How do I get faster?

Age, training background and the last best time? :-)

18, 4 years on highschool team and a couple months swimming with a umich swim alumni. 500 free - 5:44 i believe, but it was closer to 5:45 (time from junior year, new coach wouldn't put me in it senior year) 200 IM - 2:23ish (time from senior year)

Hey Ghuol, The same answer that is often given on this question...join a team, get a coach. Not to trivialize that statement, I don't know how much you swam and were coached before high school. An active inter-mural athletic swim group with some coaching or keep swimming with the UMich alumni. Train/exercise 5 or 6 days per week. Check out some of the workouts that are posted in that section. Read Ande's Swimming Tips (not in one sitting!) I like training sets of broken events, for hard sets. I think these are great. For example, my broken 100 is 25 rest 5sec 75 50 rest 5 50 25 rest 5 50 rest 5 25 I usualy do 3 sets on the 2 minutes. This is a high effort set and times, after subtracting the inner rest should be approaching meet times. The 200 version of this is 50, r10, 150; 100, r10, 100; 50, r10, 100, r10, 50. I'm sure you can come up with a 500 equivalent, but maybe it is broken down 5 ways instead of 3 ways. Not only do I like over all times close to meet times, but the other major focus of this set is even splits. Get the coaching - I am going to guess from your high school times that there is plenty to be found in technique. That is why a coach and team or group are so important. Good luck, I'm still looking for another 1.5 seconds on my 100 free SCY, it's a never ending story! Cheers, PT

I would try for the college team, but I'm nowhere near the speed, and no intramural team here :'( and I haven't really seen the umich guy for a while, he swam with me before swim season and after for a month at the community center, I haven't seen him since march =\ but thanks for the set advice, I'll give that a try.

I would try for the college team, but I'm nowhere near the speed, and no intramural team here :'( and I haven't really seen the umich guy for a while, he swam with me before swim season and after for a month at the community center, I haven't seen him since march =\ but thanks for the set advice, I'll give that a try. Your name is Green but you swim with Umich? I need more information about your true allegiance.

hey Ghoul, You're 18 & want a faster 500 free & 200 IM. current times: 5:44 & 2:23 you asked for help with distance and IM sets First a few questions Swim Training: How many times a week do you train? How far per practice? What sort of sets? With a team or without? With a coach or without? What are your practice times for: free 25, 50, 75, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300, 400, 500, 600, 800 & 1000. Kick: flutter with a board and without, plus SDK for 15, 25, 50, 75, 100, 150 & 200 what pace could you hold if you did 10 x 100 fr on 1:10, 1:15, 1:20, 1:30, 1:40, 2:00, 2:30 & 3:00? What were your race splits? (when you went 5:44 & 2:23?) How often do you lift and do dry lands? What's your height and weight? What kind of suit did you wear in your races? How good do you want to be? Times? Dates? Splits? How bad do you want to be good? I'm confident you can swim ghoulishly faster and make your friends green with envy. my initial suggestions are: Read, study and apply ideas from swim faster faster? Follow a few Blogs: Of Swimming Bondage Chris Stevenson Ande's Swimming Blog Consider the advice I offered in: Last 150 of my 500 falls off Hang in the USMS forums Lanes: The Middle Distance Lane The IM Lane The Breastroke Lane As far as training goes Train 5, 6, or 7x per week, bump up your training: increase the times per week, intensity per practice, yards per practice, and swim faster times in practice Mix up your sets Have Free days, D days, Sprint Days, Race days & IM days Do aerobic, sprint, lactate, race, and recovery sets Swim fast for time in each practice & actually RACE a fast 500 fr & 200 IM once a week. On IM DAYS, work on your weakest stroke, mine's breastroke, what's yours? My other weakness is middle distance free and my challenge has been correct splitting. Train to be very fit and finish fierce. You can swim faster faster How good do you want to be? How bad do you want to be good? What have you done about it? What are you going to do about it? We live in a cause and effect world, if you want the effects, focus on the cause. Ande

I would try for the college team, but I'm nowhere near the speed, and no intramural team here :'( and I haven't really seen the umich guy for a while, he swam with me before swim season and after for a month at the community center, I haven't seen him since march =\ but thanks for the set advice, I'll give that a try. Have you looked at USMS teams in the area? It looks like there's one in Ann Arbor: www.michiganmasters.com/places.html

I would try for the college team, but I'm nowhere near the speed, and no intramural team here Try to find others who are around your speed who are swimming laps and would like to do workouts. Age doesn't matter. It could be other undergrads or retired faculty members. Training with others is always more fun! If you can a good group together then it's time to think about organizing an intramural team. Ask your IM department at school what you need to do to start one. If you want to improve your 500 free I think the best thing you can do is plenty of long aerobic sets. 10x200, 5x500, etc. Do them on a sendoff that will give you maybe ten seconds rest. Do a good warmup, then the long aerobic set, then maybe a shorter stroke set and/or a faster free set--either a pace set or a fast set. You don't need to do the long aerobic set every day, but at least a couple days a week.

Do you have any video of your strokes you could share? Generally, faster times are a function of more pool time with aggressive (but not hostile) coaching. However, before entertaining such thoughts, clear it with the doctor and make sure you are practicing sustainable and efficient swim techniques. If you can share a video or two, any number of posters can comment on your technique.