At Indiana University we called neutral training the exercise that consisted of pushing ourselves from the wall of the pool, kicking legs and extending one arm forward, leaving it immobile, while with the other we gave a full stroke of crawl, and so on alternately, with one and the other arm.
It was a way of training timing and cadence.
There are swimmers without the correct cadence who simultaneously move one arm through the air while catching water with the other;
when the ideal propulsion is achieved with a completely asymmetric arm and leg position.
Men like Caeleb Dressel, who have sought to print the greatest strength while offering the least resistance in the water, have gained so much power from the gym that they sometimes lose the correct cadence.
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Caeleb Dressel wins gold in fastest free 100 final ever
That is why there are relaxing drugs that in swimming are considered doping. A tranquilizer can be counterproductive in almost any high-level sport, but in swimming it can be very beneficial if the perfect cadence and symmetrical straightness are sought. This balance is achieved with technique and a calm mind, in the same way that it is lost with nerves and unbalanced strength. When I see Dressel swimming, I sometimes have the impression that his body leans to one side more than necessary, and this makes him lose efficiency. I do not rule out that the large volumes of dry athletic training you have done throw you off balance. It makes up for it because it pushes more water into it and because almost everyone has the same problem.In the last meters of the final of the 100 free practice he achieved a perfect balance while Chalmers and Kolesnikov did not avoid losing a bit of cadence.
Hugo González and Nicolás García swim with the perfect cadence. Your marks are excellent. They have the necessary technical support. This is not a random sport like soccer. I cannot understand how it was possible that their times in the decisive tests did not improve. The pressure is relative: what pressure can there be without an audience? It does not make sense that Nicolás did the same step through 100 and 150 in the final and in the series. They say they are very young. Hugo with 22 years has experienced what is the pressure in the finals of the American university championship. Nicolás is 19. Let's not forget that until recently, swimming at the highest level ended at the age of 24.
The Spanish Antoñita Real made some barbaric marks in the background and was an Olympian in Montreal when she was 12 years old.
I went to Mexico in 1968 when I had just turned 16. I swam my first race in the 4x200 and when I got on the pole I realized that I was in a Games and my legs were shaking.
My advantage was that I had no responsibility.
It was not televised.
The media were not interested.
I arrived with 2 minutes 16 seconds in 200 backstroke and swam the final in 2.12.
I thought, “Here we all have two legs, two arms, two eyes, and two ears.
Why am I not going to be able to?
Santiago Esteva
was the first Spanish swimming finalist in a Games, in 1968.
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