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

Isn't there anyone else here who wants to make a MAJOR swimming BREAKTHROUGH? Post a question, I wanna help YOU SWIM FASTER FASTER. Ande

I just realised what made my freestyle stroke count drop.My kick!!!It became a lot smoother and coordinated(6-beat).Before for some odd reason part of it was good, i.e. i followed the rhythm pretty well as my body rotated to the right(right hip facing down the bottom) but it would be a little erratic when my body was rotated to the left, that would happen as I was taking a breath(I breathe to the right and mostly every cycle), now it seems to be evened out and I do better kicking on a breathing hand, too.My kick did not get stronger but just like I said before it just makes a lot more sense now.My guess is that I was sinking a bit on my breathing hand and I would slow dow tha way with an erratic kick and now with the improved one it gives me a better streamline position and I feel a better flow of my body :-)))

Bet that's gonna help kicking is tricky, the key is to learn how to sprint with a sustainable intensity and pattern that will hold up over an entire 100. good luck ande Originally posted by hooked-on-swimming I just realised what made my freestyle stroke count drop.My kick!!!It became a lot smoother and coordinated(6-beat).Before for some odd reason part of it was good, i.e. i followed the rhythm pretty well as my body rotated to the right(right hip facing down the bottom) but it would be a little erratic when my body was rotated to the left, that would happen as I was taking a breath(I breathe to the right and mostly every cycle), now it seems to be evened out and I do better kicking on a breathing hand, too.My kick did not get stronger but just like I said before it just makes a lot more sense now.My guess is that I was sinking a bit on my breathing hand and I would slow dow tha way with an erratic kick and now with the improved one it gives me a better streamline position and I feel a better flow of my body :-)))

training with age groupers is an excellent way to train. You're likely to work much harder and longer keeping up with them. Ande Originally posted by Blue Horn I just started training with a team in the mornings. There are no consistent Masters teams in Corpus Christi, TX, so I am swimming with HS kids being trained by Billy Barton. So far I love it. I am actually having more fun than when I swam competitively as a kid. More than anything, I am building up my lung capacity and just trying to keep up, but it won't be long before I am able to really push it again. What a great way to start the day! The biggest thing I have to improve is my kick. My catch and pull is actually pretty good and I can easily hang with everyone during the pull sets. Thanks for the motivation. I would like to make some of the meets this summer here in South and Central Texas. I used to swim the 200 *** and 200 IM. I wouldn't mind doing that and the 400 Free. I am only 5'10 so I doubt I could compete in the 50 Free, not to mention that I am probably swimming around 28 for 50 yds. Although, a lot can change after 3 months of solid training. Hook'em Blue

looks to me like you've got a handle on it I imagine your focus event is the 1,500 either open water or in a pool my suggestions are + adjust for your injury and don't make it worse + train more than 3 x per week + train a little further if possible, readjust work out paces to ones you can make the way you're supposed to make them different sets require different amounts of rest. pay attention to your training times and work on improving them + figure out a way to train with a team or find some training partners, you're much more likely to train harder and longer if you have partners you are accountable to Break on through, Ande Originally posted by Kae1 Ande, I've been trying for a while for a breakthrough. I got back into serious swimming when I convinced some coworkers to form a triathlon team, with me as the swimmer. I had been swimming about 1000 yards, twice a week. I upped it to 1800 meters (switched pools when I moved), 3x/ week. This was7 months ago. About a month ago, I realized that I want to start competing again, and started pulling workouts off the internet (swim2000.com). Went from 1800m to 3000m in a week, resulting in a pulled bicep tendon :rolleyes: oops. I've been re-working the workouts to incorporate more drills and less pulling (and have a great massage therapist who works on my shoulder, which is doing much better). Right now, I'm at 3200m, 3x a week, and an additional 1500m or so of drills on Sunday if I can. Anyway, my issues are: 1. I've been practicing drills from the Total Immersion book I got, and have problems with balance because by the time I get my body into the "sweet spot", my face is almost completely underwater, making it hard to breathe and very easy for water to go up my nose and down my throat. 2. The workouts I'm using often have intervals set at times I just can't make; I don't know what a proper interval would be for training. Also, the intervals given seem to be only applicable for freestyle, even when the workout specifies some other stroke. How do I adjust intervals for breastroke? 3. I'd love to swim with a team, but my schedule and finances don't allow it right now. Plus, I am extremely sensitive to the sun, and practices outdoors in Arizona year-round will probably wind me up back in a dermtalogists' office. 4. My freestyle seems to be pretty good. I average 15 strokes per 25m, about 18 when sprinting. I'm continuing to work on it. I swim alone, though I've met a number of other swimmers at my gym, and am trying to convince some friends to start joining me. Kae

I just started training with a team in the mornings. There are no consistent Masters teams in Corpus Christi, TX, so I am swimming with HS kids being trained by Billy Barton. So far I love it. I am actually having more fun than when I swam competitively as a kid. More than anything, I am building up my lung capacity and just trying to keep up, but it won't be long before I am able to really push it again. What a great way to start the day! The biggest thing I have to improve is my kick. My catch and pull is actually pretty good and I can easily hang with everyone during the pull sets. Thanks for the motivation. I would like to make some of the meets this summer here in South and Central Texas. I used to swim the 200 *** and 200 IM. I wouldn't mind doing that and the 400 Free. I am only 5'10 so I doubt I could compete in the 50 Free, not to mention that I am probably swimming around 28 for 50 yds. Although, a lot can change after 3 months of solid training. Hook'em Blue

Ande, I've been trying for a while for a breakthrough. I got back into serious swimming when I convinced some coworkers to form a triathlon team, with me as the swimmer. I had been swimming about 1000 yards, twice a week. I upped it to 1800 meters (switched pools when I moved), 3x/ week. This was7 months ago. About a month ago, I realized that I want to start competing again, and started pulling workouts off the internet (swim2000.com). Went from 1800m to 3000m in a week, resulting in a pulled bicep tendon :rolleyes: oops. I've been re-working the workouts to incorporate more drills and less pulling (and have a great massage therapist who works on my shoulder, which is doing much better). Right now, I'm at 3200m, 3x a week, and an additional 1500m or so of drills on Sunday if I can. Anyway, my issues are: 1. I've been practicing drills from the Total Immersion book I got, and have problems with balance because by the time I get my body into the "sweet spot", my face is almost completely underwater, making it hard to breathe and very easy for water to go up my nose and down my throat. 2. The workouts I'm using often have intervals set at times I just can't make; I don't know what a proper interval would be for training. Also, the intervals given seem to be only applicable for freestyle, even when the workout specifies some other stroke. How do I adjust intervals for breastroke? 3. I'd love to swim with a team, but my schedule and finances don't allow it right now. Plus, I am extremely sensitive to the sun, and practices outdoors in Arizona year-round will probably wind me up back in a dermtalogists' office. 4. My freestyle seems to be pretty good. I average 15 strokes per 25m, about 18 when sprinting. I'm continuing to work on it. I swim alone, though I've met a number of other swimmers at my gym, and am trying to convince some friends to start joining me. Kae

Originally posted by ande Bet that's gonna help kicking is tricky, the key is to learn how to sprint with a sustainable intensity and pattern that will hold up over an entire 100. good luck ande I am sure it will!I am really happy with that new feeling, 'cause I FEEL faster, not sure yet if I am(I did not time myself).The improved kick keeps me high on the water, too, especially when I sprint! I will let you know about results in like 3 weeks...

My kick is the biggest thing holding me back in my free times. That and lung capacity. To many nights partying on 6th Street in smoky bars, and smoking cigars. I stopped doing that a few years ago, but I can tell that it had a major effect. Back to my kick: I am stuck on a two beat kick, because a six beat just wears out my lungs right now. Coach noticed that I will do a six beat kick when we do sets with fins, so we have been doing more sets with fins and more hypoxic sets to build up my lung capacity. The one positive thing that I have noticed is that I can keep up and even pass people in other lanes on our pull sets. I figure that if I keep eating one bite at a time I will eventually eat the elephant (winning races). It is just going to take some time. Hook'em Blue

To Blue Horn: Once you switch to a 6-beat kick I am POSITIVE you will see some major improvement.I have been doing it for a while but the key is also to do it right!It got a lot better recently and I feel as if in heaven when swimming free now.It pretty much improved my entire freestyle performance, including my endurance.Weird?Once I got my six-beat to be natural and rhythmic, I feel like my legs do not work much anymore and it is not nearly as hard as it used to be to make intervals and stuff.I think what happened is the improved kick gave me a chance to take of some stress from my hands and shoulders, 'cause I swim with a better rhythm and streamline, so the amont of work on my hands did not exactly change, but with a better way of going through water with the help of the better kick it feels GREAT!So to those who diminish the improtance of a kick, I can say: YOU ARE WRONG! P.S. Work on your kick, it might feel awkward and hard first but it will get easy some day, just believe in it...