PVC Technical Strategy 40

Virtual Front Start

The adjective virtual means something that exists in essence but not in actuality. You may have made a virtual friend online, but don’t expect that person to meet you for a smoothie.

In this strategy, you’ll perform a virtual front start on every repeat. While you won’t be going off the block, you’ll have the opportunity to work the largest portion of your start every time you push off the wall. 

Listed below are the average amounts of time, Olympic swimmers spend in each phase of their front start:

  • Block Phase: 11%
  • Flight Phase: 5%. 
  • Underwater Travel Sequence Phase (to Breakout Point): 84% 

That means you have the opportunity to focus on the greatest portion of your front start technique every time you push off the wall to begin a repeat in practice. While it may not be a real start, you can think of it as a virtual start, much like the virtual classes you take online these days. 

Your mission this week is to replicate 84% of your “ideal front start” on every repeat, meaning it must feel as if you’ve just left the block in a major competition.

Scoreboard:

  • Gold: It felt just like racing.
  • Silver: It felt pretty close to racing.
  • Bronze: From time to time, it felt pretty close to racing.
  • Tin: Sadly, not even close!

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