You can, I have a SR button on my Finis stopwatch I use. For swim coaching i would time between flags, or 5m in to 5m out to aid that though. Its a bit more difficult on your own.
Ah right, I’m trying to figure out how to get up to the rates you were quoting at me in person, but Im miles off on an SPL basis.
Well that was for a single length so no fumble-turn.
But you’re using paddles innit.
So your SPL will be less.
And I’m guessing your SPM will also fall, as it’s much harder (at least it is for me!) to keep that rotation up with paddles.
Try some fists and your SPM goes through the roof
this is where you have to periodise, so after the last race of season, spend some time doing some DPS work, that can be in forms i said like focus of body position/stroke and just try to do less strokes each length at a low stroke rate. Also add sprinting and swim specific strength work into that phase (sprinting is good for strength as are paddles), which again can be done multi stroke, like the fly hard to half way easy free to end type stuff we did in OJ sessions. sprint work should be half a length max in that phase, longer rest and active recoveries work equally well. Always remember a good smattering of easy work also. January I would then start to build the stroke rate up using the 16 x 25 methods i use , up rate slowly but try to keep that low count per length. Come March or April then extend that to goal pace work over race distances so that 16x25 could become 16 x 50’s or 8 x100s 4 x 200’s (for a sprint distance athlete) goal pace should still try to hold decent strokes per length, but you may drop from say 16 to 18, but always under 20! That’s a very basic macro cycle for a year, I could use for someone in a similar position to you if you were still focusing on sprints next year. Obviously as we stretch between mesocycles it would adapt based on reflection of the previous period and the micro cycles would be more about content of sessions, ie 16x25 holding 20’s off 30 17SPl could become 18s off 30 or 20’s off 25 depending on the goal of the entire macrocycle.
obviously sessions arent just 16x25, that may be part of a build into a main set of endurance work or sprint work, so typical session, as you may remember would be WU 800SKiPS , build 16x25 off 30 holding 17SPL 20seconds (DPS focus) , then main could be A1/A2 level (40BBM zone 1 and 2) endurance work or VO2 work (5-15BBM zone 4) or Speed (zone 5 max effort) of mixed strokes also. I personally like to mix each session up to keep it fun and interesting, little bit of speed , some easier stuff via WU and active recoveries even.
Was more the other way.
My SPM is around 60 at the minute for my 100s
I can’t imagine turning my arms over once per second.
I’m going to try tomorrow and see what happens.
‘Cos I’m fully recovered from my swim/bike/walk now
First of all, I’m lovin’ all the civilised swimming debates on this thread.
Especially, when compared to the regular flame wars that erupted on TT1.0.
I am far from decent swimming shape at the moment, but some things do ring a bell.
I’ll write a longer post in the morning, but I’ll start with this one…
Back in 2007/8/9, I swam with my club’s main squad at Silly O’Clock morning sessions.
They were all 18, or under, making me the oldest person in the pool by over 20 years.
We once did a test of swimming away from the wall, while attached to a thick bungie cord.
Applying all my brute force & ignorance, I got the furthest from the wall by a long way.
This didn’t change the fact I was still slowest swimmer there by an even longer way.
Moral of the story:
Don’t worry about extra swimming strength until you have good swimming technique.
Cheers, Paul.
Ryan Lochtes coach, Gregg Troy once said " we go to the gym only when we have nowhere else to go in the pool" Don’t get me wrong he does a lot of S&C now and even has a specialist coach but he did next to nothing upto around 2008 ish and was smashing NCAA records!
@joex – Nice link.
But how much of that weight could he ‘throw around’ as a teenager?
When his technique was already good enough to win medals.
Channeled my inner Ledeckie this morning (speed and endurance)
Still knackered from Sunday, back and shoulders wrecked from 5hrs in the TT position, chest is still tight, but I was up, so I went swimming.
Focus was solely on a massive warm up, arm turnover, with some “quick” 25, 50, 100m, then a cool down.
25s ended up being a “warm” up and just getting used to the pace (1:19/100m)
Stuck at 16SPL / 48SPM for those
But that includes a push off, so probably don’t count.
50s were decent (for me) being 39, 38, 37, 36 Seconds
Up to 18SPL for these (54SPM), so I’m in the realms of what is possible.
100 was 1:19, managed to eke out 19SPL for 57SPM
So…whilst I managed to get the stroke rate up, I can do the same time for 48SPM
And surely turning your arms over less for the same time is better?
Or…could be fatigue / lack of strength from Sunday and if I go back and retry this I’m a few weeks, I’ll be at 1:15/100???
From not believing I could get to 60SPM yesterday, I’m probably already there, just need to apply it.
Yes, but turning your arms over faster and developing the technique to go quicker is better still.
Actually I thought it showed how little weight he throws around. Squatting 110 or 150 strikes me as at the lower end, given what’s possible.
Peaty is a power and cadence swimmer now also. The weight room is his marginal gains
@joex & @Hammerer - Sorry, that was meant to be my point.
The slim build teenagers were scary fast without huge muscles.
I’m not sure trying to jump straight to 60SPM from 48 or 53 is the way forward though? I think H has mentioned multiple times on this thread that you slowly increase SPM to get to 60+
Yeah, I get that.
I just couldn’t see how 60SPM was possible for me yesterday, but having nearly done it, I can see it’s achievable
Just gotta keep upping it now, I know where I’m “losing” a stroke or two, it’s a dead spot on my right arm extension, just before the pull phase.
Right arm also “snakes” a little bit.
Stopping the snaking hurts my shoulder, so there’s something not right there, too.
Just waiting for the TT to finish, then watching the swimming highlights
I’ll just copy Ledeckie
18/19SPL is still a decent return , I know i use 17SPL bench mark but that’s based on watching performance swimmers. Anything under 20 should be acceptable for most . I did coach a junior triathlete who would swim 4:55 for 400 with about 24SPL but after work got that down to 21 and he hit a 4:45 with limited other improvements (was at about 72SPM iirc). Worked on his turns and he hit an 800 in a super series trial in 9:37