Stroke frequency decrement

DuganaddyDuganaddy Needham, MAMember

Hello, I see in swim logs a documentation of stroke frequency. Often seems to be around 60/minute, on average maybe. As the minutes become hours, and hours become days the frequency slows down - maybe signaling that the swimmer is about to get pulled into the boat. This was pretty evident in the young woman in the movie Driven.

What % decline in stroke frequency/minute signals that things are about to unravel? Or is that very dependent on the individual swimmer and the other 1000 factors that go into a swim?

dpm50

Comments

  • JaimieJaimie NYCMem​ber

    10% is a good rule of thumb for observers. Legs dropping in the water, switching to breaststroke and lack of forward progress are all other big signs to watch for. Ideally all swimmers pushing limits should have someone on board who is very familiar with what is normal for them. And you are always your own first line of defense safety wise, I think it’s important to note.

    dpm50
  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin
    edited March 2018

    Great question!

    Trend of stroke rate is one indicator among several to consider in gauging a swimmer's physical and psychological state.

    @Jaimie mentioned a few other good indicators, to which I would add: the swimmer's apparent attitude and emotional state, whether they are consuming their feeds, the duration of feeds.

    All these swimmer-based indicators are taken in a context of external, objective facts like conditions, water temp, and current elapsed time of the swim.

    Jaimie mentioned a 10% rule of thumb; I would say that rate of decline is as important as amount of decline. A gradual 10% decline over many many hours is pretty normal. In contrast, a 10% decline over half an hour should prompt close monitoring and further investigation.

    slknightssthomasrlmdpm50mina
  • IronMikeIronMike Northern VirginiaCharter Member
    edited April 2018

    evmo said:
    @Jaimie mentioned a few other good indicators, to which I would add: the swimmer's apparent attitude and emotional state, whether they are consuming their feeds, the duration of feeds.

    And whether or not the swimmer is urinating.

    Jaimiedpm50

    We're all just carbon, water, starlight, oxygen and dreams

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