Trouble with Swimming Fast?

[terry]

I received an email from a sometime Forum poster who described difficulty with sprinting. An excerpt: If I sprint, I start kicking intensively. It is like my body tells me that speed is in the legs, not in the arms or body. I can feel this is the wrong way of doing it, but I don't really know how to get rid of this action. I know I can swim well, but I don't when swimming fast.

Who has had similar experiences? A good topic for a thread?

[CoachEricDeSanto]

My similar experience is naturally trying to push harder to go faster or lengthen strokes. I have to work really hard to reach a goal, then hang out there looking for less and less effort.

[Grant]

[quote=terry;17316]I received an email from a sometime Forum poster who described difficulty with sprinting. An excerpt: If I sprint, I start kicking intensively. It is like my body tells me that speed is in the legs, not in the arms or body. I can feel this is the wrong way of doing it, but I don't really know how to get rid of this action. I know I can swim well, but I don't when swimming fast.

If I swim 50m by kicking fast and a fast turnover I can do it in :36. If I swim the 50m using 2bk and Tempo Trainer rate of .85 I can do the 50m in 42 sec. This has improved over the years from 48 sec. My goal is to eventually get time down to under 40 sec. and be able to do that for 100m. Having seen a video of myself there is lots of room/points for improvement. Wish I could download it for you all to watch but am having trouble achieving that.

I dont think I have ever seen a 2BK in a 50, 100 or even 200m elite races, but that is not the point. Some of you can achieve that speed (less than 40 sec for 50m) using the 2BK so I know that is possible so will continue to work towards that goal.

The kinesthetic feel of swimming with the 2BK is a seductive mistress. :o)

May we swim with ease at the speeds we choose.

[wentod]

Why shouldn't we mix 2BK and 6BK?
See Ziegler's marvellous graceful 2BK and how she switched to a fantastic 6BK in the last length of a race to beat Manaudou (another 2BK fan) in 2007: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=om48Q...feature=fvwrel

Take also a look to Park Taehwan with his elegant freestyle reminding many aspects of TI:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CA7zq...eature=related
In 2007 he beat Mellouli and Hackett in 400m freestyle race.
In 2010 he also competed sucessfully in 100 and 200m freestyle.
Who said TI is not convienient for fast swimming?

[CoachSuzanne]

Originally Posted by wentod

Why shouldn't we mix 2BK and 6BK?
See Ziegler's marvellous graceful 2BK and how she switched to a fantastic 6BK in the last length of a race to beat Manaudou (another 2BK fan) in 2007: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=om48Q...feature=fvwrel

Take also a look to Park Taehwan with his elegant freestyle reminding many aspects of TI:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CA7zq...eature=related
In 2007 he beat Mellouli and Hackett in 400m freestyle race.
In 2010 he also competed sucessfully in 100 and 200m freestyle.
Who said TI is not convienient for fast swimming?

Thanks for the great videos!

[camilo_bh]

Agree with wentod. In 2001, Hannah Stockbauer and Flavia Rigamonti gave us a beautiful example of 2BK in the finals of the 1500 m race. See Stockbauer using a 6BK after each turn:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCX-NhIaWwg