Competitive swimmers only?

Question

Why do our limbs go numb when we sprint at a meet? Also, what are some tips on how to prepare your mind set for a meet? And how to pace yourself on 100s and 200s?

I have a lot of questions-sorry! What should I eat before practice (7 - 9 in the morning)? We swim about a 5700 sometimes so I need some energy.

One more thing-I am 13 years old, is a 28.7 good for a scy 50 free? And is a 1:13 for a 100 scy backstroke good? If not, how can I get better other than practicing?

Answer 1

Alright you do have a lot of questions, haha, but im here to answer them, well im going to try my best.

Your limbs go numb because your using all of your energy, and when you've used everything you have your body starts running off of lacktic acid, so thats all it is, its nothing bad, its just from working hard.

How to prepare you mind set for a meet is very important, dont ever let nerves get the best of you, because that will just make you slower and not do your best, you need to do a relaxation techneque, theres 2 ways our coach taught us. One is put on your ipod, to some kind of music that will shut you out from everyhing around you, lay down, close your eyes and imagine your race, and go through it all the way from start to finish, from how your going to dive, to how fast your going to swim, to each stroke you take all the way til you hit the wall, spend about 10 minutes on this. Or another way is, do a rehearsal swim, when your warming up, swim that even and swim it exactly how you would in a meet, except the only difference is dont swim it fast, but do all of the techneque you would normally do in a race, and think about how your swimming it.

How to pace yourself in 100s, i think that you need to go out the first 50 strong, long stokes, fast kicks, and then flip and go all out everything you have left on the last 50.

for 200s its different for everyone, personally i think you need to go out the first 100 fast, because its very hard to negative split in a meet, so go out the first 50 long and fast, get a pace going, hold that for the second 50, and try to hold it for the third 50 also, dont slow down, swim your heart out, your not going to die from swimming, so just get up and race, and then the last 50 just give it all you have left

we swim around that much also and before my practice in the morning (7-9 also) i cant eat because ill just throw it up at practice, but i normally have a glass of chocolate milk that i can hold in through practice, but my sugestion if i were to eat, would be to eat a banana, i think that would be the best thing in my opinion, i would say a power bar but its up to you, i dont know how well thats going to make you feel before swimming.

The 28.7 i think is pretty good, that would be good enough to make the 11-12 jo cut, but 26.88 is the 13-14 jo cut for where i live, but i think that will get faster as you get older, i didnt get the jo cut for that until i was 14, i had a 28 also when i was 13, then all of a sudden i just went 26.

The 1:13 i think is better than most, but not as good as it could be in opinion, i think you could do better, some tips are to do fly kicks off your walls, thats very important and always keep your head back and rotate your shoulders, im sure you know this tho, but i know you said other than practicing, but thats all thats going to get you better, always go to practice, never skip, and always go all out at practice, never go slow, even if its a slow intervule always go as fast as you can, thats all thats going to get you better, and our coach always tells us, why we dont do the whole set fast, we always wait until the last one, and thats because were scared of going fast and feeling pain, but dont be, because i promise you your not going to die from pain in practice, so just go out there and do your best.

Good luck and i hoped i helped. and never give up. take care :)

Answer 2

Im thirteen and have a 27.5 50 scy freestyle.

Answer 3

the 28.7 is good,

i have never had my limbs so numb so i have no help for you there.

i pace myself on the 100 doing a very fast first fifty, and than a somewhat slower second one, but sprint at the end.

in the 200, you really need to concentrate on the 3rd 50... that is when most people take it easy, if you go fast on the 3rd fifty, you can pass your competition.

fruit juice/fruit will give you good energy.

you can get better my working on your technique and becoming more efficient

Answer 4

limbs go numb because your just using up energy if you want something more specific check a medical book, to prepare for a meet you should just stay relaxed and calm. For 100 and 200 you should try to go slow for the first 50 but then you should pick up the pace, by the end of the race you should be sprinting and almost out of energy. If your team has a 500 event try doing that every race after that will seem a lot easier

Answer 5

the 50 free time is really good, the 100 back is somewhat good but not as good as your first time. go to practice every day if you can, work hard, dont skip any laps, make all the sets and dont swim mindless laps (concentrate on what your doning and how u can do better). eat breakfast always (gives u energy and keeps u from being hungry later) but i found out that apples arent good before practice (eggs are good, so is orange juice, stay away from coffee, soda and caffeine of all sorts, you'll crash during practice). idk about u but my arms never go numb in sprints, but my legs do, not sure how to fix it but i just make sure that after that set i try to stay at the wall for a tiny bit until i can feel them again.

Answer 6

1.) Our limbs go numb when we sprint due to a build up of lactic acid and fatigue.

2.)Tip on Mindset: I clear everything out of my mind before I race- except how to swim, breathe, and go fast.  I also listen to "pump up" jams like "New Skin" by Incubus- or anything that gets the blood pumping and psyches me up. (NOT out)

3.) For a 100, there should be no pacing.  It's only a 100- Sprint it!! For a 200, go out moderately fast in the first 50, try to keep your middle two 50's the same, and decently quick, and bring hte last 50 home with an all out sprint.  Go for it!

Ex:) if you want to go say a 1:59 for a 200 free: 29, 30, 31, 29.

4.) I used ot have practices at 7 in the morning, and I wouldn't really eat anything becasue my drink could hold me over till breakfast when i got home.  I don't really suggest that though because in that sense I'm not really normal. Haha.  I would suggest something really light such as a Nutrigrain bar (the blueberry ones are awesome) or a small bagel.  If you get hungry around 8 or in the middle of practice, check with your coach and ask him/ her if you can bring a small package of gummi bears or a cup of Jello- it's food, and it also has a bit of sugar in it to keep you energized throughout the practice.  When you get a break or are resting during an interval, pop in a few gummi bears or take a quick gulp of jello- it'll ease the hunger pains and the fruit taste will wake you up a bit too!

5.) A 28.7 and a 1:13 aren't too bad for a 13 year old.  If you want to get better though. be sure to practice your drills and pay special attention to your coach when he is giving you constructive creticism.  Think: WHY are they making me do this? WHAT am I supposed to be emphasizing while doing this drill? (high elbows, good pull-outs, powerful dolphin kicks...etc.)  When you can answer those questions and can see how these drills help you, your times will start to show your hard work. =

I hope that answer's your question.