My team has been working on our starts and sprints for our races coming up. One thing that I have noticed is that we have a really difficult time hitting our rates for our high strokes. We usually hit between 34-35 but we are supposed to be in the upper 30s, maybe even 40. Any suggestions for how to hit these rates? Thanks!
Here’s a couple…
Focus on getting the rate on the drive and through the water instead of with your slide speed on the recovery
Coming out of the finish match the speed of the hands coming away to the speed of the boat immediately – eliminate any pauses
Make sure you’re not slamming into the catch – you want there to be a smooth transfer of energy when the slide reverses
As the rates go up keep the focus on maintaining good form (if you let the bodies get sloppy or fall apart then you’ll never hit your target rates)
I’d talk about this with your coach(es) too and see if you can incorporate some stroke rate ladders or something into a couple of your practices. Definitely make sure you’re communicating with them (on and off the water) when you’re not hitting your rates. If you let them know then they can watch the boat and figure out what’s going on but if you don’t say anything then they can’t help you.