Counting your strokes is one of the most under-appreciated aspects of tracking your improvement and speed.
I’ve already discussed how to pay attention to and develop your speed, which is a critical aspect of improving your swimming.
If you know how fast you’re swimming, you’re going to be motivated to make adjustments if you believe you can be better, or continue to do what you’ve been doing if you’re happy with where you’re at.
However, there’s more to performance than speed alone.
Measuring your stroke counts provides you with information about HOW you’re swimming.
It’s a simple and effective measurement of how efficient you’re swimming.
Less strokes = more efficient and more strokes = less efficient.
Are you swimming more or less efficiently than before?
Is your efficiency changing within a repetition or within a workout? Is that good or bad?
How does your efficiency relate to your speed?
These are all questions you can answer when you know your stroke counts.
How should you start using stroke counts?
Find out here.
#2 Master Consistency
With the habit of counting your strokes in place, the first goal is to establish consistency.
Whenever you perform a repetition, you want to take the same number of strokes on the last lap as you do on the first lap.
If you’re doing 6x100s, the first and last lap of each 100 should be the same, as well as all the rest!
Many triathletes lose efficiency over the course of a repetition and the course of a practice.
By ensuring you’re consistent, you’re ensuring you’re executing your skills to the same standard throughout a practice.
You’re building SKILL endurance.
The specific numbers aren’t important.
What’s important is the CONSISTENCY.
Now, the actual number may differ depending on what you’re doing, and that’s to be expected.
For instance, your stroke count will probably be higher if doing fast 50s as compared to smooth 150s.
Be consistent with whatever you’re doing.
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