Ask Ande

[ande]

here's the Ask Ande thread

ask away

ande

just a note to let y'all know that I usually drive home between 4 and 5 Central time and
if anyone has a swimming question feel free to call me and ask
sometimes a spoken answer might work better than words on a screen
plus I talk much faster than I type
my cell is 512 217 2728
I invite you to ask away,

you might enjoy

my swim faster faster swimming tips
http://forums.usms.org/showthread.php?t=4229

or my swim blog
http://forums.usms.org/showthread.php?t=4298
click last to read my most recent work out

[jean sterling]

What does "ride the glide" mean in breaststroke? How do you ride your glide?

[Fishgrrl]

OK - I went to a swim clinic and got videotaped and I have, shall we say, LOTS to work on. I've been concentrating on my freestyle form especially because my events are all freestyle 200 and up.

How do I work on form and stay in condition?

What I do is this - in warm up and cool down, I do freestyle drills - such as "person paddle" drill; just breathing to my uncomfortable side, etc. On a quality set, I will try to stay very focused and just work on form, and then try to swim faster (to hold the pace of the set and keep the interval) while maintaining this "new found" form. For me it's usually two steps forward, one step back. I work on form, then try to swim fast, it falls apart, I slow down and try it again, blah, blah, blah.

Also - because there are very few long distance swimmers at the club I train at, I don't get to train for my specific races, i.e. the 1000 and 1650. The university pool is open for two hours M-F and for $2.00 I have the opportunity to train basically alone for these races. What do you suggest?

Also - I posted about weight training for long distance swimmers and my question was why the light weight and lots of reps vs. what I have been doing - 3-4 sets of 10-12 reps.?

Just this week I started doing lots of reps with lighter weight...

Thanks for taking the time to answer these questions Ande!

[ande]

riding the glide is what you do just after each breastroke kick

you're in streamline position,
gliding as far and as fast as you can
it's what you do during the pause before
you take your next stroke

drop by wayne's website and there's a little movie of a breastroker
http://www.breaststroke.info/

ande

Originally posted by jean sterling
What does "ride the glide" mean in breaststroke?
How do you ride your glide?

[ande]

hi kari,

i think you asked 3 questions

1) How do I work on form and stay in condition?
that's toughy,
to make a stroke change you have to concentrate on what you're doing, which isn't hard to do when you're doing drills. But when you're swimming long and hard. If your concentration shifts, you revert back to your habits because they are what are imprinted in your nervous system.

first of all I suggest only working on changes that will actually make you swim faster, versus making you look pretty.
Choose one or two things and focus on them.
It takes 21 days to change a habit.

2) Also - because there are very few long distance swimmers at the club I train at, I don't get to train for my specific races, i.e. the 1000 and 1650. The university pool is open for two hours M-F and for $2.00 I have the opportunity to train basically alone for these races. What do you suggest?
~~~> Train on your own, attempt to find a training partner or two to train with you maybe there are some good triathletes where you are. Plus talk with you coach, remind her about your events and ask her to cater to your needs as often as possible. Squeeky wheels get oiled.

Do pace work, but also speed, the 1,650 is only a 20 minute or less race.

3) Also - I posted about weight training for long distance swimmers and my question was why the light weight and lots of reps vs. what I have been doing 3 - 4 sets of 10-12 reps?
~~~> that sounds fine, keep your reps between 8 - 16
3 or 4 sets is good.

hope this helps

ande

Originally posted by Fishgrrl
OK - I went to a swim clinic and got videotaped and I have, shall we say, LOTS to work on. I've been concentrating on my freestyle form especially because my events are all freestyle 200 and up.

How do I work on form and stay in condition?

What I do is this - in warm up and cool down, I do freestyle drills - such as "person paddle" drill; just breathing to my uncomfortable side, etc. On a quality set, I will try to stay very focused and just work on form, and then try to swim faster (to hold the pace of the set and keep the interval) while maintaining this "new found" form. For me it's usually two steps forward, one step back. I work on form, then try to swim fast, it falls apart, I slow down and try it again, blah, blah, blah.

Also - because there are very few long distance swimmers at the club I train at, I don't get to train for my specific races, i.e. the 1000 and 1650. The university pool is open for two hours M-F and for $2.00 I have the opportunity to train basically alone for these races. What do you suggest?

Also - I posted about weight training for long distance swimmers and my question was why the light weight and lots of reps vs. what I have been doing - 3-4 sets of 10-12 reps.?

Just this week I started doing lots of reps with lighter weight...

Thanks for taking the time to answer these questions Ande!

[SwiminONandON]

Originally posted by ande

Do pace work, but also speed, the 1,650 is only a 20 minute or less race.

ande [/B]

LOL ... oops .. I knew I was going to slow!

[aquageek]

Should I begin my "twist" at any time during my flip turn or flip directly to my back, push off and then begin the twisting upon the push off and subsequent streamline? Does integrating the twisting into the turning slow you down or compromise speed? I know I shouldn't do all the twisting but is any part of it ok?

Also, should your feet be together or apart at the plant on the wall? I have two coaches that can't agree on this. What say you, Ande?

[ande]

on freestyle turns
flip to your back,
push off on your back.
slightly twist to your side / belly while you are streamlined

feet apart, shoulder width

ande

Originally posted by aquageek
Should I begin my "twist" at any time during my flip turn or flip directly to my back, push off and then begin the twisting upon the push off and subsequent streamline? Does integrating the twisting into the turning slow you down or compromise speed? I know I shouldn't do all the twisting but is any part of it ok?

Also, should your feet be together or apart at the plant on the wall? I have two coaches that can't agree on this. What say you, Ande?

[jean sterling]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by ande
[B]riding the glide is what you do just after each breastroke kick

you're in streamline position,
gliding as far and as fast as you can
it's what you do during the pause before
you take your next stroke

drop by wayne's website and there's a little movie of a breastroker
http://www.breaststroke.info/

Neat illustration. I bookmarked the website and plan to look at it in more detail Thanks.

I assume that the glide is relatively short for a 50 breast and quite a bit longer for the 200?

[ande]

I assume that the glide is relatively short for a 50 breast and quite a bit longer for the 200?

yes, you should glide more in the 200 to correctly split the race
but even in the 50, you should fully extend into streamline position after each kick, but there's not much of a pause before you begin your next stroke.

ande

Originally posted by jean sterling

Neat illustration. I bookmarked the website and plan to look at it in more detail Thanks.

I assume that the glide is relatively short for a 50 breast and quite a bit longer for the 200?

[tjrpatt]

What should be my average yardage per week since my events are the distance frees(mainly 500), the flys and the IMs. I do about 15,000 yards a week. Also, can you swim as just as fast if you are only able to get a long course pool once a week during the summer. I read articles that it is more about the hard work than what type of pool you train in.

[69gscal]

What is the secret behind good flutter kicks?
I can't seem to do them well at all.

I don't currently swim on a team (looking for one in AZ), but when I was I could easily out swim any of my team mates in freestyle. When it came time for our kick sets though, I'd be left in the dust if we weren't using fins. With fins there was no catching me.

What gives?

[ande]

when training for the 500
the more yardage you can do per practice the better

15000 a week is only
5 work outs of 3,000 or
4 work outs of almost 4,000

I believe most people could swim a better 500 from training
5,000 a day 5 times a week

Intensity is more important than yardage

The more long course you can train the better
some people don't do it at all
if once a week is all you can do so be it

hard work geared towards your focus event is the critical factor

ande

Originally posted by tjrpatt
What should be my average yardage per week since my events are the distance frees(mainly 500), the flys and the IMs. I do about 15,000 yards a week. Also, can you swim as just as fast if you are only able to get a long course pool once a week during the summer. I read articles that it is more about the hard work than what type of pool you train in.

[ande]

confession time, I used to be a terrible kicker,

then through effort I became one of the best kickers on the team.
In college I got to where I could flutter kick 100's with a board under 1:05

the ways you become a faster kicker are

1) STOP USING FINS

2) pay attention to your kicking times and
work to improve them on each kick set you do
you should know what your times are for a
25, 50, 75, 100, 150, and 200 kick

3) work to kick repeats on faster intervals
what interval can you hold
5 x 100's on? or
10 x 50?

4) watch fast kickers and copy what they do

5) stretch your ankles and improve your toe point

6) discover your easy speed kick gear

7) change your self talk, from I'm a terrible kicker to
I'm improving my kick, or I can flutter kick fast.

You can become a faster kicker
become obsessed with improving your kick

ande

Originally posted by 69gscal
What is the secret behind good flutter kicks?
I can't seem to do them well at all.

I don't currently swim on a team (looking for one in AZ), but when I was I could easily out swim any of my team mates in freestyle. When it came time for our kick sets though, I'd be left in the dust if we weren't using fins. With fins there was no catching me.

What gives?

[SwiminONandON]

Ok, my dream 200IM time is a 2:08. I figure I'm young and have a few years to get it. I am just wondering what splits I would/should aim for to get a 2:08 (this is SCY obviously).

Thanks!

[ande]

hello,

it depends upon your abilities in each stroke

What is your current 200 IM time?

How did you split it?

What is the ideal way for you to split a 200 IM?

What are you current times in 50's and 100's for
fly, back, breast and free?

28.25 33.25 37.25 30.24
add up to 2:08.99

if you make a particular split faster,
you can make another one slower.

like if you go 27.99 in the fly
you can go 33.49 in the back.

I say the key to swimming a fast IM is to
be relaxed and fast on the fly and back,
save your legs and swim a really fast breast and free.

If you split the 200 IM wrong and go out too hard on the fly and back you're going to be in agony on the breast and the free and not swim as fast.

good luck, hope you do it.

Ande

Originally posted by SwiminONandON
Ok, my dream 200IM time is a 2:08. I figure I'm young and have a few years to get it. I am just wondering what splits I would/should aim for to get a 2:08 (this is SCY obviously).

Thanks!

[scyfreestyler]

Plantar Flexion combined with kicking from the hips should make a good kicker out of most anybody. The more flipper like you can make your foot the faster you will go with the least amount of effort. The majority of slow kickers I see in the pool kick from the knees which only serves to aerate the water behind them.

[69gscal]

Originally posted by 330man
Plantar Flexion combined with kicking from the hips should make a good kicker out of most anybody.

What'd you call me? Plantar Flexion?
Can you explain a bit, I'm lost.

Anyone know of any good videos on the web that show proper flutter kick technique?

[scyfreestyler]

Oops! I guess I should not be posting answers since my name is not Ande. Might as well ask a question since I am here.

Body Roll. How much is enough? Should I be rotating 90 degrees each direction as TImmersion tends to teach? I currently have enough roll to prevent my elbows from moving beyond the plane of my back during recovery but I have often wondered if more rotation might give me more endurance while taking away some speed. Any thoughts?

[scyfreestyler]

Originally posted by 69gscal
What'd you call me? Plantar Flexion?
Can you explain a bit, I'm lost.

Anyone know of any good videos on the web that show proper flutter kick technique?

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cm...?articleid=166