Ahh... swim training again!
New boy and girl in town:
WARM WARM WELCOME TO Bryan (a.k.a Phelps) AND Brenda!!! They're brother and sisters, just like weihan and ziting (wondergirl). Very fast young swimmers on the loose~~~ :P
Also, CONGRATULATIONS TO LAWRENCE WHO PASSED THE TIME TRIAL!!!Impressive deed!:)
Worth Mentioning:
Brave person of the night: Bryan, for coming with the TORN HUGE BLISTER ON THE PALM. Admirable, but still, please get the Sodium Chloride and keep it clean every day and night. Infection will make it damn hard to heal. Take care yeap.
Okay... so the night's swim was as follow:
200m warmup (100m only for Wilson)
6 x 50m Pair up(stroke for stroke) swim. (Modified racing, forcing each other to go for same amount of stroke and at same speed)
5 x 50m Drafting, race pace (30sec rest between each)
100m FS Easy drafting
3 x 50m sculling with kicking on the side
3 positions of sculling, 25m for each arm each time.
1- Catch phase, arm extended wrist on top and fingers down
2- End of Pull phase, elbow bent and high, follow straight down by wrist then fingers.
3- End of Push phase, arm extended with hand beside hip.
----------->At all time of sculling, observing palm to be facing back(opposite direction of where you're moving)<-----------
400m Stroke Time Trial Apparently everyone is too tired to remember all 8laps in specific number of strokes, I've jotted down the lowest and highest count for each of them.
Sam
Highest: 43
Lowest: 43
Lawrence
Highest: 52
Lowest: 46
Wilson
Highest: 70++++
Lowest: 54
Marianne
Highest: 55
Lowest: 52
Bryan
Highest: (n.a, blood blister on hand.. altered technique)
Lowest: (n.a, blood blister on hand.. altered technique)
Weihan
Highest: 45
Lowest: 40
Brenda
Highest: 59
Lowest: 48
Ziting
Highest: 56
Lowest: 48
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On we go to swim reviews.. but before I start blabbering on everyone there, here is something I wanna tackle as I'm sure it is a question that many of you swimmers out there hope to have answers for.
Question of the night: "Why is it that I am swimming as hard as everyone else and I'm doing more strokes than them, BUT I'M STILL SLOWER?"
From my experience in training && reading && listening && researching && more training (talking to Lawrence made me miss my programmming codes.. && = AND in Java IDE..:P)...
I notice that the following components make up a fast swim.
- Holding a streamlined position
- Effective technique and Power to propel yourself (Water feel for catchind and holding water, plus amount of strength and speed to push water back)
- Ability to hold streamlined position when you're gliding AND when you're doing movements to propel yourself
So if you look at the equation, the simple answer to the question is that you may be lacking power (or don't know how to use them due to bad technique), OR simply the core muscles/stabilizer muscles to be holding your body in a specific position needed to slice through the water cleanly without creating any form of drag, OR you lack BOTH.
To make the choice even simpler....
If you're a rock climber since young, probably you'd be full of power versus your weight, but if you're not, its probably pretty down...
If you've been introduced efficient swimming since young (i.e in a swim club trained by a REAL GOOD COACH who knows his stuffs), you'd be gliding like a fish by now whether you have power or not... but if its no to that again, then technique wise is probably suffering alot.
So, all of you in my training, you know what you're training for already yah... look again in those words in RED FONT. Those are the key to make you a fast swimmer.
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Reviews:
Generally:
Judging from the stroke counts of the last 400m. The ones whose technique (regardless whether its good or bad) and form is mature and pretty consistent are Sam, Marianne and Weihan. The difference in the number of strokes in 8 laps (only) despite the cumulated fatigue should be very little because it is a very short distance with no time limit but just a slow swim. Lawrence could almost fall into the category but I did not put him in the consistent label because he is consciously changing his strokes DRASTICALLY NOW and thus it is not possible for him to maintain a "same" stroke throughout any swim.
It is natural for technique to falter and stroke rate to increase in long(er) swims but we should as much as possible keep the stroke rate to be consistent as fatigue increases in any steady state swims (no change in speed). Reason for that is simple. Imagine a scenario where 2 equal strength and fitness athletes (A and B) compete in a swim and run event. Both have equal energy level and everything else but as athlete B starts to get tired in the swim, he neglects his stroke rate and let it rise by 20% per 100m. Over 1.5km swim, his stroke rate would have increased by a whopping 120% per 100m if he starts to get tired at the 800th meter mark. You do your own math to count how many extra pull and kicks he has to do more than athlete A and then who is going to exit the water feeling fresher for the run.
By looking at our per lap stroke count for a specific number of laps, we'll be able to see how much fatigue is affecting our strokes and just how much mental control we're putting into our strokes even when our body are dealing with the lactate and pain.
Individually:
Lawrence:
- Big improvements for the pull (not crossing the central axis that much anymore)
- Timing of pull is off. You start your pull BEFORE recovery arm comes back and pass your forehead. You should wait until your arm recovers pass your forehead before starting the next pull
- Left arm recovery is too close to the surface due to a lack of rotation from right to left AFTER breathing. Left arm will feel strong and efficient because you feel like you can catch more water BUT its really because its creating a lot of drag and the contrast between being able to see the floor move after you breathe, your left arm pull will SEEM to be significantly more powerful than your right arm pull (which you can't see the floor moving after executing the right arm pull because you're breathing)... It really is a misconception. I used to have that too.
Bryan:
- Because of the pain in the palm's open wound, you're NOT able to press the hand down deep enough and thus your hips were SINKING ALL THE TIME!
- I'm impressed by your ability to keep your frustration in kempt as I'd have flared up at myself if I were you.
- Your strokes are still good overall because I've seen you swim all the time and I ain't gonna pass any judgement from this altered stroke of yours that looks like crap tonight. God bless your hand!
Weihan:
- Almost perfect swim, Right entry is too hard, creating a dead spot in an otherwise silky smooth stroke.
- Same problem as ZT too when you're starting your pull... Need to bend the elbow more when you're catching water.
- Pulling with arm only, don't know how to use back muscle. Ask me the next time you swim with me again. I will show you!
- When doing fast swim, the kick still comes out of water TOO MUCH! (Ankle onwards)... keep them down in the water to create propulsion..
Ziting:
- Lack of bend of elbow during start of the pull. Already told you since beginning and even did the sculling drill but you still didn't change during the 400m swim.
- Glad you got someone with same ability as you to train with.. She's next I'm gonna talk abt........
Brenda:
- WAY TOO MUCH KICK... end up always die off in the last few laps even though you could keep up with Ziting! The kick REALLY just burns you up! You have to trust your arms can do a better job as long as they can scull and catch water!
- Save the kick for sprints or when you're attempting to drop people off.. slow/steady state swims should have much lesser kicks than you're doing right now.
- If I were you, I'd really be doing just at most 3kicks / 1pull
- Kicks were NOT COORDINATED/SYNCHRONIZED with your pull! Thats the worst part. You CANNOT just let your leg do ALL THE KICK and then your arm just try to pull some water back and then think they're gonna GEL UP together and work wonderously to push you quickly through the water!!! Lesser, well coordinated kicks + pull will make you a much faster swimmer than now. We'll discuss about that in our lessons k.
Sam:
- Big big improvement in terms of stroke consistency.
- However the extended arm in front still have the tendency to float back up AFTER entry.
- As if floating back up is not bad enough, you have to face your palm to the FRONT! That is a stopping-yourself kind of sculling motion! Damn Wasted can........
- Legs are kicking too wide and too much knee bend still. You need to imagine that you're swimming through a small tunnel!
- Breathing has improved in terms of keeping head half submerged but when out of breathe, need to control more... sometimes still come up very high.
Marianne:
- Left arm snakes towards the center and then out again after entry. Should be going straight in at shoulder width and pierce straight through, don't snake in and out.
- Both arms are not pulling all the way back. Every Freestyle pull should end at the fully extended arm, last sculling position. You end your pull at about 10cm away from the last sculling position, can extend somemore. Do your math, 50pull x 10cm more propulsion, how many strokes lesser? (No prize for getting that right..:P)
- Not used to/lack of gliding. You always bring your arm back from the side to recover and start the next pull without even making use of the propulsion you made fully! Try to slow down the pull turnover rate. Leave your arm by your side after you finish your pull (fully extended) and glide til before you feel your body starts slowing down, and then bring the arm back and start the next pull... repeat the waiting and relaxing process. Don't forget to bubble and keep exchanging air!
*Gliding = moving through the water, without moving ANY PART OF YOUR BODY. A.K.A Free distance.
Wilson:
- When fresh, you can keep up with lawrence's steady swim speed AND stroke count at the stroke-for-stroke swim at the beginning! Really cool as that is how it should feel like or better all the time when you're actually swimming laps! Remember that feeling!
- When tired, you see that your technique falters the worst, 70+++ strokes? simply means hips are dropping, and when I attempted to draft you, I saw your legs are like 50cm in the 1.2m deep water? Imagine the drag. You're Literally dragging your legs along.
- What I see is this problem.. because our body types are quite similar and before I become a fitness instructor/strength trainer, I didn't know about core training too... and I noticed that when I swam longer, fatigue kicks in and even with my arms deep down and pressing on my chest, my hips drop from that (when i'm fresh, first few laps...) fully erected lower back, and hamstring and glutes position. I find that even 3cm of hip drops from the surface makes swimming just THAT much more difficult.
- To remedy, you tried to kick more frequently but the kick came from your knees and not your hips! As such, it created more drag and is not helping at all... I could see all those because I was drafting you for about 20m.
- Do more superman holds of 10 reps of 10seconds on each side.
- When you go holiday and have a chance to swim, Do more kicking on your side and pay ATTENTION to keeping the hips up with minimal kicking. Activate your obliques (side abs) to pull it up.. Keep your arms extended, and when you're extending your arm, THINK and VISUALIZE the arm stretching your chest, abs, then hips and then your legs to a SUPER SRAIGHT position that is LEVEL horizontally in the water.
- Remember: Technique works = more rest, more relaxed swim with ALOT of focus on doing things effortlessly IN THE RIGHT WAY. When its time to swim hard, swim hard, when no one is there to tell you whether you're holding your strokes fortress, then you'd be better off doing things slower and making sure they're correct.
*DEFINITION OF CORE MUSCLES: They're the ones that keep you standing upright and tall, keep your body in a streamline position literally from fingertip to toes.
For those of you who still thinks its the abs only, NOW THINK AGAIN.. YOUR ABS ARE BUT JUST A SMALL piece of muscle with some tendons to separate them into 6/8 PACKS.
The major CORE muscles are below:
Transverse Abdominis, Abs, lower back, Glutes (buttock), Hamstring (back of thigh), and your calves(upper calves) and soleus(lower calves).
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Finally, people, you know you can find me if you need help on your strokes. I am just one comment (on this blog), or one email away from you! Can call me or text me at 81800621 too. My MSN is rukawa_koh@hotmail.com if you wanna add me up feel free too. I'm all out to share in this tri swim thingy.
Enjoy!
KK
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