It’s an all too common occurrence: Athletes being instructed that reducing their stroke rate in their swim is the telltale benchmark of swimming improvement. Unfortunately, it's not that simple. All too often I've witnessed coaches focus so much on reducing the number of strokes their athlete takes per length in training that they neglect to consider distance per stroke, pace, and the overall impact of not taking all these factors into consideration. In the end, the performance of the athlete suffers.

Before I continue further, let's define distance per stroke, and stroke rate as simply as possible:

Distance Per Stroke: How far you go, or have gone, every time your hand enters the water.
Stroke Rate: How fast you turn your arms over and have a hand enter the water.

The two of these factors, combined with proper mechanics and an efficient pull, help determine ones pace in the water. And let's not confuse stroke rate with a stroke cycle. We're keeping it simple here and focusing on stroke rate.

Now, allow me to sum up how to look at distance per stroke and stroke rate (which moving forward I'll refer to as DPS, and SR) in an easy to understand relationship (borrowed from swim coach Jonty Skinner):

In regards to SR: A .03 second increase, per stroke cycle, over 50 meters and you can potentially see up to a .4 second improvement. Over 200 meters this could yield up to 1.5 seconds. Depending on the number of strokes taken and assuming the DPS does not decrease.
In regards to DPS: A 1 inch improvement and you can expect almost the same relative impact. That is to say, potentially, up to a .4 second gain per 50 meters or up to 1.5 seconds over 200 meters depending, again, on the number of strokes taken and assuming the SR stays consistent.

A couple more things to keep in mind: A really fast SR (where the swimmer is just thrashing their way though the water) almost always yields a minimal DPS and a slow swim. And a really slow SR also, almost always, yields a slow swim. It’s a very interesting, and complicated, relationship.

Looking back at my opening statement, if you can reduce the number of strokes that you take over one length of the pool while maintaining the same pace / time, then you can absolutely be confident that improvements have been made. However, if you reduce the number of strokes taken but add time (ie: slow down) then it’s time to revisit stroke mechanics and focus on drills and improving efficiency.

There's a huge potential for time savings here and on paper this looks to be a very simple improvement to make. But these changes don't come easily. It's a combination of DPS, SR, cardio load, form and mechanics - they all come into play. It's up to your coach to take all factors into consideration, find limiters, provide the tools for remediation, and increase the performance of the athlete.

It takes work. In some cases lots of work, to make the necessary changes to your stroke to find these improvements. Questions? Send Dave an email, Or contact us and we can discuss the best approach for looking at this critical relationship. Remember, having an efficient and effective stroke is the first step in improving your swim.