We might feel like we’re swimming faster but only the numbers really know, says Andrew Sheaff. Here he explains which numbers are key to big swim gains\u2026 <\/p>
How do I know if my swim skills are improving? It\u2019s a common question and an important one. If you\u2019re trying to improve your technique, you need feedback about how the process is going so you can adjust as necessary. Without it, you\u2019re blind!\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n While you can pay attention to how you feel, that\u2019s pretty subjective. Worse still, you might not really understand how it should feel. You\u2019re better served by keeping things objective, and letting your numbers guide your learning.<\/p>\n Knowing how fast you\u2019re swimming is the bottom line in swimming. If you\u2019re getting faster, you\u2019re improving. That\u2019s pretty hard to dispute. If you\u2019re working on a new skill, and you\u2019re seeing progress in speed, that\u2019s a pretty good sign that you\u2019re learning something positive.<\/p>\n But if you\u2019re not paying attention to how fast you\u2019re swimming, you might miss it!\u00a0 Likewise, sometimes you\u2019re trying to learn a skill and it\u2019s making you worse. That\u2019s also critical information you won\u2019t have if you\u2019re not paying attention to your speed.<\/p>\n A lot of triathletes do pay attention to their speed, but few pay attention to their stroke count. Why is it important? Knowing your speed clues you in on how effective you\u2019re being. Knowing how many strokes you\u2019re taking lets you know how efficient you\u2019re being.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re taking less strokes, that means you\u2019re being more efficient. That means more endurance and it\u2019s also important for long-term improvement. Your speed and your stroke counts don\u2019t always improve at the same time or the same rate, so knowing your counts gives you more perspective about your progress.<\/p>\n <\/p><\/div> <\/section> Getting both is the best of both worlds. It allows you to know if you\u2019re swimming more effectively (faster) and efficiently (longer).<\/p>\n What\u2019s particularly valuable is when you\u2019re doing one, but not the other. If you\u2019re swimming faster, but taking more strokes, that means you need to shift your focus to stroke count and making sure you\u2019re getting more out of each stroke.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re taking less strokes, but you\u2019ve given up a lot of speed, that\u2019s valuable information as well, and you probably shift your focus to speed.<\/p>\n Keeping track of both numbers also helps you appreciate trade-offs. Let\u2019s say you swim a lot faster, and you take one extra stroke. That\u2019s probably \u2018worth it\u2019 because you got a lot of speed for only one more stroke. However, if you only went slightly faster, but took six extra strokes, that\u2019s probably not good.<\/p>\n The same is true when the situation is reversed. A lot less strokes with only a little less speed is a win, but if you give up a lot of speed for only one less stroke, that\u2019s not what you want.<\/p>\n Knowing your numbers helps you understand what\u2019s happening when you\u2019re working on new skills. It lets you know what\u2019s working, and what could be working better.<\/p>\n Rather than just going by feel, you can use that information to double down on what\u2019s getting better and adjust in situations where progress isn\u2019t what you want. The numbers show you the way!<\/p>\n <\/p><\/div> <\/section> Top image credit: <\/strong>Getty Images<\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n We might feel like we’re swimming faster but only the numbers really know, says Andrew Sheaff. Here he explains which numbers are key to big swim gains\u2026 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":24662,"template":"","categories":[1,23],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"3"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2023\/08\/how-do-i-know-if-my-swim-skills-are-improving.jpg",1200,800,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2023\/08\/how-do-i-know-if-my-swim-skills-are-improving-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2023\/08\/how-do-i-know-if-my-swim-skills-are-improving-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2023\/08\/how-do-i-know-if-my-swim-skills-are-improving-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2023\/08\/how-do-i-know-if-my-swim-skills-are-improving-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2023\/08\/how-do-i-know-if-my-swim-skills-are-improving.jpg",1200,800,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2023\/08\/how-do-i-know-if-my-swim-skills-are-improving.jpg",1200,800,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"We might feel like we're swimming faster but only the numbers really know, says Andrew Sheaff. Here he explains which numbers are key to big swim gains\u2026","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/24661"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24662"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24661"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/220triathlon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24661"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Get your times<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Get your stroke counts<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\n
Get both<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Trade-offs<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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