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4:51pm
but even though i think kicking is really important, i still think being able to feel water and get a good catch with your pull is probably a little more important. we have guys here that are ok at kicking but when it comes to sprinting (swimming) they are the best in the world.
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4:48pm
ya kicking is very important!
i do consider myself a good kicker, at least in the top three here at az. albert subirats is another really good kicker here too! we are always going at it at practice.
if you think about it, when your swimming (free and back) your legs are constantly or at least they should be propelling you forwards, whereas there are "dead spots" in your arm cycles where you are not pulling or pushing water to make you go forward.
we do some pretty big kick sets here at az. every Tuesday and Thursday we lift weigthts and then come on deck to do our kick set.
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4:30pm
Great topic! Being a swimmer my entire life I have come to the conclusion that there is no such thing as a perfect stroke and that no two strokes are the same. Grant Hackett, Cesar Ceilo and Micheal Phelps all have a completely different way of swimming freestyle, yet all have been relatively succesful with their own method. The only obvious commmon denominator between these guys is superior god given ability. I would also assume that all three of them swim year round, train 5-6 hours per day with a positive attitude and enjoy what they do.
If you were to create a human robot and upload Micheal Phelps freestyle technique onto that robot you would also have to make sure that robot has the same shoulder flexibility, same hand size, same ability to repeat a stroke and so on. Any inforior feature of that robot to Phelps and the robot would not be able to output the same results as Phelps. Apply this to human beings and the same thing is true. Some people will blow their shoulders out if they try to repeat what Phelps does. That does not mean this person can not be succesful relative to their own god given ability with their own stroke that they can repeat without injury.
Modeling is good in the sense that we as humans learn new things that apply to all people such as the streamline kick under water being faster than swimming on top or that having a faster stroke rate with a longer stroke = a faster time. These new things can help the swimming body as a whole get faster, as incomming 8 and unders are tought more efficient ways to swim, but its not going to turn your kid into Micheal Phelps. Most individual improvements come from growth spurts, or some kind of improvement in strength and conditioning. It is very difficult to change the mussle memory of an experienced swimmer. This might mean hitting a plateau and putting in 10x the effort for a tenth a second drop in a 100 free. There really is no magic pill or model out there to turn Johnny into an olympian.
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3:16pm
You need to lighten up. The advice seems to be very sound, and I wouldn't be surprised if results have been coming his way. Good jorb Asdf, Full of Myself, or whoever wants to take credit for that.
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3:03pm
Ok guys, I am really sorry about all the messages.

I have been giving everyone kind of a hard time. It was all in good fun.
Obviously, I am not this full of myself. I just wanted people to believe in themselves and not limit their potential by giving up.
Sorry if anyone was offended.
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2:38pm
Even seniors need inspiration from great swimmers. Thanks for good thoughts....and we look forward to seeing you give it everything you've got.
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2:37pm
"full of myself?" did offer his advice when he was asked, and it seemed like reasonable advice, but some people dont agree with him so that makes him an idiot?...this is ridiculous, hes not wanting anyone to do anything, he is just responding to people's questions. obviously there are different opinions on this topic, so just because someone has a different viewpoint, they are wrong?

ouch you are right, this conversation has just fallen apart, but thats because of people like you who instead of contributing to this site with knowledge and facts, decide to just call people idiots or cowards and say people live in their basements when really you have no idea what you are talking about. It's a shame
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2:36pm
Hey, since this blog is about taper and not suits...(although I think I might try the suit in the oven idea! lol)

Could anybody tell me what the standard taper time is? I feel like my coach doesn't rest us enough/ or soon enough and my taper hits late...like when do most swimmer get the most "benefit" out of resting? I heard 1st and 3rd week, but I don't know if that is true or not. Three days before Summer Sectionals our coach had us swimming 5,500 yards with a good portion of that being aerobic work.
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2:27pm
Gotcha. I should have made the presumption we were talking pool swimming. Thanks!
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1:18pm
Darian, do you consider yourself as a good kicker?
I saw you swimming in Stockholm and I think that your kick was awesome :)
And do you think that kick is the most important part in fast swimming?
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1:10pm
yea i remember putting and fs2 in the dryer and when i pulled it out it was more shiny(the "scales" and what not), from what i understand about waterproof coatings, you need to heat up the fabric in order to get it to stick, otherwise you just spray it on and it washed off when you put it in water, im betting that when they initially coat the suit they heat it up, so if you did heat up the suit im guessing the coating some how collects better on the surface? I would throw the suit in the dryer before i put it in the oven though, sounds like it could start a fire, you could also possibly buy the teflon spray and spray it on after you put it in the dryer

unfortunately for my situation even getting one blue seventy seems to be out of budget, thinking about starting a school swim club to get funding from recreation department not provided by athletic department
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12:38pm
no i don't get them lazer fitted, i guess you need to be phelps or thorpe to get this done :)
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12:25pm
The urban legend is that the fs1 and possibly fs2s were coated with teflon to be more hydrodynamic. This teflon coating wears out quickly which is why these suits lose their effectiveness even when the integrity of the material is still present.

The idea is that by putting it in the oven at 350 you will somehow heat it up enough to create a new teflon layer. Sounds like total BS. If you want my advice, buy as many blueseventy's as you can and just trade them among your swimmers. They can be taken off and put on in about 2 minutes and the exterior drys instantly with a rub of a towel.
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11:40am
i also believe the suits will really help in fly and breast, but i thought it was weird that the 100 fly record set by crocker (not in new suit) was not broken at the olympics, maby people didn't practice with them enough?
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11:36am
Gordon Amato from Towson University. FYI It shows their names at the end of the race when I show the board.
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11:36am
my word mr. pinno...
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11:31am
who is that guy in lane 4 or 5 in just the speedo? didn't win the race but the kid has a strong stroke
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11:27am
This conversation has just fallen apart...

It is obvious that "full of myself?" is an idiot who is just egging everyone on here...let it go everyone else... you are just doing what he wants you to do...he wants to feel important...when in reality he is living in his mom's basement....
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11:26am
lol no, but i might whats the theory behind that, ( you obviously understand im part of low funded mid-major team trying to get the most bang for my buck), and maby laser-fitted is just a rumor, but ive heard of phelps having it done
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11:15am
Laser fitted...it starts to sound more like star trek than swimming:)
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11:14am
I own a blueseventy but not a 5 lb weight. I am pretty sure the 5 lb weight would drown it.

Have you ever tried putting your old fastskin in the oven to reactivate the teflon?
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11:12am
come on! will no one comment on the 5 pound weight rumor(see below post). I haven't gotten my hands on the suit yet but would like to try the experiment. Also Darian do you get your suits laser fitted, from what i heard in the previous model suits you really had to get the laser fit to get maximum benefit, but not in the new suits(because they are like floaties)
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10:53am
95% is the perfect strategy for 95% of the population. Elite athletes work long and hard to fine tune the ability to hit pace and effort without blowing up, in either a race or training over time. plus, that description of what goes on in your head is hilarious!
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10:46am
@Jimmy: You aren't older than me. Get back in the pool and train and you can race in one of these suits.
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10:34am
I wish I could wear of these new "tech" suits. I was on the start of the FS2 era and I only wore legs because one my chest wasn't big enough for the full body and two as a distance swimmer I felt like I would get too hot. When I swam with the legs though I felt they made a huge difference because my style of freestyle didn't involve a lot of kicking and the suit somewhat helped me keep correct body position. I've heard and read great things about the blue seventy and I'm thinking about getting a blue seventy suit for my open water adventures.

Also, concerning heart rates, they're a true indicator of how hard you're working, because to get your heart rate up to 160 - 180 range you have to put in a good amount of effort. So it's a good way to keep your swimmers/athletes honest on the amount of effort their giving in a workout.
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10:03am
Yes definitely. Thats why I was careful to say "pool" swimming since we don't have races longer than 1500 meters, which takes a little bit longer than the running 5k.
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10:02am
ok here is a small example of what i believe the blueseventy body suit did for me:

i was swimming these world cups in durban, moscow, stockhom and berlin earlier this year. in the IM's my best time going into berlin, which was the last meet of the series, was 52.9 (100 IM) and 1:55.3 (200 IM). i had been swimming all the IM's in only a leg skin (i'l keep the make anonamous). in berlin being th last meet and because they were offering a car for the best overall performance of the meet, i decided why not try wear a blueseventy full body suit in the IM's. Actually Rick DeMont has been trying to get me to wear one since before the Olympics! So I did.
Well I went 51.8 in the 100 IM (ranked 1st in the world this year) and 1:52.5 in the 200 IM (ranked 2nd in the world this year). I can honestly say the blueseventy suit made me feel awesome and I attribute the huge drop in time to both my getting more confident but also to this suit.
I was a little worried about wearing a full body for backstroke, but it felt great. I don't usually go very far underwater with backstroke, but I went 15 m exactly in the 100 IM and came out way in front!
But where I really believe the suit helps is in fly and breast, because it allows you to get your hips out higher of the water, which we all know is really important for those strokes!
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9:09am
Come on Glenn put up a team at YNATS that will win for once!!!
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9:03am
I bet I can beat both of you so shut up....aerobic training makes you grow a pair so at a taper meet its possible to put a beat down on people like "thatsme"
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