Courtesy: Andrew Sheaff
Profitable endurance coaching is all about consistency. Whereas physiological consistency is clearly necessary, technical consistency is important as effectively. One of many greatest challenges coaches face is making certain that their swimmers are performing their endurance coaching with glorious abilities. As swimmers get drained, this turns into increasingly troublesome to attain. Nothing is extra irritating than watching swimmers let their method disintegrate or swim sloppy regardless of fixed reminders.
Whereas endurance coaching clearly has a physiological affect, it additionally has a technical affect. Each stroke swimmers take is reinforcing their abilities, for higher or worse. The extra swimmers practice with poor abilities, the extra possible it’s that they are going to race with poor abilities. Endurance coaching with poor technical abilities just isn’t a recipe for long-term success, and if we wish to assist swimmers optimize their long-term improvement, we’d like methods that assist swimmers use efficient abilities as typically as potential, particularly whereas coaching arduous.
On this article, I’m going to point out you a easy technique that’s straightforward to implement and intensely sensible. It’s a method that makes holding swimmers accountable to their abilities lots simpler and much more efficient, particularly in massive teams. The extra accountability there may be to technical abilities in coaching, the extra swimmers are going to enhance.
The Energy Of Stroke Counts
Let’s say you’ve gotten a bunch of swimmers performing 15×100 Freestyle @1:20, and one in all your swimmers is ready to persistently maintain 1:05 all through the entire set. It’s a strong show of endurance and consistency. However what if I instructed you that this swimmer began out the set taking 13 strokes per 25 and ended the set taking 16 strokes per lap. Although they have been capable of keep their velocity, there was a major lack of technical effectivity. We might not know which abilities fell aside, however we do know that one thing dangerous has occurred from a technical perspective. Whereas they might have efficiently skilled their physiology, in addition they skilled themselves to swim with progressively worse abilities. If this swimmer had maintained their stroke counts, they’d have ensured that they maintained efficient abilities all through the set.
The abilities swimmers use will straight present up of their stroke counts. In the event that they shorten their stroke, the stroke depend will go up. In the event that they lose their physique place, their stroke depend will go up. In the event that they’re sloppy with their turns or holding their line, the stroke depend will go up. If their respiration falls aside, the stroke depend will go up. In the event that they cut back the variety of dolphin kicks they’re taking, the stroke depend will go up. In distinction, in the event that they keep on observe with these abilities, the stroke depend will keep precisely the identical.
The best approach to construct technical accountability into endurance coaching is through the use of stroke counts. On this case, the purpose is NOT to take fewer strokes or to take as few strokes as potential. The purpose is simply to maintain the stroke depend the identical all through the set. If swimmers can keep the identical stroke depend all through the complete set, they are going to have maintained their technical effectivity. If swimmers begin to battle with their stroke counts, they’re going to get the suggestions they should double down on their abilities. Which brings us to why stroke counts are so efficient.
It’s All About Suggestions
Swimmers study abilities primarily based upon the amount and high quality of suggestions they obtain. Higher suggestions holds swimmers accountable to their abilities, and helps them make the modifications they should make to enhance. Stroke counts present suggestions that’s related. They’re a direct measure of effectivity and effectivity is a direct results of technical talent. If a swimmer’s stroke depend is altering, they will ensure that one thing is altering technically. Each time a swimmer counts their strokes, they’re getting direct details about how effectively they’re executing their abilities.
Stroke counts additionally present suggestions that’s fast. After every lap, swimmers get suggestions about their efficiency. Within the instance above, after each lap, our swimmer can be receiving suggestions that their stroke depend was climbing. That would supply them with the chance to right away refocus and regulate. With out that suggestions, they might by no means understand that their abilities are deteriorating.
Strongest of all, stroke counts are goal. It’s black and white. The stroke depend was 15 or it wasn’t 15. From a swimmer’s perspective, this supplies crystal clear suggestions. They know in the event that they’re on observe or if they should change. From a coach’s perspective, it’s about having more practical conversations. Telling a swimmer that they’re dropping their elbow is a debatable opinion. Telling a swimmer that they took two extra strokes is a concrete reality. It’s a lot simpler to carry a swimmer accountable to their abilities when coping with information versus opinions. There may be nothing to argue about.
As soon as swimmers understand their stroke counts are off, now the training begins. They’ve to determine tips on how to get again on observe. And all through that studying course of, stroke counts proceed to offer suggestions as as to whether their makes an attempt at creating change have been profitable or not. If they’re, they know what they should do to achieve success. And in the event that they’re not, they know they should discover a higher resolution.
Better of all, stroke depend suggestions comes from the swimmers themselves, not from us as coaches. Which means every swimmer within the pool has entry to the suggestions they should successfully execute their units always. Whereas we are able to definitely present suggestions as coaches, we solely have two eyes and one mouth. We will’t see what each swimmer is doing always, and we are able to’t communicate to all swimmers on the similar time. Stroke counts may help us coach extra successfully by serving to swimmers study to educate themselves. And once we do intervene, we are able to have way more productive conversations primarily based upon concrete information.
Implementation
In fact, in case your swimmers haven’t been counting their strokes in any respect, begin there. Take a few weeks to ascertain the behavior. Simply ask them what their stroke depend is, and anticipate a solution. Don’t fear concerning the particular quantity for now. Just a little persistence will repay. As soon as swimmers are conscious of their stroke counts, begin asking for consistency. Once more, don’t fear concerning the particular quantity. Simply ask that swimmers keep in keeping with no matter quantity they select. The purpose is to take care of their stroke depend and abilities all through the set. You’ve now included technical accountability into your coaching.
As soon as your swimmers are capable of be in keeping with their stroke counts throughout their endurance coaching, you’ll be able to ask swimmers to hit particular stroke counts or work to decrease their stroke counts. Or you’ll be able to ask them to attempt to create extra velocity with out altering their stroke counts. For example, you would have swimmers performing descending efforts whereas preserving their stroke depend the identical. These are extra superior challenges that may additional develop your swimmers’ talents to create effectivity and velocity underneath stress.
In fact, implementing stroke depend methods isn’t restricted to endurance coaching. These similar concepts apply equally to hurry work and race tempo coaching. You should utilize them to assist swimmers discover ways to create and keep stroke size at velocity, which is precisely what they should do in races.
Any time the place you need swimmers to take care of technical accountability, stroke counts are a strong instrument. They supply related, fast, and goal suggestions which makes it simpler for coaches and swimmers to acknowledge a lack of talent. And as soon as that recognition happens, they supply suggestions about whether or not makes an attempt to get these abilities again on observe have been efficient.
ABOUT ANDREW SHEAFF
Andrew Sheaff has coached swimming for nearly 20 years, together with 6 years on the College of Virginia the place he helped the Cavaliers win 3 NCAA workforce championships. He’s the creator of the guide ‘A Constraints-Led Method To Swim Teaching’, which identifies methods for optimizing particular person talent improvement in massive group coaching environments. The guide focuses on enhancing abilities that straight enhance efficiency and coaching these abilities to reliably present up in races. He presently works as a guide to coaches, golf equipment, and swimming organizations.