A big increase in rate might mean you are tired or need to do some more technique work. For example, if Stan's rate remains the same, and he swims a 100 in 1:10, then he would have taken 63 stroke cycles, with a DPS of 1.59 meters - he took more strokes and went slower, an indicator that something might need fixing!
A negative change, such as an increased SR but a decrease in overall time could indicate that you are "slipping" or not getting the most out of every stroke. Slow down, work on your drills, and have a coach or workout partner look at your technique - or use a video camera. Try to get back to your good technique; style will always get you further than speed in the long run!
A fun drill that can help both SR and DPS is "Golf" (no caddy needed).
- Swim a 50 (or any distance that you can do 18 more times).
- Count your cycles and get your time for the swim.
- Add these numbers together for your "par" score.
- Now swim 9 x 50 with :15 to :30 rest.
- Add your count and time for each 50 to get your score for that "hole".
- Compare each hole to your "par" and add or subtract as you go - 1 over, even, 1 under, etc.
- Take a break after the first 9, then do it again, using the counting method.
- How did you do? even? under? over? Try this once a week - you will get a feel for ways to maximize your DPS while holding the same time.
There are lots of other ways to use DPS and SR to check how you are doing, including comparing the counts day to day or race to race. It can indicate fatigue, stroke flaws, or improvement.
Swim On!
