Swimming and Stroke Cadence
4 or so years ago, a coach I encountered in a group swim analysis offered some advice to help me w/my stroke, primarily to help me swim straigter in open water. He showed me the video, which told that I stroked faster w/one arm than the other, thus always putting me off-course. He suggested swimming w/a metronome in my cap, to even out my stroke. That worked really well, and I do swim straighter now. An additional benefit is that I sometimes use the metronome in races, too, and there it also helps me to pace myself normally, w/o falling victim to starting line adrenaline. That coach all those years ago told me to start w/the metronome set on 1.1 seconds per stroke. I have sometimes experimented with "faster" beeps, especially in race situations. In last week's swim workouts, I spent an entire session golfing, while setting the the metronome to various speeds between .95 and 1.2 seconds. I'll be damned - my best golf scores are, in fact, when it's set @ the original speed, of 1.1 seconds. As a result, I think this is the best "speed" for my stroke for half and ironman distances, where sheer speed is less important than efficiency. However, I'm doubting myself for 2 reasons. 1, when I'm in a group swim, a cadence of 1.1 seconds per stroke, and the raw speed that goes with that, seem awfully slow, relative to the other athletes in the pool. 2, my entire logic is based solely on my own common sense. What do you think?
Comments
(2) I think that golf scores are nice, but ultimately, the objective is to swim as fast as you can with the least effort. I wouldn't get too attached to the ideal golf score stroke rate if you can go significantly faster by taking a few more strokes, unless that extra speed came with a much higher RPE. And efficiency in the water doesn't necessarily mean having a long, slow stroke. I find that there is a sweet spot stroke rate where my RPE is low and my speed is (relatively) high. It sounds like you have found it.
well it seems counterintuitive...but if you listen to any TI (total immersion swimming) clinic they will tell you exactly what you have learned...and to swim fast is not about faster stroke count its more about lenghteining the stroke at the same cadence....
They also suggest a metronome and starting at 1.1...not that it is a magic number but typical for an average sized person a good point to start..........
There is no doubt it works...
Go to youtube and search total immersion...swimming faster video...it is a series of about 8 short (2-3min. clips) which explains exactly what you have learned.
I'm still learning...but improving.
There was another thread started by Dave Tallo looking to drop his IM swim from 1:06 to 1:00 and there was some discussion on stroke rate. I listened to some videos by "Tower 26" and one of the things they mentioned was that stroke rate was very important and that, in general, triathletes had rates that were far too low. His thoughts were that typical rates were somewhere around 60 (or 1.0 on the metronome) and should be much closer to 80 or higher (1.3+) I tried the higher rate using a metronome and almost killed myself. Just way to fast for me. Maybe practice makes perfect, but I'm much closer to 60.
I had someone look at my stroke and their comments were that I should have a faster stroke from the bottom back to the top, but then more of a pause when the arm is fully extended so I can glide more and get closer to a more front quadrant type of stroke. I tend to be short and choppy.
I have a lot of work to do still, but I am getting better.
I've been using a snorkel and ankel bands since watching those Tower 26 videos and I dont bother counting but I can tell you my stroke rate is higher and I feel stronger. Have you tried those yet?
[more of a pause when the arm is fully extended so I can glide]
I really dont pretend that I know how to swim but that statement IMO is like telling me to "pause" my cadence and glide on my bike....it just makes no sense...I understand fully extended arm etc but pausing and gliding means not propelling yourself forward.....I like the information in those Tower 26 videos they make sense.
@ Tim, - I find swimming to be one of the more frustrating things in life - I may never improve that much! I listened to all the Tower 26 videos and took pretty good notes. I tried switching from bilateral breathing to breathing every second stroke - as I normally do in a race - but found my speed dropped significantly. I think that when I breathe I tend to drop the opposite arm for balance, then drop the elbow, resulting in almost no power from that arm every second stroke. I seem to feel smoother and faster with every third stroke. As noted above, I tried to dramatically increase my cadence. Very tiring. I might try 65, then 70 then 75 etc. I mentioned ankle bands in another post and Rich stated that he wan't that impressed with them, so I held off on the bands / snorkel thing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiNkAMU8syI
Like you, SwimSmooth says get rid of the dead spots in your stroke by picking up cadence.
90 rpm swimmer