Super Lightweight!

[[old] John Rupp]

Janet Evans still holds current swimming world records in the 400-meter freestyle of 4:03.85, set in Seoul '88; the 800-meter freestyle, at 8:16.22, set in Tokyo '89; and the 1,500-meter freestyle, at 15:52.10, set in Orlando '88.<br /><br />

[[old] ninthman]

Am I the only one who thinks "steroids" when I hear of a 15+ year old world record?<br /><br />This is like all those Flo-Jo track records that stood forever because she was juiced out of her gourd.

[[old] jbell]

Most of the people on our team that are sub 5'8" keep their 2k storkes per minute @ like 33 or so. What do you keep yours at? We have a kid on our team, he's 5'5" and weighs 165lbs (75kg) and he has a 7:08 2k. He's really strong, so maybe look into bulking up. He used to do football, but crew has transformed him. Try following something like the Pete Marston's Training Plan (http://www.machars.net/peteplan.htm). True, it'll be tough for you to be a WR setter, but I think something along the lines of sub 7 or even sub 6:50 is definetly possible for you.

[[old] ljwagner]

Building strength and endurance takes time. If I'm not mistaken, Janet Evans swam since she was in early elementary school. Mark Spitz, another tall exceptional swimmer, also had the physical advantage that his lower legs kicked forward an extra 20 degrees or so past straight.<br /><br />Note most of the people on steroids look like freaks, not normal looking people. Normal looking people who put in the hours over the years can have capabilities everyone else would only consider possible thru drugs.<br /><br />Warm-up, work hard. Get stronger. Stay away from fads. If you don't get hurt, you'll keep getting stronger and getting better endurance. <br /><br />Stay away from negative people. They'll work hard at discouraging you; they'll have the motivation of trying to make you quit, hoping to see you do it, and knowing the odds are against you from the beginning.<br /><br />At 145 lbs, my best 100 yds was 11.0 seconds; my best 880 was 2:25, and I never trained for track. I should have. Maybe you should consider a sport better suited to you. I'm six feet tall, and look too tall to cox and too thin to row. I rowed heavyweight and lightweight. Heart (literally), and mind over matter. But not enough brains in my youth to run more. I enjoyed rowing and the people on the team, so my sport was against my body type. Not the brightest decision. But a happy one.<br /><br />You'll be able to erg with the best if you train hard without overdoing it. But a great cox who can coax more effort out of a crew than they know they have, is worth more than a few extra few pounds in weight differential.