What do YOU need to do to have a major swimming breakthrough?"

Actually I just realized that I need to do ALOT more drill work as part of my training. Just in the last 2-3 weeks I have lowered both my PRs and my training splits for 50 and 100 free just working on DPS, finger tip and catchup drills. I've gone from 12-13 strokes per 25m to 8-9 strokes per 25m in my drill sessions. So once Nats are over, there will be quite a lot more drill work for all strokes in my training plan. Paul

Ande, I had a professor once tell me that having more body fat may be advantageous in swimming, adding buoyancy, allowing one to swimming higher in the water. Less work to keep body floating, higher in water so less resistance encountered in the water, but more work to pull the extra weight Greg

I don't buy that theory The thinner a swimmer is, the less resistance they require to slice through the water. Swimmers have to balance muscle and size. You could test it swim a fast 100 for time then lose 15 pounds and retest then gain 30 pounds and retest again compare the results ande Ande, I had a professor once tell me that having more body fat may be advantageous in swimming, adding buoyancy, allowing one to swimming higher in the water. Less work to keep body floating, higher in water so less resistance encountered in the water, but more work to pull the extra weight Greg

It would be impossible to test the way you have presented. There are so many more variables as opposed to weight when losing 15 lbs and then gaining 30lbs. For example, gaining 30 lbs is most likely due to a lack of training. In my experience, which is in no way scientific, when I gained 15lbs of fat in high school one season, I still swam fast, even without much training. All of my coaches and others that I raced were amazed that with how I looked, and with how little I trained, that I could be as fast as I was. I think if we simply look at biomechanical and physiological principles, gaining fat will be offset almost entirely by increased buoyancy if all other physiological factors stay the same (VO2 max, anaerobic threshold, blood buffering properties, anaerobic enzymes, technique, etc.) If I were to accept that gaining fat causes one to have more resistance on their body, then gaining weight will cause one to train harder during practice, causing additional physiological adaptations, resulting in a wash speed wise. Then, when weight is lost, thus, reducing work during practice, times will get worse, another wash. Ande said: The thinner a swimmer is, the less resistance they require to slice through the water. Swimmers have to balance muscle and size. You could test it swim a fast 100 for time then lose 15 pounds and retest then gain 30 pounds and retest again compare the results

i was kind of kidding about the lose / gain challenge Look at the bodies of the fastest humans on the planet in almost all cases they are lean and powerful otherwise FAT people would be the fastest swimmers and they aren't swimmers have to balance strength with their ability to slice through the water read build a better boat www.usms.org/.../showthread.php what were your times that high school season? I've seen people swim fast with very little training and it kind of baffles me ande It would be impossible to test the way you have presented. There are so many more variables as opposed to weight when losing 15 lbs and then gaining 30lbs. For example, gaining 30 lbs is most likely due to a lack of training. In my experience, which is in no way scientific, when I gained 15lbs of fat in high school one season, I still swam fast, even without much training. All of my coaches and others that I raced were amazed that with how I looked, and with how little I trained, that I could be as fast as I was. I think if we simply look at biomechanical and physiological principles, gaining fat will be offset almost entirely by increased buoyancy if all other physiological factors stay the same (VO2 max, anaerobic threshold, blood buffering properties, anaerobic enzymes, technique, etc.) If I were to accept that gaining fat causes one to have more resistance on their body, then gaining weight will cause one to train harder during practice, causing additional physiological adaptations, resulting in a wash speed wise. Then, when weight is lost, thus, reducing work during practice, times will get worse, another wash. Ande said: The thinner a swimmer is, the less resistance they require to slice through the water. Swimmers have to balance muscle and size. You could test it swim a fast 100 for time then lose 15 pounds and retest then gain 30 pounds and retest again compare the results

-something different than you've been doing

i was kind of kidding about the lose / gain challenge Look at the bodies of the fastest swimmers on the planet. In almost all cases they are lean and powerful otherwise FAT swimmers would be the fastest swimmers and they aren't. Swimmers have to balance strength with their ability to slice through the water ande Never seen a skinny looking blue whale. But, BTW, I thought the test: Swim 50 Lose 10 lbs Swim 50 etc Was one of the funniest things I ever saw on this site. You can't be a true American ande, because you "get" irony!

thanks I thought it was too Never seen a skinny looking blue whale. But, BTW, I thought the test: Swim 50 Lose 10 lbs Swim 50 etc Was one of the funniest things I ever saw on this site. You can't be a true American ande, because you "get" irony!

It is true that the fastest swimmers are lean. But the question remains, is that because you have to be lean to be a fast swimmer, or is it simply a consequence of the amount of training needed. Perhaps, a higher percent body fat would allow these swimmers to go faster, but it is not possible with all of the long hours of training. I am no suggesting that a morbidly obese person has the ideal body composition for an elite swimmer, but I do believe that there is a happy medium between 3-4% body fat and, lets say 30% body fat (error on the high side). Watching the Olympic Trials, I noticed that the top swimmers are really not that lean. I don’t see 3-4% body fat. Many of the top swimmers do not have a visible six pack. There is definitely a layer of fat. Fat that could be lost, but I don’t see any of these talking about how if they could just lose a few extra pounds. I think the question for this thread should be “what is the ideal percent body fat” If body fat does not alter the shape of your body dramatically, I believe it would be advantageous for a swimmer to have body composition in the ~15% range. More buoyancy allows for less energy to be used to keep the body on top of the water. I would put my money on a swimmer with 10% body fat as opposed to a swimmer with 5% body fat if all other variables were equal. Fat floats, and if you can stay on top of the water with fat as opposed to using part of your arm stroke energy, then more energy can be used for forward propulsion as opposed to keeping your body on top of the water.

When I was 10 and very skinny and long, I could not float at all. Sank like a rock. Also, some ppl have a higher specific density (don't know the density of exactly what they are referring to, but some have denser bone) and have a difficult time swimming. So factors other than body fat percentage enter into the equation. Seems to me there are energy costs to moving a fat(ter) vessel through the water. Gain a little through floating and lose a little through having to propel self forward. Interesting question. I see different body types successful in swimming. VB