This week you will notice the video is a little bit different to what we normally do. The reason is I am going to show you a video that I have just posted in our online coaching program.
We are looking at increasing stroke rate; a lot of swimmers can struggle with because they are not quite sure how to get their stroke rate up and if they should be doing it. What we will do is look at a video that one of our swimmers sent in and asked how he can go about getting his stroke rate up. We will look at that video and show you how to get your stroke rate up by avoiding the gentle entry.
One of the things we quite often forget about when increasing our speed is our stroke rate. We always look at technique, drills, workouts and training but one of the things that is a low hanging fruit is stroke rate. If you can increase your stroke rate but travel the same distance per stroke then you will be swimming at a faster rate.
Your distance per stroke will be affected by increasing your stroke rate but we are looking for that sweet spot where your distance per stroke maintains a good distance per stroke while having a faster stroke rate. This isn’t for everyone it depends on the type of freestyle technique you swim with. If you feel that a faster stroke rate will benefit you then this might be of use to you.
One of the main reasons I see swimmers struggling to get their stroke rate up is the gentle entry. When they come in from their recovery they will stop or slow down just before they enter the water. What that means is they don’t get the drive forward and the momentum from the recovery; they lose it as they slow down or pause just before they come in. If you look at the 1500m freestyle at the Olympics for example you will see all of the swimmers in their recovery and will enter at the same speed with their hands as they have in their recovery. So they won’t slow down just before they lay into the water.
Another question that comes up is “What about bubbles on my hands when I pull through?” “If I enter to fast then I will have too many bubbles on my hand” If you enter at the right angle and you are entering in front of your shoulder and you extend forward in front of your shoulder rather than entering across your head and going across then you will find the bubbles will leave your hand as you extend forward.
That is one of the ways to get your stroke rate up by changing your technique slightly; make sure that you enter the water with a little bit of force rather than the gentle entry. Another thing that will help increase your stroke rate is to avoid gliding out the front for too long. You always want to be moving through with your freestyle, you want to enter, extend and always be going into that catch. If you are increasing your stroke rate you may have to go into your catch a little bit earlier so you are not wading out the front to get glide from your strokes.
When you have been through the Mastering Freestyle, your stoke has improved and you’re swimming better one of the things you need to make sure you do is still maintain your stroke rate and practice swimming at different stroke rates to see where your sweet spot is.
Transcript
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branching forward here with another effortless swimming dot com update where swimming fast is easy This week you’ll notice videos a little bit different to what we normally do and the reason is I’m going to show you a video That I’ve just posted into swim proof, which is our online coaching program And we’re looking at increasing stroke rate And I think it’s a thing that a lot of swimmers can struggle with because they’re not quite too sure how to get their stroke rate up and if they should be doing it and What we’re going to do is look at a video that one of our swimmers sent in and he asked how can I go about getting my stroke rate up? So we’re going to look at that video and we’re going to show you how to get your stroke rate up by avoiding the gentle entry So let’s get into it. One of the things we quite often forget about when increasing our speed is our stroke rate So we always look at technique drills workouts training
But one of the things that I guess is the low-hanging fruit is stroke rate So if you can increase your stroke rate, but travel the same distance per stroke Then you’ll be serene at a faster rate now your stroke your distance per stroke will be affected by increasing your stroke rate But we’re looking for that sweet spot where your distance per stroke Maintains you maintain a pretty good distance per stroke while having a faster stroke rate now This isn’t for everyone It depends on the type of freestyle technique that you’re swimming with But if you feel that a faster stroke rate will benefit you then this might be of use to you So one of the main reasons that I see swimmers struggling to get their stroke rate up is the gentle entry So when they come in from their recovery, they will stop or they’ll slow down just before they enter the water And what that means is that they don’t get the drive forward and the momentum from their recovery
So they lose it as they slow down or they pause just before they come in So if you look at the 1500 freestyle at the Olympics for example, you’ll see all of the swimmers in their recovery They’ll enter at the same Same speed with their hands as they’ve got in their recovery. So they won’t slow down just before they enter the water Questions that comes up is well, what about bubbles on my hands when I pull through if I enter too fast And I’ll have too many bubbles on my hand But if you enter at the right angle and you are entering in front of your shoulder and you extend forward in front of your shoulder Rather than entering across your head and going across Then you’ll find that the bubbles will leave your hand as you extend forward So that’s one of the ways to get your stroke rate up by changing your technique slowly Is to make sure that you’re entering the water with a little bit of force rather than the gentle entry
Another thing that will help increase your stroke rate is to avoid gliding at the front for too long So you always want to be moving through with your freestyle You want to enter extend and always be going into that catch and if you’re increasing your stroke rate Then you might need to go into your catch a little bit earlier So you’re not waiting out the front to get glide from your strokes So when you’ve been to the mastering freestyle and your strokes improved and you’re swimming better Then one of the things you’ve got to make sure to do is to still maintain your stroke rate and practice Serene at different stroke rates to see where your sweet spot is
in pool…Finis tempo trainer will assist with finding optimal stroke rate when used properly
Great info will study technique and follow through thankyou.
Question is it feasable a breast stroker could get a good time I have been doing this since sixteen and find it difficult to change due to lack of confidence with kick and stroke need warm water coaching or pool coaching ?
Many thanks. I must say I did beat both my brother @ Wellington some years ago and they were Crawle stroke swimmers they were not amuzed !!lol
Regards Colin Supper Vet Tri PTC
Is it possible to show an vertical look at the stroke pattern for the hand so that I can track the hand for the full cycle. This visual presentation of the pattern would greatly assist my understanding the pattern I’m trying to emulate.
Sincerely Gord
Sadly, it says I have to have a paypal account. I do, but I do not want to use it. Apparently it knows my credit card number. Fraudulent.
Stephanie
Hi Colin – I believe strength and flexibility are the two key factors you might need to improve your breaststroke.
In the recovery or pull through Gordon?
Hi Stephanie,
If you have set up a Paypal account before it will have your CC in the system already. Have you used paypal before?
Brent