Improve backstroke time?

Question

I have a 32 for the 50yd back but only a 1:12 for the 100. What can I do to get the 100 time down to be more even with the 50?

Answer 1

Yes, I agree with the previous poster, it will mostly be about conditioning.  Try and swim sets that are longer distances, and do more reps in those sets.

Also, because of the additional turns you make, you may lose a disproportionate amount of time if your turns are slowing you down.  In a pool with a 25m length, you only have to make 1 turn in a 50 yard race, but you have to make 3 turns in a 100 yard race.  If your turn is not as good as it should be, it will have 3-times the negative impact on a 100m race than it would on a 50m race.  Make sure you're getting the most out of your turns.  They should be an asset, not a hindrance.

Answer 2

32? Nice.

and

just kick harder

wear a weight belt. That's what i do to get better for my freestyle times.

Then when you go to race you will feel much much lighter.

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Answer 3

A strong kick is vital to backstroke. My backstroke made a big improvement after my coach started demanding quality kicking sets. There was no lazy kicking -- all kicking was done FAST.  A typical set would be 10 x 100 on 1:35. These sets were INTENSE and it took most of the summer before I got any rest to speak of. An added bonus is that you have to work the turns to make the interval.

You can periodically check whether your kick is good with this drill: Kick on your back with your arms at your sides, elbows bent at 90 degrees and your hands straight up in the air. If your kick is strong and steady, you will not sink.

Answer 4

What everyone is saying is true about how vital your kick is to backstroke...some simple solutions to get the extra edge on your opponents are actualy done out of the water, considering that we are in the off season for most swimmers this should be valuable, biking during the off season and towards the beginning of the season has a huge effect and running as well. another thing on the side you could do is wall sits or squats. My backstroke time my sophemore year in highschool was 1:00 and then all summer i biked and during the season i would do sprint sets of backtroke and then climb out of the water and do squats, i ended up dropping over 5 seconds in less than a year.

Answer 5

Bottom line. Work harder in your workouts. You are not properly conditioned. This will be especially evident with backstroke because of the importance your kick plays. When backstrokers get tired they tend to lose their kick, which really weighs them down.

Remember, you will only be as good as the effort you put into your workouts.

But then what do I know, I'm just a smartass