Differnence between fast and slow

MJuric said:

Last weekend I did an LT test which consisted of 100yd repeats.

What does LT stand for?

Donal Fagan AIA Donal@DonalO'Fagan.com (Anglicise the name to reply by e-mail)

In MJuric said:

3) If this difference is typical it points out to an even greater extent the importance of fluency
in the water as it would take phenomenal physical increases in the water to yield fairly
minimal speed increases.

Sounds about right. If I sprint all-out (HR > 170) I can do 100yd in maybe 1:06. If I just putz
along leisurely (HR < 130), I might do 1:25.

As you found, the force required to propel you increases with v^2 (or worse, if your form degrades).
The power requirement increases with v^3. A 30% increase in speed requires at least a 66% increase
in force and more than double the power.

Ross

In MJuric said:

So the question is whats the best avenue for improving speed in the pool. Technique
drilling? Endurance/speed swimming keeping an eye on technique?

All I can do is repeat some of the old standard answers. Take them with many grains of salt.

If you ask that question of 100 coaches, you'll get 100 different answers.

Certainly, train for endurance and strength. Do intervals. Do distance sets. The standard, non-TI
coaches are right: If you don't build your endurance, you'll never be fast. Even Terry Laughlin's
sprinters at West Point did plenty of endurance work.

But at the same time, train your technique. Do slow drills. Do fast drills. Even if you're doing
short interval sets until you puke in the pool, never lose track of your technique. The TI coaches
are also right: The strongest swimmer in a race is seldom the fastest swimmer. It's the one who hits
the best combination of conditioning and technique who wins.

For most ordinary people, it's probably the technique side of the equation that needs the most work.

Have you ever been beaten by a skinny little kid? We all have. We may be stronger than they are, but
they have the combination of endurance, form, and low surface area that wins races.

Ross

Donal Fagan Donal@DonalO'Fagan.com said:

MJuric said:

Last weekend I did an LT test which consisted of 100yd repeats.

What does LT stand for?

Lactacte Threshold. Triathloning is all about staying at this point for the longer events. Above it,
you're trading endurace for speed.

Matt, you're pretty much demonstrating that water is thick. A small increase in speed requires a
huge increase in effort. This is a lesson that every new diver seems to struggle with, and why they
run out of air in 20 minutes while I'm down 70.

--
Jason O'Rourke www.jor.com

Ross Bogue said:

In MJuric said:

3) If this difference is typical it points out to an even greater extent the importance of
fluency in the water as it would take phenomenal physical increases in the water to yield
fairly minimal speed increases.

Sounds about right. If I sprint all-out (HR > 170) I can do 100yd in maybe 1:06. If I just putz
along leisurely (HR < 130), I might do 1:25.

As you found, the force required to propel you increases with v^2 (or worse, if your form
degrades). The power requirement increases with v^3. A 30% increase in speed requires at least a
66% increase in force and more than double the power.

Ross

Ok so the I'm fairly normal as far as the seperation. However this distinctly points out
that physical endurance and performance is not the key to fast times in the pool. The same
30 hearbeats gets me a 30% increase in pace while running but only a 7-8% increase in the
pool. Although it is would be possible for me to go from where I'm at now to swimming at 130
HR at my current 170 HR this would probably take a year or so of hard training and only get
me the probable 7-8% increase. So the question is whats the best avenue for improving speed
in the pool. Technique drilling? Endurance/speed swimming keeping an eye on technique?

~Matt

Ross Bogue said:

In MJuric said:

So the question is whats the best avenue for improving speed in the pool. Technique
drilling? Endurance/speed swimming keeping an eye on technique?

All I can do is repeat some of the old standard answers. Take them with many grains of salt.

If you ask that question of 100 coaches, you'll get 100 different answers.

Certainly, train for endurance and strength. Do intervals. Do distance sets. The standard, non-TI
coaches are right: If you don't build your endurance, you'll never be fast. Even Terry Laughlin's
sprinters at West Point did plenty of endurance work.

But at the same time, train your technique. Do slow drills. Do fast drills. Even if you're doing
short interval sets until you puke in the pool, never lose track of your technique. The TI coaches
are also right: The strongest swimmer in a race is seldom the fastest swimmer. It's the one who
hits the best combination of conditioning and technique who wins.

For most ordinary people, it's probably the technique side of the equation that needs the
most work.

Have you ever been beaten by a skinny little kid?

Little skinny kids, Big fat kids, Slightly handicapped seniors and pretty much everybody
else in the pool ;-<

Quoted message said:

We all have. We may be stronger than they are, but they have the combination of endurance, form,
and low surface area that wins races.

Ross

Thanks for the info. I think for me it boils down to I'm not as far along as I thought I
was. I really don't think it's as much of a conditioning issue in my case as much as a
technique one.

~Matt