Efficiency

One of the most important aspects of swimming

Use as little effort/energy as possible = save that energy for the end of the race

Maintain a constant stroke rate until  the final 25 or 50 of the race, then increase your stroke rate into the finish

Janet Evans was tested in Colorado Springs as the most efficient stroke in 1988    (“ just think how fast she would be if someone fixed her strokes”) – 17 years later we’re still waiting for someone to break her world records

My best swimmers swim their races based on stroke rates, rather than splits -(42 SR for 150 meters – 48 +/-   for the last 50)

Too high stroke rates early in the race = out too fast & too much effort used = no “kick” left at the finish  (Ian Thorpe vs. Pieter van den Hoogenband – 200 free at 2000 Olympics)

How do you do this ?

1)      Get in great shape

increase the number of workouts/week

increase your weekly mileage

increase your intensity =  % anaerobic threshold  and  % race pace training

2) Swim smart races !!   (“but it felt soooo easy going out!”

splitting strategy – copy the world record holders

descending sets in practice