Swim Smooth: What Is An Efficient Freestyle Stroke? Part 2

[upndown68]

@richardlanejordan While Janet was incredibly fit, so was every other gal in the pool.  This isn't a he said she said argument, it's been proven repeatedly with science. I don't care how you slice it Richard, efficiency or lack of is the biggest limiter in the water. The the USOTC in Colorado Springs didn't pay to have hydrodynamic studies of water velocity done on and around swimmers bodies so they could tell them to swim an extra 5K every day to get faster.

[richardlanejordan]

@upndown68 My argument shows there are 2 different factors that comprise speed: (1) technical efficiency and (2) fitness. My main problem with the video was it did not properly address the fitness factor. Holding Janet Evans up as a model of efficiency to further an argument for short strokes is not convincing because it is not fair to assume she was like "every other gal in the pool" in terms of fitness. I argue she trained harder, swam longer, and was mentally stronger so won.

[maribk]

Wow! 

[RonixCorp]

i agree that Efficiency and speed are different things. in a race the fastest wins. you don't get any medals for being efficient. if i swim 50 meters as fast as i can i will do a good time but i may be dead tired when i'm done. is that efficient? obviously not because if it were efficient i would be able to swim another 2 km, but i'm not. so probably efficiency is a measure of how 1) fast you swam and 2) how tired you are when you finished the swim. and you can't confuse the first with both.

[richardlanejordan]

@RonixCorp You have the references to @swimsmooth and me opposite.

[richardlanejordan]

A question: Was Phelps dominant in Bejing because of his technical efficiency or his incredible fitness and natural physical gifts? I.e. was he more likely the most efficient swimmer in the world or fittest?

[richardlanejordan]

@swimsmooth I agree there is a threshold that your technique must meet, and Janet clearly passes that. I strongly disagree with your insinuation that just because a swimmer like Janet is fast she is a model of efficiency. If I train 10k meters a day and you 8k while your stroke is perfect and mine some efficiency threshold, I will out race you. The swimmer who wins the race is usually not the most efficent but the most fit.

[poolrattie]

This is the best series for clear instructions and demonstrations of styles. What I really like is Paul saying that you do not have to be a certain style, you have to find the style that you are comfortable with and work on some of the components just as I am doing. Thanks so much for being easy to understand and giving some of us hope to do better.

[captdavidwebb]

this is like the opposite way of Terry Lauglin Total immersion, how come when gliding its not gonna be efficient.? what a bollocks. Sorry i think im gonna stick to Total Immersion way, my ultimate goal is become like Shinji Takeuchi 9 strokes in 25 metre.

[hazey55]

@captdavidwebb There should be an element of glide but not too much. It's a fine line. Start the catch when your lead arm is at full extention. When you overglide, you are decelerating due to the denseness of water. This means you need to accelerate back up to speed with every stroke. Repeatedly slowing down then speeding up is simply inefficient. Try going out for a run and keep speeding up and slowing down every couple of seconds. Or go for a run and take exageratedly long steps.

[denoruega]

Thank you!

Great coverage on a controversial subject!

[MrTeaB]

wow- thanks, back to what I used to love- it was the glide that I thought gave me more speed- it's likely just the increased fitness now I have started training after years off.

[TheLeilisa]

which swimming styles if done regularly will make you grow taller?

[pinwbafous]

awesome video!!!swimsmooth rocks

[freekie27]

swimming is hard :D

[bylejakie]

I' m curious. How many strokes does Jono van Hazel take for each 25 meter?

[stevebpt]

I am delighted to see this, and has confirmed what I always thought about stroke rate. Since I have been trying to reduce it, I have not been able to maintain or improve on my swim performances. I can now relax, go with what feels natural and belief in what I am doing is ok, and concentrate on the right things that will make me faster! Excellent video, great work swimsmooth.

[BongoTheElf]

Some v.interesting points. Having spent 4 years reducing my SR from 28 to 16 strokes per 25m length - I now find I can't swim anywhere near as fast as before!! I do have a nice elegant stroke though - and for the 50+ age group perhaps thats more important than speed.

[stumurr]

Superb, nothing close to this online