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Hoots : Swimming timing improvement help I'm 16 yrs old.my freestyle 100m timing is 1.05.14 is it possible for me to get my timing down to 54 secs before April 2018 - freshhoot.com

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Swimming timing improvement help
I'm 16 yrs old.my freestyle 100m timing is 1.05.14 is it possible for me to get my timing down to 54 secs before April 2018


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Hard to say without knowing your physical attributes, your technique or training program....But shaving 10s off in 9 months is a big task for anybody.

I can only make these suggestions based on my own experience - training (lots of it), a good coach, and attitude/perseverance.
Sleep and nutrition helps too.

I competed at state and national level in my youth, and my best at 16 was 54.9s for the 100m free. I'm not a tall bloke - 175cm, weighed about 55-60kgs at 16, so not a big bloke either.

I trained about 8-9 times a week - both morning and night, both at club and school. Some sessions would hit the 10km mark. Club races on the weekend. My training consisted of lots of sprint work, heart rate sets, some distance/endurance work, and dry-land strength work. And a good taper period before a state/national meet.

The 50m and 100m are explosive movements - you'll need to improve your technique, your stroke efficiency (distance per stroke), but probably more importantly your kick (both power and endurance). It's hard to perfect form in an all-out sprint, but for me, the breakdown was this:

The dive - Sets you up for a good sprint. Work on getting speed and distance off the block, and your streamlining/speed under the water up to the maximum legal distance. Not sure what it is these days, but when I completed it was something like 15m underwater...Improving your butterfly/dolphin kick here is important - remember that you travel faster under the surface than you do on it. DO NOT take a breath as you surface - you'll drastically lose speed.
The first lap - explosive, but pace yourself. This is where you'll focus on technique - You'll need every bit of energy for an all effort on the last lap. As many strokes as possible before taking the first breath, and then as many as possible in between breaths - a minimum of 4 strokes/breath was my aim. Try to get as far as possible with each stroke. And kick - use those legs.
The Turn - Fast and efficient, and set up for getting good power off the wall for fast underwater movement up to the legal distance - same as the dive. Again, do not take a breath right before the turn, nor as you surface coming out of the turn.
The last leg - all out effort. No time to focus on technique (nor your competitors) here, it's all or nothing. Again, as many strokes as you can between breaths, and get those legs moving.
Hitting the wall. Literally. Power through your last few strokes and finish with an almighty reach to punch through that wall. Don't back off - let the wall stop you.

And one last note - I always shaved down on the morning of the meet. Whole body.
Those shaving cuts serve as real motivators to get to the finish!


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As it is stated, it's not really possible to say for sure if you can get your 100m freestyle time down to 54 seconds in a year. 10 seconds in a year is a very big jump, but there are some things to look at that may help.

Form - Freestyle sprinting is all about efficiency and form. If your form is whonky or you are not as streamlined as you could be, then you could be costing yourself valuable time that is basically free for drills. This can really only be assessed by an on the deck instructor that can look at your form. The best ones will also utilize above and underwater video from multiple angles.
Strength/Conditioning - Dryland drills are just as important as your workout routine. Flexibility in your ankles/calves and shoulders will allow greater range of motion and efficiency (See #1 ).
Threshold/Interval work - No two ways about it, you have to spend a lot of time in the pool making it hurt. Interval is short distance, long rest done at above race pace. Threshold work is also short to medium distance, done on shorter rest, at about 80-90% (Depending) of race pace. Along with that, you need the usual form drills, distance conditioning, multiple stroke work, etc.
Nutrition - Critical. You have to be properly fueled, and have quality food at that. If you are doing huge volume, then you may need to take some shortcuts with high calorie dense foods, but try to make sure that a majority of your calories are serving a purpose and not just more.
Rest - Also critical. You can't perform good workouts or races when you are tired. There will be days when you feel awesome, days when you feel like dog meat. Take advantage of the great days and push extra, and relax and/or skip days when you don't feel good.

There are a lot of other little details, like shaving, tapering, race preparation, start practice, etc., but that you really need to have a coach help you with planning and details.


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