CSS - not very fast

[davidnaval]

I recently started to learn CSS and now I completely know how to do it right, yesterday I swimmed and this stroke isn't fast.
It drains the hell out of me, so why is this stroke good anyway?


by the way, I like the way the hands go-in towards the water, like an attacking cobra...

[scskowron]

It's quiet, has a low-profile, and requires less energy expenditure than say the breaststroke. Thus, useful for a combat swimmer.

[Illmaxic]

sorry to say, but if the CSS is draining the hell out of you, you most certainly aren't doing it right. I can CSS all day at sub 40min mile and be comfortable. Keep working at it, it does take some getting used to.

[king henry viii]

sorry to say, but if the CSS is draining the hell out of you, you most certainly aren't doing it right. I can CSS all day at sub 40min mile and be comfortable. Keep working at it, it does take some getting used to.

hey you schlub, get your *** online and talk to me.

[deadly nedly]

I CSS about as fast as most folks freestyle, though it is a tiny bit slower due to the underwater arm recovery. Sounds like you're doing it wrong my friend.

[sdr1288]

hey man im not exactly the greatest at the CSS but i think i can give u a few pointers. if your getting exhausted doing this stroke your probably doing a constant flutter kick between strokes, just do the scissor kick and glide. your probably also trying to pull yourself through the water with your hands. that will do nothing except ware you out. stay relaxed and let the kicks do the work. your arms are more to turn your body to breathe and keep your nose and mouth above the water during the stroke. also remember to not lift your head out of the water that only makes your feet sink and slows you down. turn your head as if there is a metal pole through the top of your head through your body. remember to recover your hands as close to your body as u can to pierce the water and "fit your body through the smallest hole." another thing that will help, blow the air out your nose or mouth during the glide. so remember, stay relaxed, point your toes, let your kick do the work and stay streamline. oh and watch that head it will get u every time!!

!!pull, breathe, kick, glide!!

[sdr1288]

one more thing. THIS SWIM IS ALL ABOUT FORM, NOT HOW FAST YOU CAN MOVE YOUR HANDS AND LEGS!!

[mvmonkey]

Your problem might be that your body sinks to the bottom and there for creates more drag. Make sure your body is streamlined and make your strokes powerful not fast. There's no point in doing 15 strokes if you can cross the pool in 10.
I only swim the CSS and I'm pretty much the fastest swimmer in the pool. Sometimes a freestyler is faster but they stop after about 50-100 meters so....
CSS is my favorite stroke because it's efficient and pretty fast.

Mark

[bud/s sucks]

I recently started to learn CSS and now I completely know how to do it right, yesterday I swimmed and this stroke isn't fast.
It drains the hell out of me, so why is this stroke good anyway?


by the way, I like the way the hands go-in towards the water, like an attacking cobra...

It drained the hell out of me too. After I went through several miles of it though, it came easier. I went from barely getting a lap in the pool in to swimming a 70:02 best two mile.

[BELCHER]

David,

As the guys before me have said it is all about technique and with time you will see an increase in your distance and a reduction in your energy output. This will be extremely important for your PST.

When you get the stroke down you will see it is possible to swim 25 yds in 5-7strokes.

I am attaching a video from youtube for you to review it should help you.

Best of luck

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lUHudMN1TU

[bud/s sucks]

Also, are you using fins yet?

[bud/s sucks]

David,

As the guys before me have said it is all about technique and with time you will see an increase in your distance and a reduction in your energy output. This will be extremely important for your PST.

When you get the stroke down you will see it is possible to swim 25 yds in 5-7strokes.

I am attaching a video from youtube for you to review it should help you.

Best of luck

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lUHudMN1TU


Imagine that! That man helped me A LOT with my swimming. If he's still helping, then never fear, he'll turn you into a fish.

[panghin]

I use CSS to recover after a hard 100m front-crawl swim training. It is relaxing and it is also known as a Recovery stroke.

[bk0078]

do you guys ever see anyone post good times using the breast stroke? i ask because i have been on a swim team for most of my life and i have always wrecked in butterfly and breast (not that butterfly is in anyway practical at all) but do people post good times for breast stroke? i dont want to change it up haha, i have fine tuned my breast stroke to excellence thanks to great coaching

bryan

[king henry viii]

do you guys ever see anyone post good times using the breast stroke? i ask because i have been on a swim team for most of my life and i have always wrecked in butterfly and breast (not that butterfly is in anyway practical at all) but do people post good times for breast stroke? i dont want to change it up haha, i have fine tuned my breast stroke to excellence thanks to great coaching

bryan

dude, do the breast stroke for 500 yards... rest 10 minutes... then see how many push-ups you can knock out in 2 minutes... and do the whole PST. Then come back a week later, do the CSS for 500 yards and finish the whole PST and see how different your numbers are. report back to us, because I hear the breast stroke takes so much more energy out of you than the CSS. but i've never seen any proof.

[bk0078]

well i have never tried the CSS before. ill try it when i get back to a pool next semester. im gonna put that youtube on my ipod lol because like i said i have NEVER done it before.

[bk0078]

oh yeah does anyone do flip turns at each end of the pool or do people just touch the wall and start to swim in the other direction?

[panghin]

oh yeah does anyone do flip turns at each end of the pool or do people just touch the wall and start to swim in the other direction?

I touch the wall & start to swim in the other direction. Like a breaststroke touch , turn and go.

[bk0078]

thanks for the help. i will use all this info to help me get better at CSS.

[jrosz04]

Bud/s did you graduate?

[SilentSnake]

Are the miles for BUD/S 1760 yards(35/36 laps in 25yd pool), or 2000 yards(40 laps)?

[skullgrinder]

In total immersion is says that a nautical mile is 1650 meters or 33 laps in a 25 meter pool.

[bud/s sucks]

The ocean swims at BUD/S are 1,852 meters, or 2,025.372 yards.

[bud/s sucks]

X 2, that is.

[kevgats]

i've been a elite swimmer my whole life, thru college (graduated dec '06....even qualified for the US Open a few times), is it safe to assume the swimming stuff should be relatively easier (obviously not saying it would be easy by any stretch) for me to handle than the other parts of BUD/s? haven't been timed in CSS but I can't imagine I wouldn't be able to do a mile in under 30 minutes.....

[ecampos1012]

I need some swimming classes!! i need 2 learn how 2 swim better..

[rsctt83]

CSS DVD is now available for purchase in our online store for those that are interested

Salesmen in me comes out every once and a while {7.5% goes to NSW Fallen Heros}

[bk0078]

i just wanted to post with an update- i wasnt a solid believer in the CSS when i first learned it (since i am a swimmer myself) but after getting it down pretty well i feel really good with it. i can wear short 3 inch kick fins and get to accross the 25 m pool in 3 complete strokes (big kick, the pull, with the small scissor kicks). and it doesnt get your heart rate up high.

thanks a bunch SEALs!

[dolph ferg]

Alright, 2 things. I seem to be having a really hard time with my scissor kicks. It just seems like I'm not getting any distance out of my kick. Is there some stupid little trick that I'm just missing. Also, I've looked on the forums and I can't find this answer. When doing the 500m, are you allowed to kick off the wall when you get to the end (ie: touch then kick off and glide for a few meters under water)?

[nak2000]

yes, you can kick off the wall, it's like a turn for the breaststroke, touch the wall with both hands, kick off and glide under water. As far as I know you aren't allowed to do a flip turn though.

[rsctt83]

Guys if you are struggling with CSS why don't you purchase the DVD we have available in our store. This will answer all your questions and show you the correct techniques. It's not terribly expensive and seems as though it would be well worth you while

[frankthetank19]

Jeff Kraus told me that he wants people doing breastroke during there PST's because its alot faster i see no difference in energy wise for the rest of the pst after i do breaststroke your also allowed to use breast stroke at BUDS for your PST. oh yea and no more goggles allowed during swim PST. at east thats what Jeff Kraus told me last week.

[dive doc]

Can anyone else confirm/deny that no goggles are allowed during the PST??

[king henry viii]

Can anyone else confirm/deny that no goggles are allowed during the PST??

a dude on facebook (haha yes i know, facebook) just finished boot about a month ago. He said no goggles during the PST at boot, crappy baggy swimming trunks, and no swimming lanes.

[dive doc]

As in crappy baggy Navy issue swimming trunks??? It just sounds better and better.

If this is the case, then guys you better start doing laps without goggles ... cos in all honesty, that water could be crap and could throw you off. No lanes either, its basically just a free for all. I wonder if the idea is to MAKE you go slower!!!

[FinishOrElse]

Did anybody ever verify those claims?? How about masks? UDT Trunks?

[nak2000]

I know for a fact that for the actual PST you are not allowed to wear any form of eye protection from the water, you also have no swim lanes and are swimming in a pool with 50+ guys all trying to go faster than the others...

[garcia0384]

Why would you need eye wear anyway?

[sh4nty]

so no fins during PST? goggles? just straight up swimming?

[iamfubar44861]

Why would you need eye wear anyway?

To breathe. (sarcasm)

[sk8m99]

remember that fast is slow, and slow is smooth. You can use less energy during the CSS and get better times. Huge kicks, full arm extensions on the strokes are very powerful. I have recently seen some one know 2 minutes off their time using this technique. Also a constant flutter kicks in between the scissor kick is a slightly more advanced technique. One you are in excellent swimming condition add it. It will cut time off your swim.

[mike0318sti]

Staying level and streamlined is the key to faster swim times. From the last PST I helped out with, most of the testers seemed to not be very comfortable in the water. It shows when you won't put your head in the water at all or very little, or when you come really high out of the water to breathe. The first guy I've been swimming with went from a 14:45 back in December on his first 500y swim, to a 09:30 in March, which will be in the 8's on the next one. Its all about being comfortable and focusing on staying straight in the water, as well as getting the CSS technique down well.

[mike0318sti]

The last PST I helped was there for, a lot of guys had goggles, no face masks though. My two guys testing didn't and they could barely see through the rest of the PST. The chlorine in Long Beach was pretty strong, everyone without goggles had their eyes burning through the 1.5 mile run.

[nobell4me]

practice technique. Fast will come with swimming correctly. Make sure your first pull is a S pull. If you can get through the pst with 10:00 or better I wouldn't lose sleep over it. I would just keep getting in the pool and going over it in your head. Keep working at it and remember that this is seal school. They will be teaching you everyday in pre bud/s and plus you'll be learing from the best where they will be right in the water with you. " never quit"

[sickle]

Kind of weird they wouldn't let you wear eye protection. I swim with a mask because my brother (SEAL instructor) said that's all you use..might as well get used to not using your nose. I'd suggest using a mask anyways, I've heard you do some things later on with your mask filled with water and if your body doesn't know how to turn off your nose you will be drinking a lot of nasty water.