MP - See above corrections. The more i think about it, the more it bothers me that i did not correct you immediately. There is no way that anyone knowledgeable about swimming would ever call Janet's stroke "thrashing" but rather just a very high turnover rate. It is a grave insult to a woman who set the 400 and 800 lcm records so far out of reach that they were not broken for 20 yrs. I suspect you were just kidding but still, the legendary Janet Evans should be highly respected. I am correcting my other posts also.

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"Anyone can be who they want to be IF they have the HUNGER and the DRIVE."

I never made reference to Ms. Evans at all, really. If I tried a turn-over of 100+, I’m sure MY version of it would certainly feel like thrashing, since I would never be able to have any control at that rate.
Is there such a thing as a tempo trainer like the one I use at the track, but for under water?

Not directly but i think some people would agree that it was implied. Anyway, yes, Finis makes a tempo trainer for use in the pool; you put it under your swim cap, which kinda means you have to wear a cap. :)

https://www.swimoutlet.com/...utm_content=Shopping

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"Anyone can be who they want to be IF they have the HUNGER and the DRIVE."

Kristoffer, I watched the video you linked. I think "high elbow" just clicked in my little lizard brain. I DO try and press against the water almost right away. Not sure how to correct that, but now I'm aware.
David, in the same video, both Hacket and Thorpe appear to have a slight pause in their kick at a part of their cycle. Since I don't want to offend Eric by implying these giants are doing anything wrong (love ya bro...), I was watching YOUR training video, and it had the comment that in the SoL drill you shouldn't be able to tell what the arms are doing if you just watched the legs.
During my swim this weekend, I did try and get into a left arm/Kick - Kick - Kick - right arm/Kick - Kick - Kick rhythm. I'm a bass player, so you would think I am good at timing. I found that, even with my uber-slow turnover, I couldn't kick fast enough. I tried to make the kick smaller, so it would be faster. Then, my brain started hurting.
So here's an example of the soundtrack in my head during the main set of 6 x 300:
- can I feel air on my butt?
- bend elbow before pulling
- finish the stroke, finish the stroke
- FLIP (crap, I bet that looked like shit. totally self-conscience about that now)
- no glide, no glide, no glide.
- I hope that dude showers before he gets in
- looking too far forward? Damn! Too far down?
- breath to the side, not back, side not back....
- FLIP (mother F...... I hope no one saw that)
- I think Watopia is on Zwift tomorrow... I think I'll do a Jungle loop
- wow, this isn't nearly as hard as I remember, I can't believe I'm almost done
- I wonder if Tom is going to mock this post

(Quote) "David, in the same video, both Hackett and Thorpe appear to have a slight pause in their kick at a part of their cycle. Since I don't want to offend Eric by implying these giants are doing anything wrong (love ya bro...), I was watching YOUR training video, and it had the comment that in the SoL drill you shouldn't be able to tell what the arms are doing if you just watched the legs" (Quote)

MP - Appreciate your not criticizing the giants of swimming!!! I haven't watched David's kicking videos but I have watched a lot of underwater videos of top swimmers and generally most of them have a little part of their stroke where they stop kicking. And this is even true of backstrokers: I watched a video of the top Japanese backstroker (can't recall his name), who is famous for his strong kick and very stable head position, and even he had a pause in his kick. You would expect that, since you don't have to coordinate your kick with your breathing, the backstroke kick would be a straightforward, uniform kick, but apparently not, even for the fastest backstrokers.

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"Anyone can be who they want to be IF they have the HUNGER and the DRIVE."

We use continuous kicking as an element of that particular drill to assist with "stroke initiation timing". What that means is when we eliminate the element of pausing the kick, but we still want proper timing at the finish of the pull, at what point in the kick cycle we begin the pull comes to the forefront. When we begin to rotate, breathe, pull is a big part of how all those things synchronize.

What we are not endorsing is a continuous kick in a 'finished' swim stroke. We are just using it as a tool.

My personal opinion is that swimming (fast) is not a natural thing for us humans. No one jumps in the pool and do everything right from the start. On the contrary, we have a few natural “reflexes” that basically work against us. You are pushing down partly because your subconscious doesn’t want you to sink.

Swimming fast is very technical and a series of “constructed” movements. Furthermore, thinking of more than 1 or 2 things simultaneously will not work very well for most people. You’ll just create chaos in your mind. It takes practice, so practice one thing at a time. I believe the key to swimming well is repetition, repeating different movements correct, until they all come to you simultaneously, and naturally. You should strive to become a programmed robot, in some sence. But hey, isn’t that true for a lot of things we learn in life?

Then, while swimming your main set (not practicing something specific), I would recommend you to pick one “thing” to focus on, which helps you maintain a good stroke/form. You will have to figure out on your own what works for you…


Regarding a high elbow:
The “problem” starts with how your upper arm naturally rotates (in regards to your shoulder) in the last phase of the recovery. Your arm hits the water and as a natural consequence of the “swinging” motion that is happening, your bicep rotates up and your tricep down. From here it’s impossible to pull your hand straight backwards with a high elbow, without rotating your upper arm first. This is the second reason why you are pushing down (and initiating the catch with a straight arm). :)

Do a pull-up with a narrow stance and your palms facing you. The rotation of your upper arm represent “deep” elbows. Now do a pull-up with a very wide stance and your knuckles facing you, elbows out! This is how you want your upper arm.

So, when your arm hits the water in the end of the recovery, don’t give in to the continuous rotation, stop it. Stop the elbow from sinking. Keep it high and wide. Try to show as much as possible of your arm pit and the inside of your upper arm towards the bottom of the pool. Then start the catch with the elbow going sideways out, while your forearm “falls down” into a vertical position. You need to position your elbow very wide compared to what you’re doing today. This will most likely not feel natural at first.
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/...wjyBE/s1600/sun3.jpg

I strongly recommend practicing your stroke using a drill called catch-up (make sure to position your hands wide, far away from the centerline). Don’t cheat, and do it with a pull buoy. This will allow you to “disconnect” everything below your waist, and helps you maintain a high focus on each stroke.


In my earlier post I stated some things I believe you can work on. In that order. But not at the same time, that certainly needed to be said. Keep up with the filming! It’s probably the best thing you can do for yourself, if you want to keep evolving. I hope I was of some help.

OP should try this drill, and get some nice short fins like Arena Powerfin Pro...

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2020 National Masters Champion - M40-44 - 400m IM
Canadian Record Holder 35-39M & 40-44M - 200 m Butterfly (LCM)