My big question is...how often should I swim/train to achieve my swim goals?
I never know if swimming 5 days a week vs swimming 7 days is better because some days your body is just tired and you end up having not-as-good-workout. Does that make the workout productive or is rest better?
I was swimming everyday for 3 months straight practically, working myself really hard, doing twice a week weights, and then I hurt my shoulder for the 1st time in my life! I swam competitively in high school and never had an injury. It made me feel old.
However, I still want to work hard and achieve my goals but I just don't know if swimming everyday is the answer. I understand that it also depends WHAT I swim daily and how intense I work as well...but I just do whatever workout the masters coach gives us that day. So it varies.
I feel like I'm training without any idea of how to get to where I want.
I have a very ambitious goal...but fortunately I told myself I'd just like to achieve this some time in my life..whether it's in two years or 20 years....but I would like to drop 5 seconds in my 100 freestyle. Someday. Yes, it's obviously incredibly difficult to drop that much time in a sprint event but I want to! The question is...how to get there? Is swimming everyday the key? Or maybe it has nothing to do with number of times I work out but more about what I'm actually doing at the practice. But what should I be doing? Of course technique is important.
I'd just like to hear some suggestions. I feel like I'm swimming in the dark!
Thanks!
-Helen
I'm curious, if you were to do the mentioned set of 5X100 on 8:00 at the suggested pace of suffering by #3 and completed everything accordingly as you thought was planned having no clue what soon will be prescribed. While finishing the last one expecting to finally get relief at the wall you were suddenly ordered to make it a 150 instead with no rest. This extra 50 would be at maximum effort of whatever you have remaining, or else!
I understand one should train as they race, and such an approach would be learning how to loose painfully, but biologically, would pushing yourself beyond reason such as this provide any positive training effect?
I'm curious, if you were to do the mentioned set of 5X100 on 8:00 at the suggested pace of suffering by #3 and completed everything accordingly as you thought was planned having no clue what soon will be prescribed. While finishing the last one expecting to finally get relief at the wall you were suddenly ordered to make it a 150 instead with no rest. This extra 50 would be at maximum effort of whatever you have remaining, or else!
I understand one should train as they race, and such an approach would be learning how to loose painfully, but biologically, would pushing yourself beyond reason such as this provide any positive training effect?
