3 Things That Will Make You Faster Just by Knowing Them

Swimming Theory Series, Part 1.

The 3 Elements to Becoming Faster

From the time I entered the National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Kanoya until I graduated, Professor Tanaka persistently drilled these into me before and after classes and practices.

As you may know, Professor Tanaka is the coach who trained Ai Shibata. He coached the first Japanese swimmer to break 16 minutes and 15 minutes in the men's 1500m. His achievements, such as winning the women's overall title at the Intercollegiate Championships, are too numerous to list.

After retiring from the National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Kanoya in 2014, the professor began working at JISS. I followed him from Kagoshima to Tokyo and then to JISS. I was coached by him for seven years, up until the 2017 Japan Championships.

I will introduce the 3 elements to becoming faster.

1. Reduce resistance

There are broadly three types of resistance.

1. Skin friction resistance

Friction resistance caused by the body's surface coming into contact with water. The larger the body, the greater this resistance becomes.

2. Wave-making resistance

Resistance encountered from the direction of travel caused by colliding with water. This can be reduced by maintaining a streamline. This resistance increases when the legs sink in the latter half of a race.

3. Eddy resistance

Vortex-like resistance that pulls the body backward as it moves forward. This can be reduced by making the rear side streamlined.

2. Increase the power exerted by the body

There are also three types of power.

1. High power

Speed. This is what matters for 50m and 100m events.

2. Middle power

Speed endurance. This is especially important for the 200 and 400.

3. Low power

Endurance. This is important for events like the 800 and 1500 where you need to maintain a pace.

3. Improve propulsion efficiency

This is technical. It involves improving your water-catching technique and your resistance-avoidance technique. It means catching a lot of water and reducing the resistance you encounter. It is about how much water you can catch far from your body and push all the way past your body.

These are the three elements for getting faster that Mr. Tanaka has been telling me repeatedly.

If you can level up even one of these, you have the potential to get faster.

How have I put this into practice?

Basically, you need to know what kind of practice each session is. Think about which of the three elements for getting faster it is intended to strengthen. Is it a practice to strengthen physical fitness, improve technique, or enhance speed? Look at the menu and understand the coach's intent. If you don't understand, ask the coach. Then, first, complete the practice as instructed. This is the first step. Next, add your own thoughts to the coach's intent. Focus on one thing in your swimming during a practice intended to strengthen physical fitness. By approaching it this way, you can further improve your skills.

I also used to set a theme for myself each week. I would think of a theme while keeping the three elements for getting faster in mind. Every week, I would have a week where I focused on breathing, a week where I focused on recovery, or a week where I focused on the speed of the last rep. Anything is fine, but by setting your own theme, you can notice changes and practice becomes fun.

Sometimes, I would set a theme for myself called 'Death Week.' Due to the nature of the event, I often control my pace during regular practice so that I don't get exhausted by the end. This 'Death Week' is about going all-out from the first rep and practicing until you have no strength left by the end. I would keep going until I was exhausted every single one of the 10 sessions a week. Sometimes my teacher would get angry at me for continuing to practice until I was exhausted for a whole week. I think if you can incorporate even one week a month, you can aim for a level up.

I believe it takes three weeks for humans to adapt. Even if you try harder than usual for just one day, it rarely leads to results. The same goes for just one week. If you try it for three weeks, thinking you might be fooled, it might lead to good results. That is how I thought about it when I worked on it.

Review

3 elements to get faster

1. Reduce resistance

2. Increase the power your body generates

3. Improve propulsion efficiency

　I hope this provides some helpful hints.

I'm still thinking about the content for next time.