How Far Can You GLIDE?
Here's the Rules for Streamline Gliding:
1) Go Underwater,
2) push off the wall as hard as you can,
(should we have a FROM A DIVE category too?)
3) streamline as skinny as you can like Michael Phelps
4) glide as FAR as you can,
you measure your distance from the wall you started at to the furthest point your body reaches, probably your finger tips
5) but you can't kick or pull, you can only glide, if you kick or pull you are DQed
6) you're done when you stop, breathe, or break your streamline,
and
7) you are only allowed to wear one training suit or a 2011 FINA Approved tech suits, but no wetsuits or full body rubber suits,
you may wear a cap and goggles. pretty much follow the USMS suit rules
Give it a try, See how far you get.
Let us know or better yet make a video and post the link to your streamline glide here in this thread.
RIDE THE GLIDE
Here's a video I made on Friday April 22nd, 2011 of my furthest streamline glide so far.
YouTube - Swimmer Glides FAR from just One Push
Tried this several times today. Pool depth is 4.5 feet. Best effort about 9 yds. My feet would sink as I lost speed. IMO this isn't due to poor form. I'm just so skinny that I have no buoyancy in my legs. It made me recall the Red Cross advanced beginner swim test when I was about 7. To pass the 30s float test, I had to cheat by sculling and kicking when the instructor wasn't looking. I couldn't pass today without sculling and kicking either. If I had to learn to float before learning to swim, I would be a non-swimmer today.
Before I jumped in,
I breathed in as much air as I could
Pushed off pretty deep,
went level till I started slowing down then angled up
Using my float factor to rise to the surface
Note how I picked up speed in that phase
Then glided ever so slowly to the wall
I didn't let out any air
At the flags & where the lane lines Turn red
I Wasn't sure I was going to make it
After I touched I think I could have gone a little further
YouTube - Swimmer Glides FAR from just One Push
I think Ande is right that you need to work on the angle so you're able to use buoyancy to help push you forward.
I tried it again today and even though shaved I couldn't quite match my 14 yd from last week.I think my legs are tired from Nats and travel.I did finally make 25 yd on a BR pullout from a dive,being shaved and doing the dolphin kick early helped.
Finally got back in the pool today and gave this another try. Two attempts from a push in 8 feet of water, drag suit. Attempt 1 - 12.5 yards, attempt 2 - 13.5 yards. Both times I pushed off at about two feet and angled downward. I didn't catch enough angle on the ascent either time and seemed to stall a little. Second try, I had a bit more speed and could have glided further if I didn't run out of breath.
13m is the farthest I've been able to manage with a 3ft deep push off. I'll have to wait until the fall when we have our next home meet and move the balkhead and try starting from 10ft deep and see if that helps.
I also noticed I go farther holding my breath the entire time rather than slowly exhaling.
The plunge is part of the maryland masters winter series. It is held at the severna park, MD meet every year.
I have done it twice and won it twice. Good fun. As I recall the distance was a yard or so short of the flags. The pool there has deep end where you dive but it comes up to three feet deep, making the last 10 meters hard to get more distance on!
The prize for the winners is a plunger on a ribbon that you get placed around your neck while standing on the blocks and there is raucous applause.
I think you need good, long streamlines - which I can get being 6'5"
And lots of momentum helps too, at 245 I also have that in abundance.
Getting closer to the 15m mark. Almost made 15m on a pfd. Made about 14 yards on a push off. I'm pushing off in the deep end but I'm starting at about three feet and diving to 5 or 6 and then rising from there.
