How can I improve my breast stroke?

How to improve my time in my freestyle and breaststroke?

• I just started swimming from a 1 year stop since I've joined basketball. My dad pushed me back into swimming... I just came from a national competition and wasnt happy with the results. Especially on my breaststroke. It seems that I have lost my feel for the stroke since coming back... I wanted to ask how do I improve my times in 50 and 100 freestyle... 50 and 100 breast... and maybe my 50 backstroke.... My current time in 50 free is 31 How do I make it go below 29.? Or if possible make it go to 27 or 26 It might sound crazy but hey, anything can happen.. :) Also my 100 freestyle has gone whack. It has been at 1.08. How do I improve this..? My current Breaststroke time on a 50 is 38. My seed time was 36. How do I get into 34..? On my 100 breaststroke I had a 1.23 which was rather slow... I have been really dissappointed since I wasnt able to break it. Can you give me tips also on improving my backstroke? My time on a 50 is 32..... I really wanted to beat a national team swimmer... and my age is 13.... Any tips would be appreciated.. Thanks.. :) P.S. Im not really good at butterfly any tips on it would really help. :D

• Answer:

  No one on a message board can help you to improve your stroke mechanics because no one can see you. THAT is why you have a coach. How long was the pool? Swimmers & coaches don't plan a clear race strategy. My explanation is long as it addresses how to determine your swimming speed as well as how you'll feel at each part of the race. Keep in mind you don't run out of energy in races less than 2 hours. However, waste products (lactic acid or LA) that interfere with muscle function in short races accumulate quickly & interfere with muscle function (you tighten up). The key to going fast is NOT building LA from going too fast at the beginning of your race. When LA builds, muscles lose power as they cannot relax (at the end of your race you feel TIGHT. Due to LA build-up your muscles cannot relax). You can especially see fatigue during the last 10 yds of 100s as people lose power & fade. Those who can maintain power win but, to maintain power you can't have LA interfering with muscle function. So, how fast should you go on the first 25 to avoid an accumulation of LA so you can maintain your stroke length & power right to the wall? Here is how to plan your race: 1. You must have a thorough warm-up (w/u) completed within 5 minutes of your race. Your w/u should be 1200-2000 yds or more. 2. On the first 25 of your race you MUST, on the 2nd stroke (for free and fly) after you breakout, start breathing every other stroke. DO NOT hold your breath on the first 25. The air you breath in 'now' doesn't reach your muscles for about 30 seconds. If you don't breath @ the beginning of your race, somewhere around your 50 there is no fresh oxygen reaching your muscles & you'll begin to fatigue prematurely. 3. Determine how fast you should be going on the first 25 of your race & practice that speed, off the blocks, in practice or in warm-up. The formula for determining that speed is to take your goal time & change it into seconds. Due to your start add 1.2 to the seconds to your goal time. THEN divide by four. That time is what each of your last THREE 25's should be. Then, subtract 1.2 seconds (the start) from the time you should be doing for the last three 25s. That will be your time for your first 25. Here's what it looks like. Change a reasonable goal of 1:05 (1:02=65 seconds) to seconds. Add 1.2+62=66.2. Divide 66.2 by 4 which = 16.55. You should be doing 16.55 for the 2nd, 3rd, & 4th 25s of your race. For the first length, you should subtract 1.2 from 16.55 & that time (16.55-1.2=15.35) is what your first 25 should be. You must learn what 15.35 "feels" like and also learn how difficult it is to go slow. In practice and/or during warm-up you should do 25s from the blocks with a turn and a LOT of rest between each 25 & see if you can hit 15.35 seconds. As you improve you’ll have to adjust your splits. In a race you'll be hyped & there is no LA in your muscles so you feel very fresh & not fatigued. So 15.35 will feel like you're going slow, but that is OK. HOLD BACK on the first 25 & BREATHE (as described earlier) right after your breakout. Breathe every stroke cycle for free & breast. Breathe every other stroke for fly. Backstrokers must consciously breathe. THEN, as you come into your first turn, start to speed up your kick & your stroke rate A LITTLE! If those against whom you're swimming are of comparable speed, you'll likely be a little bit behind. But being slightly behind at this point of the race is OK as in a short while you're going to be feeling a whole lot fresher than they are. THAT will pay off at the end of your race. Your 2nd length should feel as if you've sped up slightly over the 1st. On your 3rd length keep your stroke long & be working at catching everyone without sprinting. Your goal at this point of the race (before the 75) is to be either tied or very close to catching those who were ahead. THEN, with 5 yds to go & BEFORE your 75 turn) you've got to be building up to an all out sprint & go for it before your 75 turn. The key is that during your race you must work at speeding up B-4 each turn &, at a minimum, hold that speed for the next length. Use your kick & really sprint it home on the last 30 yds. You should never be going faster in your race than you can maintain for the remainder of the race. In order to learn all of this do a lot of broken swims (a broken 100 is a block start, 10 seconds rest at each 25 & working on the strategy). The last 25 is when you should now hold your breath in free & fly as the air you breathe in 'now' does not reach your muscles for about 30 seconds. Although it will be painful, the air you breathe in on your last 25 never gets to your muscles during the race. It’s OK to take a breath or two, just kept it to a minimum. If you have further questions, feel free to contact me. For a 200, do the same planning except plan for 50's instead of 25's.