Tips for short swimmers? (5 foot 7)

I am quite a short male swimmer. I specialise in biathlons and need to improve on my 100m freestyle sprint time. I work hard but realized that I cannot really follow the conventional swimming techniques as it seems to be tailored towards your taller swimmers. Any advice?

Try Janet Evans undulating straight arm style:

https://youtu.be/K02I7GFwYuw

Get as much momentum as possible form a big straight arm recovery and a bit of body undulation
is called freestyle so you an do what you want.

Originally Posted by Mushroomfloat

Try Janet Evans undulating straight arm style:

https://youtu.be/K02I7GFwYuw

Wow, that is an odd way of swimming but hellava effective for her. I will give the straight arm recovery a try. Tks.

It worked for janet because she was incedidibly petite at the time,

Just be mindful not to pull the straight arm behind your back
search scapular plane on here

[CoachStuartMcDougal]

Originally Posted by hercusg@yahoo.com

I am quite a short male swimmer. I specialise in biathlons and need to improve on my 100m freestyle sprint time. I work hard but realized that I cannot really follow the conventional swimming techniques as it seems to be tailored towards your taller swimmers. Any advice?

Hi hercusg,

I'm all of 5' 8" and don't have a problem. Short or tall, the priority is balance and streamline whether you're a sprinter, mid or long distance swimmer. What/which conventional methods are causing you issues or are not working? Swimming like Janet Evans is great for Janet Evans, but not for the rest of us non Olympians.

Stu
mindbodyandswim.com

Originally Posted by CoachStuartMcDougal

Hi hercusg,

I'm all of 5' 8" and don't have a problem. Short or tall, the priority is balance and streamline whether you're a sprinter, mid or long distance swimmer. What/which conventional methods are causing you issues or are not working? Swimming like Janet Evans is great for Janet Evans, but not for the rest of us non Olympians.

Stu
mindbodyandswim.com

Full disclosure, I am new to swimming. I swam a little at school and then did nothing for 20 odd years. I started doing biathlons two years ago at the age of 39. My running is very strong and I managed a 1:09 over 100m sprint in the pool. I do think you get away with bad technique in the sprints when you are really fit (which I am).

I am 5 foot 7. I had a swim analysis done as I need to get closer to 1:05 to be competitive at national level.

The annalist told me that I need to build my swim stroke from scratch. (Yes it is that bad). He mentioned that since I am short, I have to swim with a higher stroke rate and avoid gliding to much as I will loose speed. He did mention that my balance is bad when I swim at "cruising" pace.

Do you think I am being unrealistic with my goal to drop by a further 4 seconds?

[Tom Pamperin]

A 4-second improvement in 100m is a pretty big jump. How much time do you have to achieve that goal?

You're pretty fast already at 1:09 for 100m--faster than my best of 1:14 (but then I'm a distance swimmer, and not all that fit or competitive). I would think proper focus on balance and technique will help you improve on that significantly--if you put in the necessary time.

But with TI training, speed is a byproduct of good technique--it's not a goal itself. I think that's important to accept if you are serious about getting better. Building up to good technique will involve breaking down fundamental elements of your stroke, which will probably feel like "one step forward, two steps back" for a while. Be patient. Good technique is the only way you'll improve, especially starting out as fit as you are.

Originally Posted by Tom Pamperin

A 4-second improvement in 100m is a pretty big jump. How much time do you have to achieve that goal?

You're pretty fast already at 1:09 for 100m--faster than my best of 1:14 (but then I'm a distance swimmer, and not all that fit or competitive). I would think proper focus on balance and technique will help you improve on that significantly--if you put in the necessary time.

But with TI training, speed is a byproduct of good technique--it's not a goal itself. I think that's important to accept if you are serious about getting better. Building up to good technique will involve breaking down fundamental elements of your stroke, which will probably feel like "one step forward, two steps back" for a while. Be patient. Good technique is the only way you'll improve, especially starting out as fit as you are.

I have until April 2019 when I will be competing at our National championships. Your comments about technique make sense. Even though I can do 1:09 in a 100m sprint, I can only manage 1:45 pace when swimming a 800m. This for me points to poor technique. Surely I should be able to get closer to 1:35 pace when swimming longer distances?

Have a look at this for a few ideas:

https://youtu.be/iOMF54wj2aA

by the way it was found all out sprinters were expiring at the 90m mark, so the trend shifted to straight arm whole body turnover for the last 10-15mtrs of the 100m sprint