I always thought my streamline wasn't horrible, but then I saw the movie on this page:
www.page.sannet.ne.jp/.../fusiuki_index.html
In it, the swimmer is able to float ~15 M in streamline, and his legs don't sink at all.
When I try this, I can only get about half of the distance he does, and my legs start to sink almost immediately. If I try to keep my legs completely straight I can maintain them at about a ~30-45 degree angle to the water, but no matter what I try I cannot get close to his performance.
Clearly taking a big breath and holding it is important, as well as extending arms out as far forward as possible and pointing toes, but does anyone know anything else to suggest? In some of the links he discusses that anyone can do this, but is a little vague about the details. He mentions that you need to keep your body straight (of course), and also that that the way you rest your lungs on the water is important.
The pages are in Japanese, but some of the pages have diagrams that explain what is he talking about pretty clearly. The page has the best diagrams (the left side of the diagrams is the 'old style', the right side is the 'new (correct) style'.
www.page.sannet.ne.jp/.../fusiuki_5.html
He also mentions that it isn't about forcing any body part, its about 'releasing force' and floating naturally.
If there are any native Japanese-speaking swimmers and can quickly read through this and let me know a brief summary of his suggestions I would appreciate it. My Japanese isn't bad but there is alot of explanation and some of it a little difficult to understand.
Can anyone do the streamline as far as he does? Do you think it is really possible for any body type? It seems to me that the length of your various body parts, plus distribution of fat would imply that not everyone could do it as well as he does.
Former Member
Can anyone do the streamline as far as he does? Do you think it is really possible for any body type? It seems to me that the length of your various body parts, plus distribution of fat would imply that not everyone could do it as well as he does.
I am very overweight and out of shape, and can do that kind of a streamline pretty easily. For me, the key was learning to feel the water, rather then fighting or forcing it.
In one of the beginner clinics in which I assist, I have people do a tiny competition about how far they can float out... sort of like a streamlining long-jump.
Woofus B. Loofus - I'm going to really enjoy my freebie two seconds during my next workout.
Glad to hear finally some swimming science could bring some joy!!
geochuck - How far does a person travel in a dive, then the 1.8 seconds after entry into the water from a very streamlined dive.
Also is the dive time faster then 3.4 m/sec and does this mean the slowing to swim speed takes longer.
On average the distance covered 1.8 seconds after the hands impact the water after a dive would be about 3.5 meters. There is a belt around the waist of the swimmer (center of mass) so that distance is how far the center of the swimmer moves in a linear direction.
Generally when the hands are just breaking the surface after leaving the blocks, the velocity is around 6.0 m/sec. As most of you know, with higher velocity also comes significantly higher drag, so the glide times/velocities to regular swimming speed are just slightly longer. So a longer glide after a start is not as advantageous as one would think.
Many swimmers/coaches we have worked with over the years before testing have told us they always believed there was a period of time where some velocity is sustained immediately after the feet leave the wall on a push-off, so this is why I posted the image file.
The good news . . . you don't really have to hold that streamline position very long!
Budd
I'm willing to work on it, but it seems senseless to work on something that I'm doing wrong and don't know why. My legs sink. I don't remember this being a problem when I was young. I see some of the streamlining videos and the swimmers' legs usually seem to go up...mine go down.
My glutes, quads, hams are flexed and they stay up for me. Only for the sake of seeing how far I could go, I tried it just like the guy in the vid and went about 15 yards. But as Chris indicated, I'm not sure how much value can be tied to any of it. Your muscles should be flexed coming off the wall regardless (at least until you start kicking).
Because as impressive as it may be to see someone continue to glide seemingly forever, it has very little to do with fast swimming (other than possibly as feedback or maybe even a benchmark to help you develop a tighter streamline).
That pretty much sums it up - it's a good feedback exercise for swimmers who may need it.
Other then that, you are right, extremely long streamline doesn't necessarily help the overal speed. At some point, a swimmer would slow down and lose more time then if they already started the break-out cycle.
The key is to see if a streamline could be improved, to shave a bit of time off a race. For some swimmers, whose weak spot may be very inefficient streamline, this exercise can help. Others, it may not. As always, individual mileage varies.
I'm willing to work on it, but it seems senseless to work on something that I'm doing wrong and don't know why. My legs sink. I don't remember this being a problem when I was young. I see some of the streamlining videos and the swimmers' legs usually seem to go up...mine go down.
I am pretty sure that every male's legs will sink if you do nothing with them. Mine certainly do. The reason that some streamliner's legs don't sink is probably that they compensate by pointing "down" a little bit.
Because as impressive as it may be to see someone continue to glide seemingly forever, it has very little to do with fast swimming (other than possibly as feedback or maybe even a benchmark to help you develop a tighter streamline).
The reason is that, very shortly after you push off the wall, you should be kicking. And if your underwater kick is slower than your surface swimming, you shouldn't do it for very long. Legs sinking, or not, have little to do with it.
How tight is your streamline while kicking? And -- related to this -- how fast can you kick to 15m? Those are far more significant questions than how long you can glide after a pushoff or dive. That's just a parlor trick.
I'm willing to work on it, but it seems senseless to work on something that I'm doing wrong and don't know why. My legs sink. I don't remember this being a problem when I was young. I see some of the streamlining videos and the swimmers' legs usually seem to go up...mine go down.
To keep the legs up it takes engagement of many muscles, air in the lungs, arm and shoulder position.
It was once said that the ripple effect of fat on the dolphin made dolphins travel through the water so fast. Could this be true in humans?
