It seems to me with all of the emphasis placed on swimming technique to eek out the last bit of speed or efficiency that I should ask what is the fastest and/or most efficient way to round the buoys. This should include a discussion of various angles, if there’s a difference: 90 degree, 180 degree and angles in between.
it’s hard to practice in a pool with lane lines, but I’ve often wondered if it would be good to submerge slightly, roll to my side and dolphin kick in an arc around the buoy. I am thinking that it would be good to somehow avoid losing momentum by stopping, turning, starting again but perhaps not.
Why would you stop? I just swim around as close as I can.
I agree but have your path figured out b4 you start swim and have a back up plan too. I tri to visualize the straightest path from point to point. If anything pull and kick harder around the buoy to help your momentum through. Then settle back into pace.
How can you make a 90 degree turn in tight to the buoy without stopping…just for a moment while you spin your body 90 degrees?
How can you make a 90 degree turn in tight to the buoy without stopping…just for a moment while you spin your body 90 degrees?
I don’t turn 90 degrees all at once. I turn rather than corner.
I think you answered your question. If you can not maintain a stroke doing a 90 degree turn dont do it. Maybe try a 75 degree turn and move up from there to the tightest turn you can make.With the least bit of momentum loss.
How can you make a 90 degree turn in tight to the buoy without stopping…just for a moment while you spin your body 90 degrees?
I don’t turn 90 degrees all at once. I turn rather than corner.
Ok, that’s a start…but how to execute the stroke? Do you take the inside arm and break the cardinal rule and pull across your body to your opposite hip? then use your outside arm and reach forward across the center line?
How would you quickly/efficiently swim in an arc and how tight of an arc can you expect to swim?
Thanks.
I sometimes do a spin turn that enables me to keep moving around a buoy while executing a very sharp turn.
For this example, assume a right turn.
Approach the buoy so that it is right next to you. When it is next to you, pull with your right arm and spin onto your back by dropping your right shoulder underwater and your left shoulder over the water. Twist a little bit so that you’ve turned close to 90 degrees. Your left arm should be extended when this spin is done. Immediately do a backstroke pull with the left arm, and spin onto your front, twisting a little bit so that you’ve turned close to 90 degrees more. Each pull and twist gets you around the buoy about 1/4 turn. The final freestyle pull with your right arm is accompanied by a little more twist around the buoy.
You are now on your front, having executed a 180 degree turn with 2-3 strokes and no stopping.
How can you make a 90 degree turn in tight to the buoy without stopping…just for a moment while you spin your body 90 degrees?
I don’t turn 90 degrees all at once. I turn rather than corner.
Ok, that’s a start…but how to execute the stroke? Do you take the inside arm and break the cardinal rule and pull across your body to your opposite hip? then use your outside arm and reach forward across the center line?
How would you quickly/efficiently swim in an arc and how tight of an arc can you expect to swim?
Thanks.
I have no idea, I’ve been swimming forever (one of those fish), I don’t think about it I just do it. I think “I want to go there” and then it happens. I’m sorry that to be of no help.
I’ve never had a chance to experiment because every time I hit a buoy it seems the person behind me wants to barge inside hugging the buoy and block any momentum I was trying to carry with my classic late apex line. You have to stay to the inside to block people… and then the people in front of you always insist on bobbing their head up and slowing you down as well. Giant bottleneck!
My water polo playing friend believes that some kind of rolling around and kicking like you suggest is quicker… but that just seems like so much work.
Unless you’re an exceptionally fast swimmer, IMO the fastest way around a bouy is NOT right next to it. I’m assuming you’re not alone, as in participating in an open water swim/triathlon. In that case, closest to the bouy is the last place you’d want to end up.
Why? Because that’s where everybody else is, all bunched up. The tight pack of horizontal swimmers, has now broken down into the vertical “bobbers”, people who have stopped swimming. This forces you to “join the crowd”, bringing you to a halt, and forcing swimmers behind you to swim over you or become bobbers themselves.
I’m a MOP swimmer, and I’d rather swim more yards than get caught up in the fray around bouys. My “turn” is a gentle arc. I keep all of my propulsion, therefore all my momentum. Similar to proper approach and technique of a TT turnaround, just not as abrupt.
Here is an old article I wrote, forget what all I had in there, but maybe some stuff to help you out…
http://www.slowtwitch.com/Training/Swimming/Open_water_as_art_242.html
The fastest path around the buoys is the one that doesn’t include a massive pile-up with you at the bottom. Just remember that the tighter you are to the buoy, the more you have to slow down to make the turn.
Obviously if you start out wide and are hitting the buoy with a pack you’re going to be swimming a wide arc no matter what you do. And if you’re in the middle of a pack you’re just trying not to drown. So I guess the question is relevant for when you’re on the inside of a pack or in clear water.
Less than a 80 or 90 degree turn you can probably just swim around. 90 degrees plus is a bit different. If you’re on the inside of a pack I wouldn’t recommend dolphining because it’s to easy to get caught under water with a pack.
You could try what water polo players sometimes do when they change direction. You roll onto your back for one stroke, then back onto your front with your next. With this twist you can pivot on a 90 degree angle. If you like you can even throw in a couple of backstroke strokes just to loosen up a bit and to check on where the chase pack is at 
what is the fastest and/or most efficient way to round the buoys. This should include a discussion of various angles, if there’s a difference: 90 degree, 180 degree and angles in between.
In terms of the perfect “racing line” even if you are a fast swimmer, you are only traveling at a slow to medium walking pace so your “line” in and of itself will not affect your overall average speed like it would in a race car or even on a bike. You obviously want to keep your momentum up so a true 90 degree turn that requires you to stop is not good but you don’t need to get too hung up on entry point, apex, exit point like you would if you were trying to turn in a fast lap in an F1 car.
The fastest way to get around a bouy is to proceed in a way that shortens the distance you have to swim as much as possible while also avoiding getting stuck in traffic. Avoiding traffic is the most important though. Getting kicked in the head will slow you down alot more than any possible bad line you can take.
How about grabbing ankles? It can really help you anchor that pull!
Obviously my question assumes you reach the buoy without too much congestion…and also obviously, congestion at the buoy will be the biggest factor in a real race.
I do at least one race each year with a TT start so we do corner the buoys with very little company.
Thanks for your advice.
I sometimes do a spin turn that enables me to keep moving around a buoy while executing a very sharp turn.
This is what I do for any actual turns in a race, for a subtle change in direction at a bouy there isn’t any advantage, but can’t think of a faster way for 90 or 180 deg turns. It certainly feels fast, and there’s no break in swimming rhythm. In fact, I learned this through SlowTwitch, maybe even from one of your old posts a couple years ago.