Why Long Course Is Great for Swimmers
Long course gets a tough rap. For one, not a lot of pools are long course, so to find one often takes a long drive to an out of the way pool that has been filled with what feels like an illegal amount of chlorine. And then, when you get there, it seems like your coach always gives the hardest workouts you’ve ever done. Combine that with the walls being cut in half, and many swimmers are not a fan. But here are three reasons why long course is great for swimmers.
1) It Lets You Stretch Your Stroke Out
Lets say you kick out to the flags. That’s five yards. Then if you need to adjust for your turn 5 yards before the wall, that leaves 15 yards of uninterrupted swimming. That’s 60% of the lap where you get to take long, natural strokes. In long course? If you do the same distribution, you get 40 meters of uninterrupted swimming- that’s 80%! This means you get 40 meters each lap to focus on your body position, efficiency, and distance per stroke. No walls to interrupt, just you and your stroke.
2) It Forces Endurance Based Fitness
Sure the underwaters of short course can spark your heart rate and make you fit. But having to swim uninterrupted (as mentioned above) forces a level of endurance and muscular fitness that is hard to get elsewhere. Having to take 25-40 strokes a lap certainly makes it easier to go back to short course and take 8!
3) It Makes You Aware of Decelerations
Feel like a slug at the end of a lap? There’s no hiding this feeling in long course, and that can force you to be aware of how and why you’re decelerating. Maybe your tempo drops, maybe your body position caves, or maybe you slip through the water after 25 meters. Regardless of the cause, long course forces you to be aware and adjust for these drop offs.
Want More Help?
We all know that swimming can be really hard! And you may need help getting started with implementing little habits like these. That’s where we come in to help. At College Swim Connect, we connect you with experienced mentors: elite college swimmers who have figured this stuff out. They can guide you through and give you access to their own arsenal of tools that they’ve carefully created over the years. Enter your email on our site and get started today with a free meeting!
