Chuck Finley wrote:
The advice I'm giving is proper swim advice regardless of age. If adults have more problems following it, then they are going to have a problem. And the main problem I have with most people's stroke technique and teaching them to swim is that they are impeded by lack of power. It's difficult to hold form is you don't have muscle for it.Last week, I did a pool 1000scy TT in 11:59. I took between 19-21 strokes per length, and used a weak two beat kick. That's about 800 strokes over twelve minutes, or more than one stroke per second. If you think the ability to do that is related to power and not to endurance, you are incorrect. It was all about grabbing water efficiently during whatever pull I had, and recovering rapidly into the next stroke. I have particular physiological reasons for the stroke I employ, particularly shoulder stiffness that restricts a good glide.
The biggest issue I've seen with triathletes in the water is their turnover sucks. I don't care how "efficiently" they pull, if their arms aren't moving they ain't going anywhere fast. Yes, they can do 4000yds without breaking a sweat, but racing is about speed, not who expends the least energy. I'm fine after sprint and Olympic distance swims: up and running through T1, and I'm at speed as soon as I get my feet in the shoes on the bike. And short triathlons, like long distance triathlons, are almost entirely aerobic.
And as Gerry Rodrigues has said many times, the best OWSers have a higher turnover than me, for a number of good reasons.
(edit)
I'm 53, and started swim training when I was 26.
As usual, YMMV.
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"Go yell at an M&M"