CADENCE IN SWIMMING
Cadence in swimming has the same parameters as
cadence in running. But compare to
running, in
swimming we have to consider the addition of body of water to the equation and that changes things slightly. For example,
muscles' elasticity kicks in at 180 or higher in
running, but in
swimming muscles' elasticity doesn't work quite the same, while it is undoubtedly present and working, it's effect is somewhat muted because of the presence of water in which the body has to move.
So what is the ideal cadence for swimming? There is no ideal, but there is an optimal cadence that we could strive for. In past and current
literature on swimming, the cadence observed and described is anywhere between 20-80 spm (strokes per minute).
Top swimmers operate in the range of 45 to 65 spm.
Michael Phelps works with cadence of 45 to 55 depending on the distance. But if you put him along side an amateur with the same cadence,
M. Phelps will leave the poor guy behind in no time. How can he move faster with the same cadence? His perception of support is far more advanced. A perception of support in water taught in
Pose Swimming is something vaguely called a "feel for the water" when swim coaches instruct their athletes and tell them to develop one. But because there is no precise definition of "feeling for the water", athletes are left working on that mysterious "something", where in
Pose Swimming there are drills that teach what the "feel for the water" is.
In
Pose Method, swimmers are taught to focus and work on developing a perception of support first and then cadence and other stuff. Cadence and consequently speed strongly depend on individual's ability to change support. Trying to achieve a particular cadence in swimming comes only after a good perception of support and change of support in water is achieved. Working on increasing cadence alone will result in a "windmill" like action without much increase in speed of forward movement. Imagine, for example, running without leaning forward but with cadence of 200. You could pretty much stay in one spot like that. However, the speed of forward movement will increase if you
lean forward (fall) and then also
change support, doing so at high rate will also help you utilize what is yours by nature - leg muscles' elasticity.
In swimming you can increase speed by just learning the perception of support and the action of change of support in water. Very few have a natural perception of support in water, but those are the ones that pass you by in the water with even lower cadence than yours. Once you got the "support" part down, you could work specifically on implementing a higher cadence to speed up even more.
Article by Dr. Nicholas Romanov
Composed by L. Romanov
