Why am I such a slow swimmer? (Page 2)
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Buttercup ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() I also recommend beginners have a look at this article: 18 Biggest Myths - Pool or Ocean which is on the Southern California Aquatic Masters website. Excerpt: Swimming Myths 4:54 PM Fri, Nov 17, 2006 - 18 BIGGEST MYTHS - POOL OR OCEAN by Clay 1. I need more technique I will start with 1, 2 and 3: I go until I am blue in my face telling new swimmers get in the water and swim and you will quickly learn. When you get laps under your belt you start to feel the water, adapt motor skills, get stronger, more endurance and more confidence. Soon you will be coachable. Yes, you might learn some bad habits but what you gain from getting in is the most important. Do not hesitate I promise you will not be scared for life. SWIM! You will learn so much just being in the water. Drills are great but should be only 20% of your workout and most of those at the beginning. It is essential that you start off each swim's very first stroke thinking about your technique. |
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Coach ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() I am not certain who wrote those myths (don’t know who is Clay and the Southern CA masters link isn’t working beyond the myths that you posted) but I don't agree with many of the points and if I remember correctly Mike Ricci a USAT level 3 certified coach (there are only a so many of those nationwide) didn’t agree either as this so called “myths” were already discussed on another thread before. Furthermore if the best in the world work towards improving their swimming technique in order to improve their efficiency and speed, I don’t really understand as to why working on form/technique could be a myth. Can you please explain that to me? Could it be that the USAT, USAS and different books have it all wrong? From now on if someone approaches me seeking to improve their swim times even if they swim 3:00 min per 100 Yd should I just respond: JUST SWIM! |
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Member ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() Another vote here for Master swimming. I just started with a group (despite the 5:30am start time!!!) two weeks ago and I can already tell a difference. Having someone who has a lot of experience telling me exactly what parts of my stroke I need to work on has been invaluable. Previously I started with the TI book and was very excited until I started trying to do the drills from the book. I got frustrated, and I think I ended up picking up some bad habits along the way by overemphasizing some of his drills, which is exactly what I was trying to avoid by drilling!!! I totally agree with Renee's post above, just get in the water, get a little endurance, and have a live person look at your stroke to help you. Good luck! |
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Master ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() Renee - 2007-01-15 12:50 PM BTW, if you are swimming on your own and don't intend to join a Masters team, the US Masters Swimming website has a ton of workouts that you can copy and adapt to your needs. It's a great website with plenty of training articles, too. Good luck and happy laps! renee, thanks for the link. i need to liven up the swim workout and these should do the trick. |
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![]() For the record, Clay is Clay Evans a local masters coach here in L.A.. met him, he's a good guy and seems to have the bona fides to back up what he says, although we may not agree with all of them. Here's his wikipedia entry: Clayton ("Clay" Evans was a four year All-American and NCAA finalist in the 100m Butterfly and an Olympic silver medallist at the 1976 Summer Olympics in the 4x100m Medley Relay. He has broken over 40 Masters National and World records. After graduating from UCLA, Evans began his coaching career with Team Santa Monica while he was in graduate school in Architecture. After practicing Architecture in Europe and Saudi Arabia, he returned to West L.A. and concentrated on developing SCAQ - (http://www.swim.net/SCAQ/) into the largest Masters swimming program in the U.S. In 1993, Evans was selected as the United States Masters Coach of the Year. In 1999, the resident of Los Angeles, California was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Masters Aquatic Coaches Association. Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clay_Evans" Edited by ChrisM 2007-01-16 1:43 PM |
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Buttercup ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() Just checked the 18 Myths link - it works fine for me. |
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Coach ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() This entire post is a mixture of good and really bad advice and it is impossible for the novice to tell the difference. I am going to write an article about the myths of "hypoxic drills" because i hate typing it out every time. People have died doing these drills. There is no physiologic benefit from doing them. The name is a misnomer. If you want to swim uninterupted without worrying about breathing, use a snorkel. I believe the benefit that renee is trying to describe comes from not having your form break down when you roll (or don't roll, or lift your head, or claw your way to the surface) to take a breath. A far, far better solution is to have someone work with you to learn how to breath properly. The number of strokes you take per breath is irrelevant. There is no right number. YOu need what you need. The body's need for oxygen consumption and getting rid of carbon dioxide is dependent upon how much energy you are using and in what form you are using it (aerobic/anaerbic, etc). When I start my swim warmup, I will frequently swim 7 to 9 strokes without breathing only because I am swimming smoothly, I have not gotten my oxygen consumption up by working hard, I am not generating a lot of waste products due to the low effort. When I have the urge to breath, I breath. A novice swimmmer who uses all the energy they have just to stay on the surface of the water will need to breath every stroke because of the amount of energy they are using. Do not play with basic needs of your body. There is a mantra in Emergency Medical Services: Air goes in and out, Blood goes round and round Pink is good and blue is bad. That's really all any EMT, Paramedic or Emergency Medicine physician needs to know. If it's good enough for these applications, it's good enough for the recreational swimmer. Air goes in and out. Don't forget it. Practice it daily. Frequently. You'll get really good at it. |
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Resident Curmudgeon ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() See, even swimmers can't agree, so just screw it and Ride Lots! (j/K as I'm looking for swim help myself) |
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Buttercup ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() Thanks for your professional input, Doc. I've been swimming since I was 7, have done these drills as a matter of doing what the coach says for years and years, have never heard any stories about these drills being dangerous (not one single one), and I've certainly never heard about anyone dying! I will continue to use these drills but will refrain from recommending them to others on the BT board. |
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Extreme Veteran![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() AdventureBear - 2007-01-16 12:06 PM... There is a mantra in Emergency Medical Services: Air goes in and out, Blood goes round and round Pink is good and blue is bad. That's really all any EMT, Paramedic or Emergency Medicine physician needs to know. If it's good enough for these applications, it's good enough for the recreational swimmer. Air goes in and out. Don't forget it. Practice it daily. Frequently. You'll get really good at it. This reminds me of another EMS mantra (that really has nothing to do with this topic, but I've always liked it): ALL BLEEDING STOPS--EVENTUALLY. |
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Master ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() bshehan - 2007-01-16 11:27 AM AdventureBear - 2007-01-16 12:06 PM... There is a mantra in Emergency Medical Services: Air goes in and out, Blood goes round and round Pink is good and blue is bad. That's really all any EMT, Paramedic or Emergency Medicine physician needs to know. If it's good enough for these applications, it's good enough for the recreational swimmer. Air goes in and out. Don't forget it. Practice it daily. Frequently. You'll get really good at it. This reminds me of another EMS mantra (that really has nothing to do with this topic, but I've always liked it): ALL BLEEDING STOPS--EVENTUALLY. Huh. You know, that reminds me of an old newspaper mantra (that really has nothing to do with this topic) If it BLEEDS, it LEADS.... sorry, thread hijack. |
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Champion ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() Can you be a bad swimmer if your body weight vs strength is not very good? Idea is your body is bigger than you muscles can pull you through the water and that slows you down. Not that everything else is not going right just that you are too big too go that fast. |
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Regular ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() >>>Can you be a bad swimmer if your body weight vs strength is not very good? Idea is your body is bigger than you muscles can pull you through the water and that slows you down. Not that everything else is not going right just that you are too big too go that fast.<<< I would imagine there's some of that, but people with less lean mass and more fat tissue also float better, which is the biggest struggle that beginning swimmers have, which is to stay on the surface. So it can also be said that fatter swimmers have an advantage in swimming. ![]() |
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Extreme Veteran ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() One of the best swimmers I've seen in person is Bruce Genari from Brentwood, TN. He is super fast but is as smooth as can be. In pool sprints he breaths every 2 strokes and takes about 6 to 8 strokes to cover a 50 meter distance. I believe he is fast because he glides through the water with no effort. aka technique You say you've been swimming 2 years? Are you self taught or have you had a trainer or coach in the past? 2.5 years ago I couldn't swim 440 yards. With a lot of swim articles and practice I'm learning to be as smooth as I can be in the water. I have never been coached nor had a lesson and I've got my time down to 8 min 440 yds. Total Immmersion will help a lot. It teaches you to swim long and balanced. I personally breath every 4th stroke, always to the right. I feel very comfortable and it has become automatic. |
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Coach ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() chirunner134 - 2007-01-16 3:20 PM Can you be a bad swimmer if your body weight vs strength is not very good? Idea is your body is bigger than you muscles can pull you through the water and that slows you down. Not that everything else is not going right just that you are too big too go that fast. Actual body weight is not as important in the pool as compared to running or biking. It's more a matter of cross -sectional drag area that you are moving through the water. That's why form and balance in the water is so important. I don't know the phsyics of it, but I have seen a number of obese people at our pool who are great swimmers. Everytime I see one, i think "Yay for you!". YOu can also be strong and overweight. Lynne Cox, who does the endurance cold water swimming, is very heavy, and part of that is to provide insulation from the cold water that she has swum in her whole life. |
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