When analyzing elite swimmers swimming a certain style stroke (and kick) at world-record pace, that may not be the best role model for a stroke aiming for a slower pace. In a blog essay I argued once that we might consider learning to swim slow like Phelps before we try to swim fast like Phelps (or name your favorite swimmer). The forces of water opposing a swimmer at 48 second pace are far greater than at 60 second pace, or 80, etc. The water pressure in front increases, the body is lifted to a higher plane in the water and other changes affect the effectiveness of the stroke. Therefore the stroke choreography and power application need to be adjusted accordingly.

6-beat kick is very powerful, when complementing a well-designed stroke, rather than covering up its weaknesses, or worse, working against it.

PS- listen carefully to the comments made by the commentators on that video clip of Sun Yang. They are acknowledging how ‘slow’ and relaxed he looks while clearly crushing the competitors- how misleading his appearance is. It is the classic misconception of TI- a beautiful but slow stroke! They might think that until they actually try to swim along side a well-developed TI swimmer.

There are two ways to work on the solution for speed in water-

1. increase power to overcome water resistance, and/or
   
2. decrease water resistance.
   

It is my conviction that as a smart swimmer I should will do everything possible to develop skills that reduce resistance throughout the whole stroke cycle, then work on applying just the right amount of power just where it is needed- in that order of priority. Undermine the enemy’s strength before trying to overpower it (didn’t Sun Tzu say something like that?).

As the Stroke Rate (SR) increases so does the challenge on the swimmer to hold superior form with precise synchronization of movement and on her ability to consistently apply just the right amount of force at each moment in the stroke cycle. I see it far more as a set of complex neuro-muscular skills that are needed to solve the speed problem than an exercise of shear muscle power.

In the TI mindset let’s assume we are preserving a superior body line- head down, spine long and stable, core rotation, etc.

• Speed is simply a result of a certain SL x SR combination.

For example: if I want to swim 15 seconds for 25m (60 second 100m pace), I must achieve one of the following SL x SR combinations (assuming at 5m push-off in 2.25 seconds): 15sec/25m = 16spl x 0.80tempo, or 17spl x 0.75tempo, 18spl x 0.71tempo, or 20spl x 0.64tempo.

In order to hold pace, if Stroke Length (SL) decreases, then SR has to increase to compensate.

• High SR is ‘easy’ to develop because high stroke rate doesn’t require the stroke to be effective in order to spin fast.
• Long SL is harder to develop because it requires the stroke to be effective.
• Holding a long SL as SR increases is the crux of the sprint speed problem.

I argue that it is not shear muscle, but power applied with precision that makes the fastest swimmer- the whole body contributes to this effectiveness. High turn-over stroke is meaningless for producing speed without a sufficiently long stroke to go with it. As SR increases SL will be compelled to decrease because of the greater water resistance working against it. Therefore, the strategy I advocate for says a swimmer should develop an appropriately long stroke first, then allow a calculated trade off between shortening the stroke in certain ways in order to enable a higher stroke rate.

When developing skills for increasing SR to improve speed, the first thing to gain time from is simply speeding up the recovery phase, without speeding up the catch. The long steady hold on the water allowing the body to slide past is extremely important for SL. In TI the arms are trained to move independently of each other (at variable rates, with overlap, etc) and so we have the advantage of adjusting the force and speed of movement at different parts of the stroke cycle.

To gain a bit more time needed for higher SR, when we need to actually shorten the stroke, we can consider that not all parts of the catch phase are of equal value for propulsion. So we carefully give up a less valuable part of the catch, while preserving the more valuable part. When shortening the stroke, to preserve best SL, the next area to gain time from is to pull out of the catch sooner, while protecting the extension and patient arm. Protect the front half of the stroke and sacrifice the back half first. (This is most effective when there is a high elbow catch). Again, preserving the long body line is more valuable for any vessel moving through water, than simply gaining a higher tempo. (see http://www.wavewalk.com/COMPARISON.html for an interesting article on hydrophysics and kayak design). This is better achieved through careful neuro-muscular training, not power training. If we train for power first, it is harder to improve technique upon it- muscle memory and deeply imprinted but inferior neuro-muscular connections will resist improvement at high effort levels. Slow way down, perfect, then speed up as perfection is maintained.

Water resistance will increase exponentially as velocity increases- so minimizing drag becomes exponentially more imperative as a swimmer attempts to increase speed. Keeping the vessel as long and narrow as possible through the entire stroke cycle respects the physics of water- thus providing a massive hydrodynamic advantage. There is so much that can be perfected in the whole body choreography: the core, the timing of each arm in relation to the other, and the variable speed of the arm through each part of the stroke cycle that superior sprinting will be achieved by those who develop these details the best, either by natural talent or intentional training. This is what I understand to be active streamlining as Terry Laughlin phrases it.

In this strategy ‘active streamlining’ is both the most complex concept and the most important skill for achieving ultimate speed.

Lastly, we would weigh the value of 6-beat kick in how much it worked in synchronicity with the whole body- adding maximum propulsion at minimal increase in drag and opposing force. Again, I would advocate for a sprinter to train in a 2 -beat kick first to deeply imprint the whole body synchronization, then practice carefully adding a 6-beat as a turbo boost that enhanced power rather than worked against the other forces of the body. Not all 6-beat kicks are equal- force, timing, ankle flex, amplitude are all factors that need to be examined and perfected.

My amazing 1500 (for example) must first be preceded by an amazing 500 meters. That amazing 500 meters must be preceded by an amazing 100 meters. That amazing 100 meters must be preceded by an amazing 25 meters. And that amazing 25 meters must be preceded by just 1 amazing stroke.

If I don’t ever experience even one amazing stroke in my practice, how I can I expect that one day I will spontaneously throw 1500 of them in a row to make up that amazing swim I have been wishing for?

If I want to experience an amazing swim, then I need to start with the quest for the most amazing stroke that will get me there. I need to study every detail of what will compose that amazing stroke, and seek out that magical moment when each of those details slide into place with each other with such powerful synchronization that I slice through the water like never before.

If the approach I have taken to pursue my amazing swim has not been producing results proportional to the effort and time I have been putting into it, I should consider that my methods and mindset could use an upgrade, or better, a total transformation. Perhaps I have not been working on the solution to the more important aspect of my swimming problem. Under-developed fitness rarely is the problem for those who swim regularly yet struggle to make improvement. Under-developed skill and mindset often is.

When I get desperate enough to consider a change in my stroke and a change in my thinking this is the time I am ready to break stroke and body positions down into their component pieces, and be willing to let my values- what is important and what is not- be challenged and adjusted. I need to consider looking at my swimming problem from new angles, new perspectives, both in terms of physics and in terms of philosophy.

By allowing myself to let go of old ways of viewing my swimming problem and the solutions I have (intentionally or ignorantly) applied to it, I open myself to the opportunity to learn something new, something better. I begin to grow as a swimmer and as a person. My swimming improvement challenge may very well become the workshop in which my perspective and attitude toward other challenges in my life get shaken and unstuck.

Why settle for any part of the stroke as ‘good enough’ when the magic I seek, the jump in performance I long for, will only be derived from the excellence I have trained into every part of every single stroke? Excellence in the whole is made up of the excellence within each and every piece.

When the mindset changes from performance to precision, from endurance to excellence, boredom and suffering disappear. Instead practice become the playground where I am engaged in a tantalizing quest for the tiniest thrill of precision, when one amazing part of my stroke leads to the next, and one amazing stroke leads to another- time disappears and exhaustion is replaces by energy. Following the focused mind, the body will fall into the rhythm of excellence, where improvement becomes more frequent and more easily foreseen. Each practice becomes laden with discovery and reward. More than a PR I will seek out and acquire an intimate knowledge of my relationship with the water, and develop a loyalty… no, an addiction to excellence, being thrilled by each amazing stroke, each perfect slice through the water. From this my amazing 1500, my new PR even, will simply become a consequence of the attitude I have taken on for my practice. It will be the icing on the cake of what is already a rewarding practice in excellence. What seemed like the ultimate performance goal not so long ago, becomes but a historical marker of interest along an increasingly satisfying journey.

How do we achieve our most amazing swim? One amazing stroke at a time.

The objective- holding SPL (at 16) while increasing tempo from 0.95 to 0.83 seconds, using a Tempo Trainer.

In the winter I like to work on my sprint skills. I have in mind to break 60 seconds for 100m. Something I could not do 20 years ago at 18, but very much within my reach now because of TI.

Following that Speed (Pace) = Stroke Length (SL) x Stroke Rate (SR), I know that I need to achieve 17 SPL x .80 tempo (in a 25 meter pool) to reach 64 second 100m, and 17 SPL x 0.75 tempo to reach 60 second 100m. So I am simply building practice sets to incrementally improve my SL x SR combination until I reach my goal.

Though the word sprint tends to conjure up the image and sensations of hammering (powering through the water) I was not, in fact, hammering. My goal was to find the path of least resistance- to increase speed without increasing effort. This is smart swimming. I do this by continually refining my form and timing of movements, finding the most slippery pattern and and most precise timing to every aspect of my stroke and body position. Specifically, I did this by increasing the precision of each stroke- applying the exact amount of power at the perfect moment in the transition of the arms through the core body rotation, so that I could SLIDE my whole body through the water, rather than shove against it.

It works. Precision is powerful.

At 0.92 tempo, on the 3rd 25 I felt all the details of what I was focusing on come together- making my tempo and SPL goal with EASE. It was thrilling. I burned the sensation of that length into my mind, knowing that is exactly how I wanted to feel on each and every 25, and this is what I carried as I worked my way down to faster tempos, searching for and holding onto every facet of my stroke that contributed to that sensation.

In this practice set this morning rather than suffering, I was thrilled. Rather than enduring, I was deeply engaged. I was enjoying the challenge and focus of holding every detail of a slippery body, and enjoying it so much that I was eager for the next faster tempo even as the challenge to my focus increased.  This was a great practice: ending mentally energized and wonderfully exerted,  but certainly not wasted. I made major progress on my SL x SR sprint project without tearing my joints and muscles up and depleting the energy I needed for the rest of the day.

* A quick note about rest interval-I waited for my heart rate to recover to a certain point (by feel), but not get too rested. I found that my performance from length to length was better when I recovered ‘just enough’ but still kept the HR strong. If I rested too much I actually lost momentum on the next length, as if my engine was sluggish on the first few strokes of the length, waiting for my heart to get the pressure back up.

When focusing on EASE, or in other words, when training the neuro-muscular system to take the path of least resistance, I was providing myself enough rest so that I kept challenging my muscular control, rather than pushing my muscular power, though that was still certainly getting a good workout. It is the neuro-musclar system that holds superior form, not the cardio-vascular system. If I pushed my cardio-system it would make it much harder, if not impossible for me to hold such form at these tempos- but if I build the neuro-muscular control, I will get the muscular power to go with it by natural effect of the training itself. The strategy here is to first achieve the skill in small pieces, then train my body to take that skill into longer and longer distances.

Excellence comes one stroke at a time.