MYTHBUSTER: BREASTSTROKERS MAKE THE BEST IMERS

4/16/2012

BY KATIE ARNOLD//NATIONAL TEAM COACH FELLOW

If you are anything like me, your dreams of IM glory were crushed early in your swimming career because someone told you that breaststrokers make the best IMers (and like me, you were anything but a breaststroker). However, after doing some research on the subject, I am happy to report that you do not have to be a breaststroker to be an elite IMer.

During a moment of “what could have been” nostalgia, I looked at IM medalists from the past two Olympics. Out of the 13 unique medalists (8 female, 5 male), only one swimmer was ranked in the top-25 of a breaststroke event in the year they won their IM medal. However, of those same 13 swimmers, 2 were top-25 in a butterfly event, 4 were top-25 in a backstroke event, and 2 were top-25 in both butterfly and backstroke. The remaining 4 medalists were not ranked in the top-25 for any stroke event in that year.

While this should give hope to all you “non-breaststrokers” out there, it certainly does not mean you should stop working to improve your breaststroke. Because breaststroke is the slowest of the four strokes, IMers spend more time on that leg of the race than any other. To be an elite IMer, you need a solid foundation with good fundamentals in all four strokes.

Backstroke Spin Drill

We've tried this drill several times and I don't always feel that I've communicated what we're looking for with this drill.  Check out this video of former World Record holder, Jeff Rouse, performing the drill perfectly.


This drill is all about turnover speed (tempo, stroke rate) kicking, and keeping your head still.  Watch the video several times and look at each one of these aspects of the drill.

Packed Neck for Swimmers Part II

From Swimming Science

We’ll begin this second installment with neck assessments. Lot to cover this week, so let’s get right into it!

Assessment

There are many available assessment tools, but any that you use should address mobility (length), stability (strength) and timing.

Mobility – Chin tuck to chest with mouth closed. If the swimmer can’t touch the chin to chest, there is a mobility restriction.

Stability – Chin tuck. Can you pack the neck when asked to do so? You can also perform this exercise while supine on the ground or a table.

Timing – Situp test. Does the neck become unpacked during the situp? You can use a unweighted version of Dr. Mullen’s Eccentric Bosu Situp pictured below to assess muscle timing of the neck. The same move without a Bosu will also provide valuable information about neck firing patterns.

Backstroke–deep finish

 

Check out Aaron Peirsol’s deep finish (below his hip) as his opposite hand reaches for a deep catch.  Look closely at his right shoulder…it’s not “scrunched" against his neck.  We’ve been talking about a deeper finish in practice.  Maybe seeing a world record holder will help.

Things to remember:

• finish below your hip
• you will need to finish a little wider
• you will have to have fast hand speed in the air to allow for a deep catch at the top
• if you are turning your head from side-to-side every time you stroke, you won’t be able to do this (ok – maybe you’ll be able to do it, but I don’t want to have to watch it so STOP it!)

Look closely at his bald spot.  I mean look closely at his FOOT.  Notice at the “bottom” of his kick, his ankle is relaxed as his toes start to point.  The top of his foot is ready to “push” the water toward the end of the pool and then up.  If you concentrate on kicking the water to the end of the pool and through your toes toward the surface, this will help eliminate “bicycle” kicking and “knee pumping.”

“Packing Your Neck”

It is now the homestretch of our Elite Characteristics series! We’ve worked our way from the ankles, knees, hips, thoracic spine, shoulders, and will culminate with the neck. Specifically, we’ll address the concept of packed neck for swimmers, which is one of the leading developments in the strength and conditioning field. Many are familiar with packing the shoulder for scapular stability and packing the low back for lumbar stability. Packing the neck, though less familiar to most coaches and athletes, carries a high return on investment is one of the first places to look for repairing postural flaws and plugging power leaks.

Why is a packed neck important for swimmers?

1. Decreased frontal exposure. A head position too high or too low will increase drag by expanding the swimmer’s frontal profile.

2. Balance. Extending the neck and raising the head can cause the legs to sink, which also leads to poor hydrodynamics via increased drag.

3. Protect the cervical spine. The cervical spine is a commonly injured area among swimmers. In my observation, neck injuries are underreported because they frequently present as low grade aches that athletes try to ignore, or as problems elsewhere in the body such as jaw pain, chronic headaches, shoulder injuries, or referring nerve pain into the arms.

Swim Sci: Dryland Mistake: Bench Press Part I

We've discussed the "bench press" as part of our dryland training. This article makes some excellent points about bench pressing in general and about how costly improper form can be.

Swim Sci: Dryland Mistake: Bench Press Part I: Come on, two more! You've got this! Two 25 pound plates on each side, elbows flaring outwards, shoulders moving excessively, feet off the g... Continue reading --->

Breathing and your shoulders

The Shoulder: What every coach/swimmer should know – Breathing


Breathing Impairments

Breathing is an often over looked subject matter that can pertain to healthy shoulder performance. The way in which an athlete actually takes each breath can affect function at this critical joint. Breathing is easily over looked as it is mostly an involentary organ function -requiring no conscious thought by the athlete. However, we do have control over breathing, making it partially voluntary.

For various reasons, some rather complex, athletes sometimes rely on less effecient breathing mechanics. Many factors could play into why these altered patterns arise (less than ideal posture, pain, muscular amnesia, anxiety, stress). Consider that a adult or teen at rest has an average respiratory rate of between 17,000- 28,000 breaths per day. You can imagine the cascade of compensations that must occur when those breathes are less authentic.