Improves swimming performance by working the cadence
Most swimmers tend to go with low cadences for their swimming rhythm, leading to dead spots in the stroke that generate deceleration and increase energy expenditure
Our collaborator Reebok Performance Tells us on this occasion how the frequency of swimming can increase our swimming performance.
It is very common to talk about cadences on a bicycle, high cadences were made fashionable by Armstrong and almost all high-level cyclists now regularly maintain rhythms of more than 100 pedal strokes per minute.
In the race we are all familiar with the magic number of the 180 steps per minute minimum, The best marathoners have a cadence of 190-200 steps per minute.
And in swimming Do you know what is the optimal cadence to improve swimming efficiency?
In a work of research conducted by the University of Texas (Mc Lean et al, 2010). They asked multi-level college swimmers to swim in a countercurrent pool at a speed of 1: 40 / 100m, so swimmers had to maintain that speed.
The Natural swimmer frequency of swimmers (between 50 to 65 strokes per minute). They were then asked to swim 10% and 20% below, and 10% and 20% above their natural cadence.
In each test oxygen consumption, heart rate and perceived effort were measured to give an indication of the swimming economy.
What was the results?
The most efficient thing was to be an 10% above the natural rate of swimming.
By decreasing the cadence (longer stroke length), oxygen consumption, heart rate and perceived effort increased.
These data suggest that the trying to maximize the length of the stroke makes us less effective, especially to increase the beat of legs.
Most swimmers tend to go with low cadences for their swimming rhythm, resulting in dead spots in the stroke that generate deceleration and increase the energy expenditure to accelerate again in a medium that is about 1000 times denser than the air.
How to know what is the ideal rhythm of swimming for a certain rhythm?
The first thing is to know what cadence we have and how we can modify it, for this there is a small gadget that is very useful called Wetronomo. It will help us to be very regular in the rhythm or consciously vary the cadences to be more efficient.
From our experience this study is very successful, in almost all the assessments we have made we recommend increasing the cadence to optimize
If you want to know what your ideal cadence is for the rhythm of competition that you can do the ramp test at Reebok Sports club (The farm). It is part of the Valuation swimming biomechanics or as a Biofeedback service.
More information about Reebook Performance:
LOCATION AND CONTACT
Reebok Sports Club La Finca
Pº Sports Club, 4
28223 Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid
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