Tempo Trainer

[courtney.rennie]

The Revy gang bought tempo trainers.  However, now that we have received them we are uncertain what an appropriate number would be to set it at so that we are swimming in proper cadence.  I suppose this will be different for everyone but any advice would be helpful.

Thanks.

[Andrew]

For those that don't know what a Tempo Trainer is, it is simply a waterproof metronome that you can wear under your cap to give you an audible beep, and guide your cadence.

I have a number of units for our athletes to borrow or buy when they are ready to give it whirl...but as I mentioned in another thread, ONLY AFTER TECHNIQUE HAS BEEN DEVELOPED.

Here is how I would start with tempo trainer:

Try starting the temp trainer at a very slow rate...1.40 seconds per stroke. Do 200m getting used to how it feels. Try to record your time for the distance, and also count your strokes for each length, ensuring it does not change over the whole distance. This is a very slow cadence, and may feel a bit awkward.

The next 200m go to 1.30
then 1.20
1.10
1.00

At some point you will feel it become more natural, and then begin to feel like a bit of a struggle to maintain stroke count, while the tempo trainer forces you to move your hands faster than you are used to. This is where we add Turtle Paddles, which reduce the resistance on your hands, and allow for faster turnover, without being more challenging to your muscles. And this is where I believe the real benefit of the tempo trainer and cadence training will work in the long run. Like training on a bike in a small gear, you are forced to develop speed simply by increasing cadence. Very difficult at first, but getting easier as the neuro system is developed.

I hope to have some time to see you all in the water soon, and will post some times I can be available in Vernon or Salmon Arm for swim sessions for those interested.