HOW DO I COUNT STROKES ?
Learn to count how far you swim and how perfect you stroke before you swim HARD. In other words, learn to swim FAST, not hard. Be aware of what you are doing. For over thirty years, swimmers counted strokes and got bored doing it because they seek to do fewer strokes at a certain speed. Invariably, the number of strokes they do does not lessen or becomes too slow for the required pace.
Watch out! When counting does not get any better at a given speed, make sure it does not get worse (more strokes at that speed.) We know that more strokes help us to go faster. However, the number of strokes that we need per length to go as fast as possible but still easy enough to last the whole way at full speed (even pace) is the key. If you swim freestyle in a 25 yd. pool, do not train "hard" until you have the finesse to swim 5 strokes in one length. Five strokes are equal to ten "digs" of freestyle or five times per arm. Many of you will learn to do 3 strokes, even 2½. Just let it glide.
I want to introduce a letter/number counting system that keeps track of how few strokes you take and how far you swim during any given set.
Push off the wall. Streamline glide. Begin to swim. Start to count. When the first arm comes around, count the letter (½ stroke). When the second arm comes around, you have completed the stroke; count the number.
a - 1, a - 2, a - 3, ..., (turn), a - 1, a - 2, ..., (end of first 50) b - 1, b - 2, ..., ..., (turn), b - 1, b - 2, ... (end of 100), and so on...
So if you swim repeat: 200's count A to D 300's count A to F 400's count A to H
500's count A to J 800's count A to P A to T is 1000 1 Alphabet is 1300: 26 letters in the English alphabet. a 1650 ( the mile ) is ( A to K ) x 3 a 5000 ( 3 miles ) is ( A to Y ) x 4
