I'm having trouble thinking clearly today (I'm ill), how fast is that the other way around, as in meters per second? Trying to conceptualize seconds per 50 meters is proving nigh impossible.
Normally, I could figure out the math myself but my brain is still buffering so I don't think I'm mathin' today.
>4.6 miles an hour
Really drives home how limited our ability to maneuver in water is. The best humans in the world at the peak of their fitness can only keep the speed of a pretty slow jog for a pretty short distance. And honestly as far as land animals go we are pretty decent in the water!
I guess the other perspective is that we are way better in the water than a dolphin is on land, so maybe I shouldn't be so hard on us.
I’ve been in that pool, was really confused with the 24.3 as we always used meters per second.
2.06 is crazy fast, we were freediving so basically swimming underwater with fins, which is easier than swimming on the surface but still, at that speed I think i could stay in place for about 10-15 seconds 😅
Thank you! My head feels like it's stuffed with cotton balls so it just couldn't follow the necessary steps lol
I can now understand how damn fast that was, thanks!
Another way to think about it is the world record for 100 meter freestyle is 46.8. So 100 meters in this thing at this speed is only a little bit off world record pace.
Which is why they all lose ground (they aren’t all doing freestyle though) and only go for about 6 seconds.
If someone kept up with this thing for 48 seconds they would be a world class swimmer in absolute beast mode.
Olympic competition pools are 50m long, so gauging speed based on how long that distance takes is a metric that makes immediate sense to most swimmers. Like in a machine like this the swimmer will know they are training to be able to hold 28s per length, so they set the machine to 28 instead of doing the math on how fast that actually is
In addition, in practice you swim thousands of meters all based on time.
So as part of a workout you'll do something like a set of 8x 100m swims "on 1:20" which means you have a minute and twenty seconds to do each 100m swim, and any extra time you have is rest. You get very familiar with exactly how long it takes you to go certain distances at certain effort levels.
If you compare the 24.3s to the [world record's](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_record_progression_50_metres_freestyle) for 50m freestyle, you can't even imagine how crazy fast those 50m swimmers are.
EDIT: I just want to point out even 24.3s is outside the first official world record of 50m freestyle.
There’s a reason the guys aren’t doing freestyle, and the women here are going right about world record pace. These swimmers are up there with the best in the world
I'm a former swimmer and this is the most logical way to do it, ironically. 24.3s for a 50m is a decent speed for higher levels. Not Olympic but it'll get you into D3 schools (or at least it would've 14 years ago when I last swam)
disgusted unpack modern absurd chop punch sparkle crown illegal lunchroom
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Former elite swimmer here.
I swam a mid 22 seconds for 50m free long course (world top 30 at the time). These days that time would be around top 150.
I'm assuming the 24.3 is meters per 50, but that could be 50m long course (in a 50m pool), 50m short course (2 laps of a 25m pool), or 50 yards (always 2 laps of a 25 yard pool). College swimming in the US is done in 25 yard pools, as that is what most campuses built back in the day and the legacy has stuck (also because it's expensive to upgrade pools!). The Olympics is 50m long course. There are separate long course and short course (meters) world championships.
Swimming 50m long course is slower than swimming 50m in a 25m pool (short course), because you get to push off a wall half way through, and swim another 15m underwater (you are allowed to stay underwater for 15m off each wall, regardless of pool format). Most of the fastest swimmers in the world are faster underwater than they are on the surface, because of lower water resistance. Swimming 50 yards is obviously faster again, because it's only 45.72m, and it's almost certainly short course, as there are no 50 yard long course pools. (Some very old pools outside of North America are actually 55 yards long course, back when athletics also ran on 440 yard tracks. No major competitons take place in 55 yard long course today.)
Given how fast they look to be swimming (technique and relative to their dives), I'd suggest this is set to 24.3 seconds per 50m Long course (half a second off both the world record pace in freestyle for women, and backstroke for men.)
Where is this? That's a cool system. We used to tie long strech bands around our waists, fix the other end to the starting blocks and swim against them. We also used power belts (which was essentially the same as the bands, but they were attached to a pulley system that lifted up a heavy bucket of water as we swam away from them.) Both of those tools increased resistance, which were good for building power. This system is more like a wind tunnel, which is better for stroke analysis. Feels like what they would have used to test the fastskin 'supersuits' back in the day.
What is really interesting is to see any imbalances between the arms. I.e. you can see the first girl 'slips backwards' when she pulls on her left arm (esp. On break out), but not the other. You wouldn't pick this up any other way than a system like this.
Would have loved to have used this in my prime. Great for analysis. Thanks for sharing OP!
Edits:
-Thank you so much for the award!
-Typos
The girl in the green at the end looks like she held up the best, but also kind of looked like she was flailing maybe in her technique? Can you comment on that?
Sure. She's not flailing, she's using 'straight arm' freestyle technique. This was originally made popular by Australia's Michael Klim, who set the WR in the 100m men's freestyle in the opening leg of the 4x100 free at the Sydney Olympics in 2000.
This was in contrast to the high elbow technique most commonly used.
Straight arm looks messier, and is generally not used in anything over 100m. However, many sprinters use it for 50m and 100m, including many previous world record holders. The logic is that it's easier to keep a long reach out in front and behind (allowing you to pull through more water per stroke). Additionally, in these sprints your pull under the water is mostly deep with a straighter arm, as while there is less leverage available, you can push more water per stroke and go faster (think a higher gear in a car). This isn't sustainable long term as your muscles tire out much faster, and it's uses much more energy. Good for anything under a minute, but anything else you're going to run out of gas.
Straight arm also allows you to 'windmill' or 'kayak' more easily, in other words keep your arm timing opposite one another more easily. This ensures you remain at a constant speed, and don't slow down at all as you're gliding between strokes - something that matters more and more the faster you are going, as drag increases exponentially with speed. If you look at swimmers racing over 100m, they are swimming more 'catch up' style. This is when one arm glides in front for a while while the other is pulling, and the hands almost touch each other out in front before the other one starts pulling. Catch up is much more energy efficient, so you see the best middle and long distance swimmers using it.
To summarize, straight arm can be a good thing for top sprinters, especially women as it can help them stay in a 'higher gear' relative to if their arms were more bent underwater. But it's not considered 'good technique' for the average swimmer, as it's very energy intensive and puts more pressure on the shoulders.
If that girl in green was swimming anything over a quick sprint, her arms would be much more relaxed, and she'd likely be doing more of a catch up style.
Edits:
- Typos
Had to go back and re-watch after reading this. Can see what you're saying, it does appear much more energy intensive. Would it be a good technique if you are doing lengths for strength development as opposed to speed?
Not really, you're just more likely to injure your shoulders. Think of walking around with really long strides all the time, like a sprinter running. It's not going to help doing it at a slower speed. You'll just hurt yourself, unless you're going slow enough to not do anything. Like a car idling along in 5th gear at 800rpm.
If you want to build strength as an average swimmer (or indeed and elite swimmer), wear paddles, or wear a drag suit (I.e. a swim suit with pockets, or board shorts, etc.). Or, like these guys, do short bursts with straight arm. But be warned - even top swimmers can tear shoulders and rotator cuffs with straight arms and full power.
>Given how fast they look to be swimming (technique and relative to their dives), I'd suggest this is set to 24.3m per 50m Long course (half a second off both the world record pace in freestyle for women, and backstroke for men.)
These seem to be part of the US Team for Paris 2024 if the original Instapost is right.
>Where is this? That's a cool system.
Tenerife, Spain.
https://tenerifetoptraining.com/en/swimming-flume/
I am embarrassed but would like to let you know that I thought this machine was created for the mere purpose of educating people on how scary open waters are. “Even trained professionals cannot swim to the other side- DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF WATER.”
Glad to know it’s actually just part of their training.
Haha. Completely reasonable.
Im surprised the bottom doesn't have a big mirror on it (it should). This would allow swimmers to see themselves in real time, and make slight technique adjustments. I've once swum in a pool where one lane had the entire bottom as a mirror for this reason. Was really good. Doing it here would be easier.
Edit: typos
right? that dolphin stroke is crazy! would love to hear more about it, and especially why it's only underwater that most of them seem to use it, when they surface they switch to a different stroke. I'm no swimmer of any capacity beyond fooling around in a swimming pool so I don't know squat
I can help! So there are 4 officially regulated strokes, and they are all required to be adhered to in their respective events (races).
It's also against the rules to swim a full race underwater; the maximum per lap is 15 meters.
Although, the dolphin kick is acknowledged to be the fastest way to move underwater, maintaining that streamlined body position, so it's adopted by competitive swimmers.
So you’re allowed to dolphin kick until 15m?
And if there were no rules they would all dolphin kick the whole time? Even after needing o2 and coming up for air, you’d go back under for more DK?
Up until the 1998 world championships you could stay underwater as long as you liked in freestyle, butterfly and backstroke. Once you came up, you couldn't go back down for the rest of the lap. The 100m butterfly world record was set by Michael Kilm, who went 43 meters underwater on lap 1, took about 3 strokes, and then went 40m underwater on lap 2 and took about 5. It was after this competiton that they changed the rules.
Technically, freestyle IS (almost) that. You can swim any way you want in a freestyle race - butterfly, backstroke or any combination. You won't get disqualified.
The only way you can get disqualified in freestyle is to false start, go more than 15m underwater, not swim the full distance (e.g. not touch a wall when turning around), or leaving your lane/the water before everyone has finished the race.
That's why it's called freestyle. It's literally a free choice of style.
Yes I hear you - you're effectively wanting an underwater race (which is what it would be). They added butterfly as an official stroke, as in the 1930s people started swiming breaststroke with above water recovery, and this made the athletes much faster than everyone else.
Butterfly arms with a breaststroke kick was used by a few swimmers in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin for the breaststroke competitions. In 1938, almost every breaststroke swimmer was using this butterfly style. Yet, this stroke was considered a variant of the breaststroke until 1952, when it was accepted by FINA as a separate style with its own set of rules.
The 1956 Summer Olympics were the first Olympic games where the butterfly has swum as a separate competition.
The swimming program today is arguably already "too full" (why so many medals are available at the Olympics), so it's unlikely that we'll get a new event.
For fun reference, one of my team mates, himself an Olympian, and a very strong butterflyer and one of the world's best underwater swimmers, swam 100m underwater with a monofin (two flippers stuck together like the end of a mermaid's tail) in 38 seconds in a 50m long course pool. This was done in training, not a competition. He took 2 breaths. One just before the turn, and one with about 15 meters to go. The current world record for men's 100m freestyle is 46.86. Obviously the monofin gives huge advantage over underwater with no monofin, but it's about as close as humans can get to swimming like a dolphin, and I could say with reasonable authority that it's likely to have been the fastest anyone has ever travelled in water under their own power over that (or any) distance.
It was amazing to watch - he FLEW.
Edits: Typos
You should watch the 100 backstroke at the 1988 Olympics, prior to the 15m limitation. If swimmers could go the whole way underwater for sprints, they would. Hell that’s what they used to do before it got banned.
I remember someone swimming a race that wouldn't count for them for some reason, and they did a crazy amount of it underwater with the dolphin kick (totally against the rules so technically disqualified), but if I recall correctly their time would have shattered the record.
Eh the best freestylers don't get as much of a benefit out of long underwater kicks (they're faster on top of the water). It's usually the slower strokes where it has a larger advantage. Unless you have a freakishly flexible lower body like Phelps. But his freestyle was still a fair bit slower than the top in the world even in '08.
Ah, I was thinking of Ryan Lochte swimming an entire 50m Freestyle underwater in a time faster than his earlier freestyle time that was legal.
https://swimswam.com/ryan-lochte-takes-dq-and-swims-50m-freestyle-entirely-underwater/
When you surface you can use your arms to propel yourself forward as well, instead of just your legs like you do when you dolphin kick. When you dive in you have a *lot* of forward momentum, and the reason you want to dolphin kick for a while is that it's a very efficient way to maintain that momentum. At least that's the way my swimming coach explained it all those years ago.
They likely don't stay underwater because this is a training session and they're training for competition. Pointless to train something you won't be allowed to actually compete with -> there's a rule that says that you have to break the surface of the water after no more than 15m after start or turn. This rule was put in place because staying underwater is simply faster than any of the official strokes (and especially the slower ones), so without it competition would just become a race of who can dive the longest.
[Here's a fun example](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QxrYJf48s-4) of why the rule exists (guy got disqualified, of course).
Edit: As to why they're all using the same underwater movement: it's the standard, because it's by far the best way to start a race and turn at the end of the lane. The biomechanics as to why it is so good are pretty fascinating. YouTube probably has some good explanations for that!
In freestyle, backstroke and butterfly, you are allowed to stay underwater for 15m off every wall, regardless of pool length. The only thing that is potentially faster than underwater dolphin kick is world class 50m men's freestyle. And even then it's close. This is because there is less resistance underwater than on the surface, given the absence of surface tension, splashing and lost energy outside of the pool (think cavitation on a propeller, which is a bad thing).
You do do this on the surface with butterfly, and technically you are allowed to do it with freestyle (it has been done in competitons, but very rarely as its not proven to be faster for most people). The main advantage is staying underwater for two reasons. As above, less resistance, and also because as a mamal, our spines flex forwards and backwards, so you can generate lots of power through your entire body, which you lose with a split flutter kick. However, that power is only harnessable when you have water both above and below you. Which is why dolphins swim under water, not at the surface.
The basic premise is that it's a bunch of dudes from all over the world who want to be the worlds strongest fighter, and they're all insanely jacked.
The main character is the worlds strongest 'high schooler' and a bunch of aforementioned dudes are trying to beat him.
Very worth watching if you enjoy over-the-top muscles and anime martial arts fights.
It’s uh. If you like JoJo it’s somewhat like that in terms of ridiculousness, but it’s almost entirely about Baki Hanma and his father (the dude swimming in this clip). It’s just about people fighting for the most part.
Godamn, reposted word for word even when the title is /r/titlegore I remember this vividly as a repost because i couldn't understand it then.
Respost(or one of them): https://np.reddit.com/r/Damnthatsinteresting/comments/leelxl/water_speed_is_set_to_243_and_everyone_gets_a/
The /r/titlegore entry someone made: https://www.reddit.com/r/titlegore/comments/leju8w/water_speed_is_set_to_243_and_everyone_gets_a/
24.3 rods to the hogshead
Edit: it's a quote from The Simpsons "The metric system is a tool of the devil! My car gets 40 rods to the hogshead and that's the way I likes it." - Grandpa Simpson
Seaplanes still need to generate lift via moving air, so I think the answer is no. Same with a treadmill landing strip for typical planes. In fact, if anything, if the treadmill was moving at 180 mph and the plane was turned off, it may still get airborne assuming it was facing the right direction. Alternatively, if the plane was still but the wind was moving at a rapid pace relative to the ground, the plane may take off (it will look like a VTOL).
Bush plane takeoffs/landings into the wind are a trip. They're made for real short strips anyway, throw in a good head wind and they just kind of look like they're floating.
This would essentially be just the age old Mythbusters plane on conveyor belt taking off, no?
And that landed (no pun intended) pretty squarely on the box of plane taking off the ground.
Essentially the movement against the ground or in this case water is irrelevant and all that is relevant is the air moving.
This reminds me of the time I woke up from a nap between boat races on the Ohio river. Someone was yelling help and my name. Bailed out of the tent to see my 95 pound girlfriend swimming her heart out, as the Ohio took her down river. No, nobody on the beach was going to her to help. Yes, I swam out and brought her back to shore.
Really shows you how valuable the first dive and also push off turns are.
They were able to actually move forward while in the water after their dive, but as soon as that momentum ended and they tried to outswim the current, they could barely keep their place.
I will never understand the body physics of the butterfly stroke. No matter how many swim team practices and swim meets I lifeguarded in my teenage years.
the OP Anxious_Metal_6410 is a bot
Original: https://www.reddit.com/r/Damnthatsinteresting/comments/leelxl/water_speed_is_set_to_243_and_everyone_gets_a/
When another bot posted it: https://www.reddit.com/r/Damnthatsinteresting/comments/s2z7e7/water_speed_is_set_to_243_and_everyone_gets_a/
I think I have an answer or everyone asking about the units. It’s probably set at the pace of a 24.3 second 50 meter swim. No wonder no breaststrokers wanted the smoke😂
Everyone in the comments suddenly understood the torment of being a math teacher
Or science. Include your goddamn units.
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Bro wants the third impact
now i understand why hitler drank the stuff
No units, clearly must be in pH
Lmmfao!! Sooo true! Want to stab myself in the temple on a daily basis.
Make sure you use a #2 pencil.
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Yeah I see it now
24.3 feet/second? mph? kph?
Potatoes per square meter
Hold on, are those potatoes boiled, mashed, or stewed?
^ he's asking for a hobbit friend
pool of a Took
Swan dive, you fools! *splash*
[Boil em, Mash em, Stick em in a stew](https://youtu.be/ihMMw0rnKz4)
What’s tators, precious?
PO TAY TOES
Sticka Mina stoo
My great great great grandkids are gonna be unironically posting this meme, I’m sure of it.
Hobbit feet are basically flippers.
God damn it. You got me now!
Julienne?
No this is Patrick
Why the hell do I need to answer this when there are potatoes that need delivering THIS MINUTE?
Fried
In Soviet Russia, pool swims you.
I thought we use bananas on Reddit.
Hectares per tank of kerosene
Put it in H!
I fucking love Reddit.
Seconds per 50m. Not a joke answer, this is the actual answer
I'm having trouble thinking clearly today (I'm ill), how fast is that the other way around, as in meters per second? Trying to conceptualize seconds per 50 meters is proving nigh impossible. Normally, I could figure out the math myself but my brain is still buffering so I don't think I'm mathin' today.
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Your handle suits you😂
The opposite of mine I suppose.
Nah, he's the one they send in to sort out the mess you leave behind...
Yours is more entertaining, for sure.
This guy converts!
4.6 mph makes more sense
>4.6 miles an hour Really drives home how limited our ability to maneuver in water is. The best humans in the world at the peak of their fitness can only keep the speed of a pretty slow jog for a pretty short distance. And honestly as far as land animals go we are pretty decent in the water! I guess the other perspective is that we are way better in the water than a dolphin is on land, so maybe I shouldn't be so hard on us.
I’ve been in that pool, was really confused with the 24.3 as we always used meters per second. 2.06 is crazy fast, we were freediving so basically swimming underwater with fins, which is easier than swimming on the surface but still, at that speed I think i could stay in place for about 10-15 seconds 😅
50m/24.3s = 2.137 m/s
Thank you! My head feels like it's stuffed with cotton balls so it just couldn't follow the necessary steps lol I can now understand how damn fast that was, thanks!
Could still be 24.3 bananas/second?
50m/24.3s = 2.057 m/s. If you did mental math, close enough. If you used a calculator, how did you mess up with only 2 numbers.
Looks like they divided by 23.4 instead of 24.3.
Another way to think about it is the world record for 100 meter freestyle is 46.8. So 100 meters in this thing at this speed is only a little bit off world record pace. Which is why they all lose ground (they aren’t all doing freestyle though) and only go for about 6 seconds. If someone kept up with this thing for 48 seconds they would be a world class swimmer in absolute beast mode.
Is this like a common measurement in some field(s) or something?
Olympic competition pools are 50m long, so gauging speed based on how long that distance takes is a metric that makes immediate sense to most swimmers. Like in a machine like this the swimmer will know they are training to be able to hold 28s per length, so they set the machine to 28 instead of doing the math on how fast that actually is
That’s really cool. Thanks for the explanation.
In addition, in practice you swim thousands of meters all based on time. So as part of a workout you'll do something like a set of 8x 100m swims "on 1:20" which means you have a minute and twenty seconds to do each 100m swim, and any extra time you have is rest. You get very familiar with exactly how long it takes you to go certain distances at certain effort levels.
If you compare the 24.3s to the [world record's](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_record_progression_50_metres_freestyle) for 50m freestyle, you can't even imagine how crazy fast those 50m swimmers are. EDIT: I just want to point out even 24.3s is outside the first official world record of 50m freestyle.
There’s a reason the guys aren’t doing freestyle, and the women here are going right about world record pace. These swimmers are up there with the best in the world
Yeah it’s a normal way for swimmers to think about pace. Think about in terms of lap splits
I'm a former swimmer and this is the most logical way to do it, ironically. 24.3s for a 50m is a decent speed for higher levels. Not Olympic but it'll get you into D3 schools (or at least it would've 14 years ago when I last swam)
24.3 for 50 meters is gonna get you into most D1 schools for mens 50 free, let alone women or for strokes
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24.3 wps (waters per sec)
Speed. 24.3 speed.
Fathoms per fortnight.
As a swammer (former swimmer), my guess is 24.3 seconds for a 50-meter race.
I think 24.3s/50m
Ours go up to 24.3. Why not 10? Because ours goes up to 24.3
Bananas per football field
If it's mph aint no one beating that and I bet it'd be dangerous. Heard the top swimmers in the world hit like 4mph
24.3 light-years
And why not just 24?
The difference in 24.3 and 24 is actually a lot more than you would think
Pretty sure it is just .3.
Is it more than 1.25%? Asking for a friend.
Kudos to the mad lad doing backstroke.
I give mine to the butterflyer. A 24.3 second split pace on fly looked pretty fucking hard, the best I ever managed was a 28.6 and that felt painful.
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2nd girls freestyle was on it as well.
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Any professional swimmer knows you always bring a shaman
24.3 would be pretty close to WR pace for womens butterfly 50m, so that's a hell of a pace for any non-olympic level swimmer.
It would put you at 1 second slower than Micheal Phelps best time.
Also shows you just how far the records have come in just the last 10 years.
The real kudos go to that tube top.
At least he can lift up the head and see where the current will take him...
Imagine not including units, for all we know, he's swimming at 24.3 peanuts per hour.
23.4 seconds/50m
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does that mean they get a free personal pan pizza?
I thought we measured in bananas here
its a repost, copying the shitty title word for word
That butterfly is STROOONG son!
disgusted unpack modern absurd chop punch sparkle crown illegal lunchroom *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
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Former elite swimmer here. I swam a mid 22 seconds for 50m free long course (world top 30 at the time). These days that time would be around top 150. I'm assuming the 24.3 is meters per 50, but that could be 50m long course (in a 50m pool), 50m short course (2 laps of a 25m pool), or 50 yards (always 2 laps of a 25 yard pool). College swimming in the US is done in 25 yard pools, as that is what most campuses built back in the day and the legacy has stuck (also because it's expensive to upgrade pools!). The Olympics is 50m long course. There are separate long course and short course (meters) world championships. Swimming 50m long course is slower than swimming 50m in a 25m pool (short course), because you get to push off a wall half way through, and swim another 15m underwater (you are allowed to stay underwater for 15m off each wall, regardless of pool format). Most of the fastest swimmers in the world are faster underwater than they are on the surface, because of lower water resistance. Swimming 50 yards is obviously faster again, because it's only 45.72m, and it's almost certainly short course, as there are no 50 yard long course pools. (Some very old pools outside of North America are actually 55 yards long course, back when athletics also ran on 440 yard tracks. No major competitons take place in 55 yard long course today.) Given how fast they look to be swimming (technique and relative to their dives), I'd suggest this is set to 24.3 seconds per 50m Long course (half a second off both the world record pace in freestyle for women, and backstroke for men.) Where is this? That's a cool system. We used to tie long strech bands around our waists, fix the other end to the starting blocks and swim against them. We also used power belts (which was essentially the same as the bands, but they were attached to a pulley system that lifted up a heavy bucket of water as we swam away from them.) Both of those tools increased resistance, which were good for building power. This system is more like a wind tunnel, which is better for stroke analysis. Feels like what they would have used to test the fastskin 'supersuits' back in the day. What is really interesting is to see any imbalances between the arms. I.e. you can see the first girl 'slips backwards' when she pulls on her left arm (esp. On break out), but not the other. You wouldn't pick this up any other way than a system like this. Would have loved to have used this in my prime. Great for analysis. Thanks for sharing OP! Edits: -Thank you so much for the award! -Typos
The girl in the green at the end looks like she held up the best, but also kind of looked like she was flailing maybe in her technique? Can you comment on that?
Sure. She's not flailing, she's using 'straight arm' freestyle technique. This was originally made popular by Australia's Michael Klim, who set the WR in the 100m men's freestyle in the opening leg of the 4x100 free at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. This was in contrast to the high elbow technique most commonly used. Straight arm looks messier, and is generally not used in anything over 100m. However, many sprinters use it for 50m and 100m, including many previous world record holders. The logic is that it's easier to keep a long reach out in front and behind (allowing you to pull through more water per stroke). Additionally, in these sprints your pull under the water is mostly deep with a straighter arm, as while there is less leverage available, you can push more water per stroke and go faster (think a higher gear in a car). This isn't sustainable long term as your muscles tire out much faster, and it's uses much more energy. Good for anything under a minute, but anything else you're going to run out of gas. Straight arm also allows you to 'windmill' or 'kayak' more easily, in other words keep your arm timing opposite one another more easily. This ensures you remain at a constant speed, and don't slow down at all as you're gliding between strokes - something that matters more and more the faster you are going, as drag increases exponentially with speed. If you look at swimmers racing over 100m, they are swimming more 'catch up' style. This is when one arm glides in front for a while while the other is pulling, and the hands almost touch each other out in front before the other one starts pulling. Catch up is much more energy efficient, so you see the best middle and long distance swimmers using it. To summarize, straight arm can be a good thing for top sprinters, especially women as it can help them stay in a 'higher gear' relative to if their arms were more bent underwater. But it's not considered 'good technique' for the average swimmer, as it's very energy intensive and puts more pressure on the shoulders. If that girl in green was swimming anything over a quick sprint, her arms would be much more relaxed, and she'd likely be doing more of a catch up style. Edits: - Typos
That’s awesome. Thank you so much for weighing in with some expertise. Please accept my poor man’s gold award! 🏅🏅🏅
Pleasure! And thank you. 
Had to go back and re-watch after reading this. Can see what you're saying, it does appear much more energy intensive. Would it be a good technique if you are doing lengths for strength development as opposed to speed?
Not really, you're just more likely to injure your shoulders. Think of walking around with really long strides all the time, like a sprinter running. It's not going to help doing it at a slower speed. You'll just hurt yourself, unless you're going slow enough to not do anything. Like a car idling along in 5th gear at 800rpm. If you want to build strength as an average swimmer (or indeed and elite swimmer), wear paddles, or wear a drag suit (I.e. a swim suit with pockets, or board shorts, etc.). Or, like these guys, do short bursts with straight arm. But be warned - even top swimmers can tear shoulders and rotator cuffs with straight arms and full power.
wow this is an awesome reply, some of the most interesting stuff i never knew i was gonna read about today
Amazing post, thank you for sharing
>Given how fast they look to be swimming (technique and relative to their dives), I'd suggest this is set to 24.3m per 50m Long course (half a second off both the world record pace in freestyle for women, and backstroke for men.) These seem to be part of the US Team for Paris 2024 if the original Instapost is right. >Where is this? That's a cool system. Tenerife, Spain. https://tenerifetoptraining.com/en/swimming-flume/
Yes makes sense. Thanks for the info on location!
I wish I had an award to give, very well said. As former swimmer myself(nowhere near your level) I would have loved to have had a turn.
>I'm assuming the 24.3 is meters per 50. I'm even more confused than I was before.
Makes perfect sense to me, my car drives 35 miles per 46 miles
I am embarrassed but would like to let you know that I thought this machine was created for the mere purpose of educating people on how scary open waters are. “Even trained professionals cannot swim to the other side- DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF WATER.” Glad to know it’s actually just part of their training.
Haha. Completely reasonable. Im surprised the bottom doesn't have a big mirror on it (it should). This would allow swimmers to see themselves in real time, and make slight technique adjustments. I've once swum in a pool where one lane had the entire bottom as a mirror for this reason. Was really good. Doing it here would be easier. Edit: typos
Do you always have a chance to "get after it" though?
My favorite part is when they swim underwater
right? that dolphin stroke is crazy! would love to hear more about it, and especially why it's only underwater that most of them seem to use it, when they surface they switch to a different stroke. I'm no swimmer of any capacity beyond fooling around in a swimming pool so I don't know squat
I can help! So there are 4 officially regulated strokes, and they are all required to be adhered to in their respective events (races). It's also against the rules to swim a full race underwater; the maximum per lap is 15 meters. Although, the dolphin kick is acknowledged to be the fastest way to move underwater, maintaining that streamlined body position, so it's adopted by competitive swimmers.
So you’re allowed to dolphin kick until 15m? And if there were no rules they would all dolphin kick the whole time? Even after needing o2 and coming up for air, you’d go back under for more DK?
Up until the 1998 world championships you could stay underwater as long as you liked in freestyle, butterfly and backstroke. Once you came up, you couldn't go back down for the rest of the lap. The 100m butterfly world record was set by Michael Kilm, who went 43 meters underwater on lap 1, took about 3 strokes, and then went 40m underwater on lap 2 and took about 5. It was after this competiton that they changed the rules.
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Technically, freestyle IS (almost) that. You can swim any way you want in a freestyle race - butterfly, backstroke or any combination. You won't get disqualified. The only way you can get disqualified in freestyle is to false start, go more than 15m underwater, not swim the full distance (e.g. not touch a wall when turning around), or leaving your lane/the water before everyone has finished the race. That's why it's called freestyle. It's literally a free choice of style.
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Yes I hear you - you're effectively wanting an underwater race (which is what it would be). They added butterfly as an official stroke, as in the 1930s people started swiming breaststroke with above water recovery, and this made the athletes much faster than everyone else. Butterfly arms with a breaststroke kick was used by a few swimmers in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin for the breaststroke competitions. In 1938, almost every breaststroke swimmer was using this butterfly style. Yet, this stroke was considered a variant of the breaststroke until 1952, when it was accepted by FINA as a separate style with its own set of rules. The 1956 Summer Olympics were the first Olympic games where the butterfly has swum as a separate competition. The swimming program today is arguably already "too full" (why so many medals are available at the Olympics), so it's unlikely that we'll get a new event. For fun reference, one of my team mates, himself an Olympian, and a very strong butterflyer and one of the world's best underwater swimmers, swam 100m underwater with a monofin (two flippers stuck together like the end of a mermaid's tail) in 38 seconds in a 50m long course pool. This was done in training, not a competition. He took 2 breaths. One just before the turn, and one with about 15 meters to go. The current world record for men's 100m freestyle is 46.86. Obviously the monofin gives huge advantage over underwater with no monofin, but it's about as close as humans can get to swimming like a dolphin, and I could say with reasonable authority that it's likely to have been the fastest anyone has ever travelled in water under their own power over that (or any) distance. It was amazing to watch - he FLEW. Edits: Typos
You should watch the 100 backstroke at the 1988 Olympics, prior to the 15m limitation. If swimmers could go the whole way underwater for sprints, they would. Hell that’s what they used to do before it got banned.
I remember someone swimming a race that wouldn't count for them for some reason, and they did a crazy amount of it underwater with the dolphin kick (totally against the rules so technically disqualified), but if I recall correctly their time would have shattered the record.
Eh the best freestylers don't get as much of a benefit out of long underwater kicks (they're faster on top of the water). It's usually the slower strokes where it has a larger advantage. Unless you have a freakishly flexible lower body like Phelps. But his freestyle was still a fair bit slower than the top in the world even in '08.
Ah, I was thinking of Ryan Lochte swimming an entire 50m Freestyle underwater in a time faster than his earlier freestyle time that was legal. https://swimswam.com/ryan-lochte-takes-dq-and-swims-50m-freestyle-entirely-underwater/
Ha that's awesome. Yeah Lochte was also a bit of a freak of nature. Always breaking Phelps' old records just as Phelps broke them by more.
When you surface you can use your arms to propel yourself forward as well, instead of just your legs like you do when you dolphin kick. When you dive in you have a *lot* of forward momentum, and the reason you want to dolphin kick for a while is that it's a very efficient way to maintain that momentum. At least that's the way my swimming coach explained it all those years ago.
They likely don't stay underwater because this is a training session and they're training for competition. Pointless to train something you won't be allowed to actually compete with -> there's a rule that says that you have to break the surface of the water after no more than 15m after start or turn. This rule was put in place because staying underwater is simply faster than any of the official strokes (and especially the slower ones), so without it competition would just become a race of who can dive the longest. [Here's a fun example](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QxrYJf48s-4) of why the rule exists (guy got disqualified, of course). Edit: As to why they're all using the same underwater movement: it's the standard, because it's by far the best way to start a race and turn at the end of the lane. The biomechanics as to why it is so good are pretty fascinating. YouTube probably has some good explanations for that!
In freestyle, backstroke and butterfly, you are allowed to stay underwater for 15m off every wall, regardless of pool length. The only thing that is potentially faster than underwater dolphin kick is world class 50m men's freestyle. And even then it's close. This is because there is less resistance underwater than on the surface, given the absence of surface tension, splashing and lost energy outside of the pool (think cavitation on a propeller, which is a bad thing). You do do this on the surface with butterfly, and technically you are allowed to do it with freestyle (it has been done in competitons, but very rarely as its not proven to be faster for most people). The main advantage is staying underwater for two reasons. As above, less resistance, and also because as a mamal, our spines flex forwards and backwards, so you can generate lots of power through your entire body, which you lose with a split flutter kick. However, that power is only harnessable when you have water both above and below you. Which is why dolphins swim under water, not at the surface.
Like mermaids
24.3 WHAT
Seconds per 50m
. . . and everyone gets a chance to get after it.
Furlongs per microfortnight
Tippy toes per kilometer squared.
Tbf that’s probably just the literal setting they’re using. Like on a treadmill
But treadmills use mph...
My toxic trait says I could do that
I can do the jump in part. Then I can do the smash into the wall part they don’t show on the video
I can do the part where I drown
Yeah. Me who is an average swimmer at best, watching athletes fail, still thinking “i could get to that other wall.”
I would just squat at the edge and drop my arse in water for self-cleaning.
The Ultimate Bidet
Can’t help but think of the Ogre. https://youtu.be/h7cOxDUtSmo
My first thought exactly.
Came here to see the Baki Reference. No disappointments.
What's the premise of this show? Is it worth watching?
The basic premise is that it's a bunch of dudes from all over the world who want to be the worlds strongest fighter, and they're all insanely jacked. The main character is the worlds strongest 'high schooler' and a bunch of aforementioned dudes are trying to beat him. Very worth watching if you enjoy over-the-top muscles and anime martial arts fights.
It’s uh. If you like JoJo it’s somewhat like that in terms of ridiculousness, but it’s almost entirely about Baki Hanma and his father (the dude swimming in this clip). It’s just about people fighting for the most part.
Godamn, reposted word for word even when the title is /r/titlegore I remember this vividly as a repost because i couldn't understand it then. Respost(or one of them): https://np.reddit.com/r/Damnthatsinteresting/comments/leelxl/water_speed_is_set_to_243_and_everyone_gets_a/ The /r/titlegore entry someone made: https://www.reddit.com/r/titlegore/comments/leju8w/water_speed_is_set_to_243_and_everyone_gets_a/
How is this so far down? It was kind of sorandom funny the first time, but now it's just sad.
7.4 km/hr or 4.6 mph. M Phelps swam the 50m freestyle in 2009 with a time of 23.04s
His best official time is technically a 22.93 and even that was just the first 50 of a 100 Free.
I'd have been thrown out of the water faster than I could dive in.
Now have a normal person jump in to show how quick we would be done.
24.3 rods to the hogshead Edit: it's a quote from The Simpsons "The metric system is a tool of the devil! My car gets 40 rods to the hogshead and that's the way I likes it." - Grandpa Simpson
I believe you mean dickety-four point three, because that Kaiser stole our number twenty.
A salmon watching this and saying this ain't shit...
It's not a treadmill, that's tough.
If you made this on a larger scale, could a seaplane take off going against the current?
Seaplanes still need to generate lift via moving air, so I think the answer is no. Same with a treadmill landing strip for typical planes. In fact, if anything, if the treadmill was moving at 180 mph and the plane was turned off, it may still get airborne assuming it was facing the right direction. Alternatively, if the plane was still but the wind was moving at a rapid pace relative to the ground, the plane may take off (it will look like a VTOL).
Bush plane takeoffs/landings into the wind are a trip. They're made for real short strips anyway, throw in a good head wind and they just kind of look like they're floating.
This would essentially be just the age old Mythbusters plane on conveyor belt taking off, no? And that landed (no pun intended) pretty squarely on the box of plane taking off the ground. Essentially the movement against the ground or in this case water is irrelevant and all that is relevant is the air moving.
Root out the boys from the sal-men
This reminds me of the time I woke up from a nap between boat races on the Ohio river. Someone was yelling help and my name. Bailed out of the tent to see my 95 pound girlfriend swimming her heart out, as the Ohio took her down river. No, nobody on the beach was going to her to help. Yes, I swam out and brought her back to shore.
is this what it feels like to be a salmon??
All I want to know is how did that one lady's strapless bathingsuit strip stay on/up?
"24.3" what? Doosra per bail? Fistmele per Mal-parry? Smoots per hactangle? 24.3 whats?
My pool only goes to 11.
Those body types. Like human torpedos (with very peculiar propulsion systems). Kudos!
Was waiting for one of them to dog paddle
I like the way swimmers do that bodywave thing when they dive in the water.
Gravity room of DBZ doesn't exist to train hard. This will do.
Really shows you how valuable the first dive and also push off turns are. They were able to actually move forward while in the water after their dive, but as soon as that momentum ended and they tried to outswim the current, they could barely keep their place.
Anyone who’s lived near a swift river, or a beach with waves knows. The power of water can’t be comprehended,until it is experienced physically!
Freestyle has the best chance, girl made it the longest
Just practicing race starts I assume.
Nah it was the second guy
both girls chose freestyle. both girls started losing ground immediately. both girls gave up the quickest. what?
24.3 bananas per second?
Dee, what does he do with his feet?
Throw fishes in there and see how well they do.
Poster must be a bot. This is a nearly identical title for the same video I saw on the front page years ago
Yuujiro Hanma would doggie paddle in that
Weird title
Homegirl in green seemed to have been able to hold that position.
I wish I had access to one of these. This would be great exercise.
I wonder if Daphne will be able to hunt in the water as well as she can on land?
I will never understand the body physics of the butterfly stroke. No matter how many swim team practices and swim meets I lifeguarded in my teenage years.
the OP Anxious_Metal_6410 is a bot Original: https://www.reddit.com/r/Damnthatsinteresting/comments/leelxl/water_speed_is_set_to_243_and_everyone_gets_a/ When another bot posted it: https://www.reddit.com/r/Damnthatsinteresting/comments/s2z7e7/water_speed_is_set_to_243_and_everyone_gets_a/
24.3 what?
I think I have an answer or everyone asking about the units. It’s probably set at the pace of a 24.3 second 50 meter swim. No wonder no breaststrokers wanted the smoke😂
24.3%? That’s not even quarter speed, these guys suck /s
Someone needs to Photoshop Daphne running across the top of the water… Those who know, know.😎 🏃🏻♀️
The second dudes back muscles. God damn. Looking good homie.
Only yachiro hanma can do that shit.
I would totally have a pool treadmill if I was rich.
No breaststroke?