What is exciting is that we now have new technology that enables us to really study and understand some of the details that help make swimmers fast. The Pressure Meter is a good example.
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What is exciting is that we now have new technology that enables us to really study and understand some of the details that help make swimmers fast. The Pressure Meter is a good example.
Having a fast stroke rate in breaststroke does not necessarily equate to having speed. It is pretty easy to spin your wheels in breaststroke and waste a lot of energy without having much to show for that effort in terms of speed. Breaststroke is the most timing-sensitive of all four strokes.
Coupling motions are extremely important in swimming all four strokes and on the start to enhance power. Recently we invested in some technology at The Race Club that enables us to measure propulsion (pressure) on the hands during the pulling motion.
This technique enables the swimmer to shorten his or her diameter slightly by tucking the knees under the chest more than with the vertical turns of the past. The result is an incredibly quick turn-around.
A recap of the original 10 suggestions and an assessment of where we are today, some 22 years later, with new suggestions on how we might make swimming a bigger and better sport.
Of the ten points we teach at The Race Club for a better start, the kick up of the back leg is perhaps the most powerful and under-utilized technique out there. Depending on the age and size of the swimmer, the leg weighs anywhere from 20-40 pounds and can form a lot of kinetic energy with the right effort.
One of the most common mistakes in technique that we see in all strokes is in the pulling motion of backstroke. Part of the reason for this technical error is that to pull correctly, a swimmer needs to rotate the body significantly from one side to the other. That involves more work. To avoid that […]
What is important is that good technique be learned early in a swimmer’s career. Every coach should be teaching young swimmers basic fundamentals of good…
This week in Lanes 2, 3, and 4 on our subscription service you can witness in slow motion one of the most impressive starts you will ever see, that of Olympian Brad Tandy. It is a thing of beauty. Brad is an Olympic finalist in the 50-meter Olympic freestyle sprint from South Africa. While he […]
While technology is extremely important to the advancement and progress of swimming, we need to be very careful about how we use this new information. If the tests are not done properly, if the data is not collected accurately, or if it is misinterpreted or misunderstood, it will no longer be of any value. In […]
Kelsi Worrell has a very fast dolphin kick. After studying her Velocity Meter recently, I now understand why. While kicking on the stomach, poor dolphin kickers will have just one moment of significant acceleration during the dolphin kick cycle, which occurs at the beginning of the strong down kick. Most good dolphin kickers typically have […]
A fast swim by either male or female swimmers will nearly always result in a big smile. It should. A tremendous amount of work, thought, and time went into that swim. It is clearly a time to celebrate and enjoy the moment. But which came first, the good swim or the smile? At The Race […]