Man, do I hate swimming

[SteelBlue]

Originally Posted by Black Diamond Bay

My bil is, by all accounts, a really great swimmer. He also has incredibly short legs, and a long torso. He says that my sisters and I suck at swimming because we have long limbs and he claims that makes our kicking less efficient. I don't know if I buy it or not. Sadly, I am the "strong swimmer" out of the three sisters, but I have to be one of the most inefficient swimmers alive. I feel like I expend an incredible amount of energy for the distance I'm covering...which is generally very short.

Ask your bil to explain why Michael Phelps and Ian Thorpe the 2 best swimmers of the past 20 years, destroyed all of their competition despite having long limbs. Most of the best are long and lanky. There are notable exceptions (Spitz was under 6 feet tall and had size 7 feet), but I think your bil is dead wrong.

[Black Diamond Bay]

Originally Posted by SteelBlue

Ask your bil to explain why Michael Phelps and Ian Thorpe the 2 best swimmers of the past 20 years, destroyed all of their competition despite having long limbs. Most of the best are long and lanky. There are notable exceptions (Spitz was under 6 feet tall and had size 7 feet), but I think your bil is dead wrong.

We actually discussed Michael Phelps in particular, because is his legs are absurdly short for how tall he is. It does seem to me that his legs are on the short side of things. Look at this picture:
http://theleblancfamily.net/celebrit...chael_jes1.jpg

I think he might be weirdly proportioned. He's arms are almost as long as his legs.

[MikeWaters]

My brother has become a good swimmer, competed.

He has a similar build to me. And he says he can't do long-distance, because he is a sinker. He has to keep up a high pace to stay on top. Long distance a real struggle for him.

Plus I am fast-twitch predominate, and I think he is as well.

My goal is for 100 yards to be relatively effortless. I think it's a reachable goal.

[SteelBlue]

Originally Posted by Black Diamond Bay

We actually discussed Michael Phelps in particular, because is his legs are absurdly short for how tall he is. It does seem to me that his legs are on the short side of things. Look at this picture:
http://theleblancfamily.net/celebrit...chael_jes1.jpg

I think he might be weirdly proportioned. He's arms are almost as long as his legs.

Can you really come to this conclusion from a picture in which his legs are cropped at the knees?

Edit: Found a NYT article that says he does have short legs compared to his height. He apparently has a 32 inch inseam.

It's looking like your bil might be dead right and I was dead wrong. From the NYT:

Phelps's build -- 6 feet 4 inches, 195 pounds, broad shoulders, slim hips -- conforms to the classic swimmer's physique. But he is a type within that type, with a bizarrely long torso and short legs -- an inseam of just 32 inches -- that help him ride high in the water like a long, thin sailboat. The body below hip level is what tends to sag in the water, creating drag, or resistance, so Phelps, relative to his overall height, has a short lower body to keep afloat. ''He has the upper body of a man who is 6-foot-8 but not the legs to go with it,'' says Jonty Skinner, USA Swimming's national team director of technical support. ''It's an advantage.'' Another Phelps oddity: unlike most people, for whom height and wingspan are nearly identical, his wingspan is 6-foot-7, 3 inches longer than his height. He is that rare person with short legs but long arms -- that is, long levers for pulling water.
He has size 14 feet, and his hyperflexibility allows him to flex them probably 15 degrees beyond average, almost parallel to his shin, so they operate like big flippers. That is an obvious advantage, but there are lots of big feet in swimming, most notably Ian Thorpe's size 17's. Phelps's flexibility, says Scott Heinlein, his physical therapist, is ''an all-over thing -- feet, knees, hips, elbows, back. But most elite swimmers either start out flexible or become so through training. The difference with Michael is control of that flexibility in the water.''

[Archaea]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

If I am not a terrific swimmer, and my goal is to swim for as long as possible, is 30-35 sec for 25 yards too fast?

That's slower than molasses, but it's all relative.

Some relative times.

6 to 8 year olds try to swim the 25 yard freestyle in under 14 seconds and once you get below 13, you start thinking you're hot shiz.

In high school, you try to break 10 seconds for that distance so that you can break the 22 second fifty yard barrier.

As an old man in the middle of the pack, we try to swim the fifty yard free on intervals of 40 seconds. 45 is restful. It usually means we're averaging between 32 to 36 seconds per fifty.

So you should be able to complete a 25 in 30 seconds. There is nothing wrong with body but something's terribly wrong with your stroke technique.

[Black Diamond Bay]

Originally Posted by SteelBlue

Can you really come to this conclusion from a picture in which his legs are cropped at the knees?

Edit: Found a NYT article that says he does have short legs compared to his height. He apparently has a 32 inch inseam.

It's looking like your bil might be dead right and I was dead wrong. From the NYT:

Interesting, maybe that is my problem then, I have too much lower body dragging me down in the water.

[Archaea]

Originally Posted by Black Diamond Bay

Interesting, maybe that is my problem then, I have too much lower body dragging me down in the water.

For some, yes, for you, no.

[bluegoose]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

If I am not a terrific swimmer, and my goal is to swim for as long as possible, is 30-35 sec for 25 yards too fast?

I just checked times for my now 7 year old. His last times, as a 6 year old for the 25 yard freestyle and backstroke were 33 and 32 seconds. Granted he swims 4-5 hours a week and has done so for more than 2 years.

I don't think those times are too fast. I agree that you must be terribly inefficient in the water. And this coming from some someone who is fairly inefficient in the water. The question is - why? Did you forget to shave your legs and don your speedo before the swim check? That could be your problem.

[marsupial]

Originally Posted by Archaea

If only I could increase blood flow to other body parts.

This is even better than "Mormon men are inherently sexy."

[MikeWaters]

30-35 sec is not my flat-out speed. It is my speed that I was attempting to do in relaxed fashion. If I want to swim 800 yards, I will need to get much better in the water, because I am tired after just 25 yards.