Quote:
Originally Posted by sclim
I've been following this back and forth with some interest. Obviously I have learned a lot from Stuart, not the least being (last week) that my long-standing catch problem was really a lack of adequate core rotation, and the catch fixed itself once I fixed the core rotation deficit.
But desc has some good points; I wonder all the time how much they apply to me, and should I be doing more anaerobic sets, or more rapid cadence practice and ignore my already high SPL and just allow it to get even higher. I am an adult onset swimmer who, despite all my efforts and regular practice am amazingly slow considering the time and concentration I have put in. I know I have a high cardio-reparatory capacity for my age, and I know I have good upper body strength, and sometimes it seems like a mystery why it's taking so long. But I have utter respect for the very specific skills and particular strengths that swimming demands, and I have to allow some time for them to be developed -- fortunately I think it's finally starting to come to me.
I have resisted the knee jerk idea of "just pull harder" that seemed so attractive 2 years ago. In retrospect that was a good idea resolutely not to imprint struggle, because I think the improvements of the last few weeks would not have been possible had I not carefully avoided continuing whenever I was slipping out of whatever good technique level I had come to be capable of. As a result, now I'm increasingly able to hold on to reasonable form despite some fatigue stress from longer distance repeats. Consequently, I think I can start to go a little more in the direction that desc suggests in terms of intensity, but only because and as long as my technique holds up reasonably.
As Stuart has alluded to, being able to train fast is as important as being able to train less fast but with insight as to how long your pace will let you go for. Also some insight as to being able to independently parse your stroke rate and stroke distance can be very valuable. Keep in mind that both of you recognise that the end goal is the same -- to end up with the capability to complete the given event in the shortest amount of time. For myself, although I'm training for an event where I will do 1.9k or 3.8k in the water and the race is only 1/8th over, I do see the merit in sometimes training (swimming) at faster paces than I will be racing at, strictly to put on strength (the rationale being that having developed the strength to do the prescribed distance at quite a fast pace, I can back off a little in a tri race, and finish the swim leg in a faster time than I would have been able to had I not practiced intense swim sets, but still with lots of gas left in the tank for the rest of the race.).
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Hi sclim. I think Stuart and I are on the same page a lot more than I thought we were. Probably still off a bit on things like bilateral, kick pattern, 'symmetry' etc. One thing I totally agree on 'pulling harder' is a waste. Anchor that arm, lock on to the water and leverage your body over that point. Arm yankers always tire out and it's crazy inefficient. Don't ever lose that anchor and leap over that point. If your arms are tired chances are great you are not on the right track. If your core is tired you are probably on the right path.
As fas as great cardiovascular potential. I can't say what's best for you that is a personal choice. It's not a fun thing for a lot of people to have their lungs searing, but I'm just into that kind of thing the buzz I get is almost as good as a Heineken and pizza after Monday night swim practice. Almost;) I would never suggest substituting slipping on the water to add stroke rate if it's very much. Most of us in the non super hero realm will lose a little stroke length as the rate comes up. For some they abort and slow right down until their SPL is at that magic number. This is where testing your currrent fitness at different stroke rates is invaluable. Your magic number might be 60, 65, maybe 75. Here's the catch on increasing SR though. If you are stuck in bilateral it may feel awful b/c you are not getting enough exchange so don't be afraid to add in some unilateral. Breathing more often slows you down if you have a mechanics problem, but if it's in line and timed right all it should do is give your lungs more ability to produce ATP. I literally cannot count how many times I've see people have huge eureka moments when they try adding more air an instant boost in workload and speed. When they tried to add SR on bilateral they'd gas out b/f they got started. Don't be afraid to try it. In general the shorter the person the faster that number happens to be and of course it's distance dependent in most cases. There is a super fast woman on our team barely over 5' tall who races at over 90 up to 5k's. Little arms. She warms up at a pace way faster than my race pace for a 200! Is it wrong for her? The podium and her medal/trophy collection says no. She is so darn fast when I try to get on her toes on my rare OW swims it's a real chore to stay there she is a bullet! All I can suggest is you do some testing that's how I found my number. It was feel based and verifying against the clock. Am I faster and can I sustain it? The rest will figure itself out.
Swimming as you know can be analysis paralysis and it can also be very simple. The general rule of thumb on our teams seems to be once glaring body position and recovery issues are worked on get people swimming asap so they can get over that initial fitness hump for a month or so it can be longer too b/c you don't want to ramp up yardage too quickly you need time to recover. I personally feel learning how to get comfortable being uncomfortable(thanks Bob Bowman great phrase)is a fantastic and valuable tool. Its' a given if you come to Masters you are willing to work hard no one shows up ready to get wet at 530 unless they are looking for serious swimming results typically. So the sooner that is addressed the sooner the icing on the cake can be addressed: catch and pull. You can yank as hard as you want, but if the body is a water parachute you ain't goin nowhere! Get that sorted out and the world is your oyster: focus on streamline and maintaining stroke length at all costs? Or maybe your fitness abilities are so good you can find a way to go even faster if you train to that new stroke rate even though you lose a little length? Test it in a controlled environment we call it 'the speed bump test'. Bump up fractionally the SR and have someone taking splits and stroke rate counts for at least a 50 and long course is best IMO. Notice perceived effort and you will figure it out. Have fun!
06-03-2016
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