Swim cadence!?!?
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Red5 posted 1 year ago.
If ytou do a search of this site or any swim specific training site, you will read a lot about stroke count. That is the cadence of swimming. In an effort to improve your stroke efficiency and mechanics, you try and lower the number of strokes you take per say 25 yard lap. The lower you can get, assuming you don't sacrafice speed, the better off you are for long duration swims like IM. I try and aim for 15-17 strokes per 25. If I really have to go fast for an interval, that goes out the window, but for cruising, that's a pretty good number to aim for.
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Bryan
Of course it's 'effing hard, it's IRONMAN!
319
Member
533 days
Ironmom posted 1 year ago.
As Bryan says, it's all about stroke count. In swimming, faster turnover does not mean a faster swim. Some of the highest turnovers can be on the slowest people because their stroke is inefficient. Some of the fast guys I swim with hit 12 - 13 strokes per 25 yards. I'm smaller and take 14 - 16. I think anything over 18 is probably showing some inefficiency somewhere. Most of the time when I coach people, I can get them into the 16-17 range pretty easily by changing some of their technique.
The single biggest thing people do to contribute to a high stroke count is cutting their glide short. You want to glide enough, but not too much that you lose your speed. A good indicator for this is "swim golf". You swim a 50 fast, and count your strokes. Your swim golf score is your 50 split in seconds + the number of strokes it takes you. So if you swim :40 + 15 strokes, your swim golf is 55. By lowering this number, you know that you're gaining efficiency without sacrificing speed.
Blue Skies,
-Robin-
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786 days
UFTriGator posted 1 year ago.
A big thing I notice in people who haven't been swimming for very long is where they cut their stroke short. The obvious one is not extending in the front, but many people still start their recovery early, not extending out the back. Some good drills I've done to make sure you're getting your stroke all the way out the back are to hit the side of your thighs with your thumb (the lower the better, as long as you don't mess up the rest of your stroke), and doing "wrist-flips". Just flip your wrist as it exits the water. You should actually feel a little extra boost from the extension with this drill, which is why I like this one better. If you do stroke-lengthening drills followed by stroke count drills like Ironmom said, you should be able to get a lot of improvement out of your cadence.
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-Matt
Not fast enough.
I hear all the time people talking about ideal cadence on the bike and on the run but have never heard of anyone ever mention it for swimming.
Is there an ideal cadence for arm turnover for the ironman swim or does the technique of your stroke impart a much greater effect than induvidual running and biking styles to make it impossible to have a "universally ideal" swim cadence?
I have watched a few of the underwater videos of some of the athletes and Thorpe comes out at about 12 strokes for every 10 seconds.....the sprinters are obviously quicker again but is that something to aim for....about 1 arm hit per second?
Tim