on the other lane. I'm afraid of head butting my fellow lane mates when we circle swim, so I tend to scoot closer to the lane dividers. Are others doing the same or is my backstroke technique really terrible?
