I’ve been using the Tempo Trainer for awhile to help increase my running cadence. But since the device is from Finis, I figure it must have been designed originally for swimming. Anyone have any suggestions/advice on how to use it for swimming?
Background: My swimming really sucks. I normally swim 100m (in the pool) in about 2:00. It usually takes me 11-12 full strokes (both sides) for 25m, which I’ve been led to believe isn’t too bad. If my stroke distance isn’t too horrible, then I figure my cadence must be. I’m tempted just figure out my current cadence, set the TT to be a little faster, and swim, but I thought I’d check to see if there were better ideas out there already.
Whether you need to work on this is a big question, but since you asked.
Triathletes that swim well have stroke rates in the 60 to 75 strokes per minute rate, there are exceptions of course, but the chunk of them fit in there. So you measure your current stroke rate and see if it fits in that range and off you go. 50s and hundreds with your new stroke rate are the way to work on it.
I have had success using these things with people who went to a total immersion class and took the low stroke count thing WAY WAY too far. To like 30 strokes per minute.
My favorite use of the tempo trainer is to set it at the pace you want to swim for an extended swim. So if you want to average 1:25 per 100 pace then set it to beep at 1:25 and knock out some big yards with it.
Your DPS (Distance-per-Stroke) sounds like a limiter right now. Increasing your turnover will likely cause thrashing.
I’ve been coached using the tempo trainer for three purposes in the pool:
Balance my stroke;
Keep my tempo up as I get tired;
Learn to increase my tempo.
If you set it to a comfortable-to-slow pace, then you can focus on having a smooth, balanced stroke. I’d recommend this option first.
Next, if you’re convinced that increasing your tempo is the way to go, then you can lower the beep interval to increase your turnover. When you do this, be sure to keep your stroke count per length the same! I would use my on butterfly a few years back, but it’s the same general idea. I’d start out at 22 strokes for a long course 50m at 1.2s/stroke. Then decrease it to 1.15 and try to keep the same stroke count. This drops a second off of 50m without compromising the stroke efficiency. If you let your stroke count increase, then you’re really just learning to swim harder rather than faster.
Best of luck, and congratulations on thinking your way to better swimming.
Swimming is the OPPOSITE of running. In running your cadence remains virtually constant, yet your stride length increases as your speed increases. In swimming, your stroke rate increases as your speed increases, and your distance per stroke remains constant.
Do a set of hundreds (say 10) where you count the total number of strokes per hundred. Keep that number constant and descend your pace. Once you get to the point where you can’t descend anymore or where you have to start to take more strokes, then you have found the point where you breakdown. Do lots of training at this pace. You will get faster.
Use your “tempo trainer” for running, and leave it at home when you go to the pool. Only triathletes train with those things at the pool; swimmers do not use them.
It is useful to help find efficient stroke rate and to monitor your swimming so that you know when your stroke breaks down. To find your most efficient stroke rate, pick a stroke rate, probably between 1.2 and 1.5 seconds per stroke. Time yourself for a lap (or several) try speeding up the rate and see if you go any faster. At some point you will probably find that while you are moving your arms faster, you are not going any faster. Conversley you may find that you can slow down your stroke and still swim as fast. Setting the tempo a little slower than your current cadence is likely to be more helpful as I think most triathletes swim with a cadence that is too high.
Once you find a stroke rate that seems efficient and feels like an appropriate pace for the events that you want to do, use the tempo trainer and a stop-watch for most of your workout. Try to go as fast as you can at the constant stroke rate. Obviously, the only way to go faster is to swim more efficiently. Once your times start going up, you know that your form is suffering.