Putting fast-twitch fibers to good use?

[Merlin]

I've gotten interested in slow vs fast-twitch fibers and a lot of the threads here have been very informative. However I have not found how to actually make good use of what your own body has to offer. I have been doing heavy lifting for a long time (not that it shows anyway ) and unknowingly I have been trainning for fast-twitch fibers. I have a lot of power but not much endurance when it comes to upper body. Now my question is... should I be swimming in a certain way to make the best use of my body? I have read that fast-twitch is somewhat related to improved vertical jump but I am having a hard time translating this into swimming style. Does it mean I need to swim faster with more repetitive powerful strokes?

Thanks!

 

[immerlustig]

are you talking about swimming or freediving? with or without fins? mono or bifin?

roland

 

[Merlin]

Oops sorry, I was referring to dynamics without and with monofins. But mainly dynamics no fins.

 

[immerlustig]

i assume you know already that only a certain amount of slow twitch fibers can be converted to fast twitch. but to do so you'd certainly need to train somewhere in the 90 % of max range. at the moment i'm quite happy with doing very short (25m) sprints with short recoveries. that allows me to do more laps per training, technique is better since during that short distance i don't fatigue so badly on 25m as compared to 50m, recoveries are shorter and the next day feels not as bad either. but that's for improving unaerobic capacity mainly. lots of people prefer to do 50m sets, though.

i'm not sure what you mean by saying "should I be swimming in a certain way". i'm sure you know that technique is crucial. you find some good videos for ideas. so adding technique sessions regularly is surely time well spent. also, try to find someone to film you underwater or at least point out some details you might want to work on. makes a huge difference.

anyhow, that's just some of my ideas.

enjoy

roland