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Why good technique matters to the Garmin Swim's detection of swim style

Former Member
Former Member over 11 years ago
Hi

I posted this in another thread this morning but I thought it was worth putting it in one of its own, as this is a regular topic that many Garmin Swim watch users, including myself, seem to have problems with!

Here's what I said:

Hi Stemik

I have NEVER had accurate stroke type detection with the Garmin Swim, with either the 3.4 or 3.6 watch firmware. Like you, I always find that the watch detects my freestyle as backstroke.

However, more recently I have been working on my stroke style after watching some YouTube videos from the Swim Smooth team:

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=youtube+swim+smooth

The ONLY change I have tried to make is to stop the 'S' shape my hands and arms make after entering the water, as you pull on the water. I also try to ensure that my hands enter the water without going over the centre line of my body and that the hand travels down the side of my body rather than directly below my torso as this causes more of a wobble in the hand and arms.

This is not easy if you have swum with the same technique for years and you are 'hard wired' to do your freestyle stroke this way. In my case I'm 45 years old now and have swum the same style of freestyle for 25+ years...

I think that the slight change in swim technique for freestyle makes me swim a little bit slower, but I plan to stick with this until I get the hang of the change as I know I will get faster again with practice.

More importantly, changing my technique (only slightly) has made a massive difference to my watch's ability to correctly detect the stroke.

In the link below my first interval this morning was 80x 25m freestyle. Today, out of 80 lengths just 3 were detected as backstroke. Usually most are incorrectly labelled as backstroke! The improvement in detection therefore seems to be all down to my trying to adopt a better swim style for my arms, as demonstrated by the Swim Smooth team.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/369214002

Now I would be the first to say that it's a REAL PAIN to have to re-learn your technique... especially if it's one you're used to for many years. But, I suspect that in the long term, improving your technique in freestyle will be more beneficial than getting the watch to be more forgiving of incorrect swimming style.

Until I watched the videos and critically analysed how I swim my freestyle, I was convinced that the fault was the watch and that my technique was great. Wrong!!! Now I know, however reluctantly, better.

Cheers

Ralph


And here's a helpful (or at least it was for me) video:

http://youtu.be/IyR7JYllk9U

Hope that's helpful to some out there...

Cheers

Ralph
  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 11 years ago
    Hi

    I think this video, which I just came across on YouTube, also demonstrates an important point in the video I posted earlier -- keeping the arms close but clear of the body's centre line with each pull of the arms. This technique of freestyle is what makes accurate detection (or seems to for me at least) with the Garmin Swim.

    http://youtu.be/ZTQpF_mmg44

    Cheers

    Ralph
  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 11 years ago
    Hi Ralph,

    Great job, really useful your tips!

    Congratulations and thank you! :D

    Beautiful second video that you've posted, I really liked the teacher! :p
  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 11 years ago
    Hi Stemik

    No problem :) ...

    Cheers

    Ralph
  • 0 over 11 years ago
    Hi Ralph, I'm glad you're already enjoying the swim smooth site and Mr Smooth perfect freestyle!. Thanks for sharing and great to know your strokes are now well detected, ;-).;)
  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 11 years ago
    Hi JOLACA01

    Better detected... I still need to get a swim that records all my strokes perfectly... but it does look like it will be down to me to get my stroke right.

    Before I was convinced that it was the fault of the watch! I did not want to believe that I was the one producing the errors....

    Cheers

    Ralph
  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 11 years ago
    I was suspecting that as I swim faster again in freestyle there would be more errors in my Garmin Swim watch accurately reporting my swim style, despite trying to improve my technique.

    Fortunately that's not the case. Today I swam a fast 2km freestyle (for me at least with an average pace of 1.43 per 100m) and only had two mis-reported lengths (both registered as backstroke) out of 80 lengths in total.

    http://connect.garmin.com/activity/370869622

    So what does this say to me?

    Well it definitely tells me that improving technique will make a massive difference to the Garmin Swim's ability to correctly detect what stroke you are using.

    For me that's not the most important thing, but I do know that in trying to improve my technique I am improving everything else... including making the Garmin Swim more accurately reflect what I'm doing in the pool each day.

    Accurate Swim style detection is nice to have but it's the accurate measure of distance and time that matters far more.

    Cheers

    Ralph
  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 11 years ago
    ...Well it definitely tells me that improving technique will make a massive difference to the Garmin Swim's ability to correctly detect what stroke you are using.

    For me that's not the most important thing, but I do know that in trying to improve my technique I am improving everything else... including making the Garmin Swim more accurately reflect what I'm doing in the pool each day.

    Accurate Swim style detection is nice to have but it's the accurate measure of distance and time that matters far more.


    You are way ahead of me in swimming ability Ralph, and I have a 910 not a Swim, but like you I am not that interested in swim style detection. I want to rely on a robust 100% dependable measuring of distance and time. Stroke count would be fantastic (if the watch discounted the turn in its calculations) but is still secondary.

    But I am confused at why such a small difference to what seems already to be a great stroke should make any substantial difference. The 910 requires very strong changes in style and accelaration over a significant time (i.e its turn requirement) to register even a new length.

    IMHO I think it's great if, incidentally, you've found that the demands of the watch have improved your style, but I believe it's a dangerous path to tread. From watching elite swimmerss for example, I can see no "one true style", such as maybe Garmin has envisaged. My conclusion is that we each have to find what works best for us as in any sport. Of course the stroke basics are the same, but I think that the nuancing or tuning should be individual not die-cast.

    btw isn't Mr Smooth's longitudinal balance a bit off? Seems his legs are sinking a little. He also seems to lose the last bit of flick at the end of his pull. ;)
  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 11 years ago
    From watching elite swimmerss for example, I can see no "one true style", such as maybe Garmin has envisaged. My conclusion is that we each have to find what works best for us as in any sport. Of course the stroke basics are the same, but I think that the nuancing or tuning should be individual not die-cast.


    Hi T

    Can only speak to my experience using the Garmin Swim for the last 9 months. My stroke recognition was useless and initially I put it down to the poor detection abilities of the watch.

    However, after going back to basics and trying to re-learn techniques that are ingrained into me from decades of swimming, I noticed that quite subtle changes lead to much greater accuracy in stroke detection whilst in the pool.

    For me it can basically be summed up as letting each arm enter the water directly in front and very slightly to the left/right of your centre line, then drawing the stroke directly down the side of the body, trying not to let your arms or hands veer off to either the left or right - essentially it's a windmilling action with your arms. The less the arms and hands deviate from a straight line - whether pulling or recovering for the next pull - the more accurately the Garmin captures the stroke.

    For the last month or two now I would say the watch is being almost totally accurate. However, being in the pool with the swim club recently, it's almost impossible to focus on technique so the detection goes to hell again! :)

    Cheers

    Ralph
  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 11 years ago
    Thanks Ralph, I appreciate your reply :)

    As I follow the school Swim Smooth love to hate, and after learning of the changes I am going to have to make to my turns, I am beginning to worry my device (the 910) is not going to do the business for me.

    Thanks again, and interesting to hear about what you've been trying.
  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 11 years ago
    I am beginning to worry my device (the 910) is not going to do the business for me.


    Hi T

    I know absolutely nothing about the 910 from Garmin but I think there's a dedicated forum here https://forums.garmin.com/forumdisplay.php?305-Forerunner-910XT

    Good luck.

    Cheers

    Ralph