Terry Laughlin sent me his thoughts regarding the post I made about the new 'Arena Powerskin R-Evolution ' speedsuit

My quote regarding the new suit: "What really has me interested in this suit is that a scientist named Alfio Quarteroni did the number crunching so as to develop computer models that would quantify drag reduction and speed increase too."

Here is a link to the orignal blog post: [Link]

Terry responds: "I get the Science of Sports newsletter and followed a link from it to your blog. This topic is of significant interest to me as well. One question that Jonathan and Ross raise that I do not hear from others that often is, if the drag reduction potential from a suit is that significant, how many more significant opportunities for drag reduction from biomechanical improvements are being overlooked. Given that the suits are most likely to have their greatest impact on reducing friction drag which is the least significant of the three forms of drag, how much more could swimmers and coaches be doing to reduce, say, wave drag, which is the most impactful form of drag and which the suit is not likely to impact at all? I suppose Alfio and friends could contribute something meaningful to documenting what technique adjustments do impact that and how much. But of course, who would pay the millions for that sort on non-commercial research.

In any case, I enjoyed reading. Thanks." Here is a link to the Total Immersion website: [Link]

It is accurate to say that Terry Laughlin has had a big impact on swimming and I am very flattered that he wrote me. I may not swim well, and I may not swim fast, but it is a real joy for me when I get letters or comments from giants in the field such as Terry Laughlin, Glenn Mills, Erik Hochstein, masters swimmers, bloggers, friends or the Olympians who post anonymously and either call me out or correct me.

The above photo is Team Arena which I found on the Arena website: [Link]

My unqualified critique of a Terry Laughlin article at "about.com"

I saw this article a couple of weeks ago and I was apprehensive about posting it. I couldn't figure out why till tonight. In this about.com article, Terry Laughlin puts forth some interesting statistics and compelling arguments regarding Popov's power output in relation to the swimmers he competed against. Ultimately Laughlin makes a case for how important technique is over brute force. Here is a short paragraph from the article:

"... In the same vein, Rick Sharp and Jane Cappaert of the International Center for Aquatic Research have reported that of all the men's 100-meter freestylers in the 92 Olympics, the finalists averaged a power output 16% LOWER than everyone else in the field who FAILED to make finals. This is so because swimmers who maximize their stroke efficiency simply don't NEED as much power to swim fast. ..." [Link]

My problem with the article is Laughlin's stringent use of Popov's technique as an über template of perfect symmetry and grace which he seemingly suggests should be used as the de facto standard. Personally, I feel the freestyle form is fluid and evolving. I think one's gross anatomy, their flexibility, and the strength of the individual determines how they should swim. In other words you shouldn't fit the person to the stroke but rather fit the stroke to the person. To support my argument I included a video above from You Tube of Stefan Nystrand setting a world record in the 100 free SCM. Note, he swims like a submerged helicopter and he can do it faster than Popov.

In his first lap Nystrand takes 13-strokes. On laps two and three he takes 16 strokes, on his last lap I counted 19-strokes. I had to watch it twice to confirm.

UPDATE: I am submitting this video of Nystrand from the front view. Note how he looks up rather than downward. The total immersion school feels you should look more downward, Personally I have to look more downward to stay flatter in the water due to the shape of my body. Nystrand apparently does not have to.

Breaststroke articles and explanations

Breaststroke Breakthrough - Terry Laughlin. This article is a bit dated; circa 1999. I believe breaststroke has gone through some more changes excluding the new dolphin kick turn. Lots of step-by-step photos here. [Link]

Here is the most in depth article I have ever seen on a particular stroke. It has several videos, illustrations, measurements, statistics, charts and a detailed bibliography. It's called: Diagnosing and Estimating the Best Breaststroke Style for each Swimmer Based on Physical Characteristics -- K.U.Leuven. [Link]

Here is a Science related article about the breaststroke, A new index of flat breaststroke propulsion: A comparison of elite men and women. Guess what? Men are faster in a sprint. [Link]

Article: "How to Swim With Your Body - Not With Your Arms" by Terry Laughlin

"Whoops-a daisy": edits ahead in the fifth paragraph!

I am convinced that swimming is both an art and a science and what is ironic is that I have a; er..., "sketchy" stroke and I am about to give an opinion regarding freestyle.

Over at Timed Finals there is an article on Freestyle by Terry Laughlin discussing how to swim with your core. Snippet:

• Consider this… as the core is rotating so that the right shoulder is rising, it is pulling the upper arm along with it. The upper arm is pulling the forearm and hand through the catch. It is NOT the hand that initiates the pull or the propulsion, it is the CORE. If that is the case, should not the kick be timed to assist the core rather than the hand? When the timing is right, not only does the core drive the extensions called arms… it drives the extensions called legs. ALL of the body becomes involved in the stroke if it comes from the core. [Link]
  

After reading this article and then Erik Hochstein's comment, I remembered in one of my art anatomy books; (Art Anatomy by William Rimmer 1877), there is a page where 12 different body types, all of them male, were illustrated. Each body type varied from longer torsos and curved spines to more linear figures that you would see in a ballet rather than a 100 meter dash.

Also noted is that women have proportionately longer legs than men but proportionately shorter arms. That females also have less elongated torsos because they have one less rib. [Boy is my face red. Both men and women have the save amount of ribs but the floating ribs on a woman are much smaller and placed closer together. The extension a man has is what frames the male torso.] (That floating rib that men have truly frames their core strength.) Refference: [Link]

With all that in mind, if you compare Janet Evans', Laure Manaudou's, or Kate Ziegler's, stroke to that of Grant Hackett or Ian Thorpe you will notice that there is no Glide phase in these women's strokes but rather constant motion. You will see that they swim with a windmill or kayak stroke whereas Grant or Ian use their longer arms and perhaps core strength to glide.

Subsequently I am convinced that each body type swims in a different way and that no "official technique" can be imposed but rather modified to that person's needs and abilities.

Jazz is a perfect example. Dexter Gordon, Stan Getz and John Coltrane all played the tenor sax. All played with perfect pitch but all have a different sound.