Work and swimming

I personally think you would benefit from breaking up your day with a swim. Not, perhaps a 4000 m super charged, super fast workout, but like Allan said, perhaps a 1500. I always find it hard when you're used to 4000m sprint training(I often do Paul's workouts) to switch to any easier training, but it's definitely better than nothing. I guess I posted this thread to get motivated again:)

Didn't mean to come off as a "Debbie Downer" but sometimes go through these waves of emotions....even more so during the holidays. Allen is completely right. Since I got back in the water 3-1/2 years ago (after not swimming since college 17 years ago prior) its made a world of difference physically, mentally and emotionally. I'll be back in next week....in all my fatness.:D

I always find it hard when you're used to 4000m sprint training(I often do Paul's workouts) to switch to any easier training, but it's definitely better than nothing. I guess I posted this thread to get motivated again:) Me too, I'm a mid-dist/dist guy so I almost feel ashamed to only do 3-4K when I'm used to doing 5-6K a workout 5x/week. Gonna have to just live with myself for the time being. Good luck! BTW, my cousin is also in the animation business here in ATL. He used to work on Cartoon Network (Dexter's Laboratory and others). Now he free lancing I believe.

For what it's worth, I am slow as hell and getting slower before I even reached my potential: Find your own balance between work tempo and swimming. To avoid weight gain just simply consume fewer calories. Look forward to perhaps seeing your productions

There are sometimes in life where the reality is that we have to do things that we can't sustain over the long haul.If the duration of these is not too long,fine.The problem is when the unsustainable becomes the norm.Continue that for too long and your body will make you stop. I have to swim,it is not a luxury,it is a very important part of my physical and psychological well being,just like eating,sleeping and breathing. Sure you can take off the 10 lb later,but what if later is in 2 yr and it is 30 lb. If 4000 yd is unworkable and is draining of energy instead of energizing try 1500 three times a week. If you are sitting in a chair 12 hr/day that is unsustainable.

When I get really drained from swimming, it's usually because I'm not eating enough. It helps to eat a gel right before I get in and drink a chocolate milk after I get out. I also drink water mixed with a little juice while I'm swimming--the extra electrolytes also help me from getting too tired afterward.

500 yard swim is much better than not swimming. Take a 2 minute break every hour. Each hour can be 2 minutes of plank, pushups, situps, or whatever. Doing this might even sharpen productivity. Try to avoid sitting there too much without a brief break. Also, Eat vegetables, and protein drinks. I probably eat healthier than 99,999% of the population:D I eat tons of veggies, fish with omega 3 fatty acids, fruit, whole grains, legumes, seeds, nuts, lean meat but no protein shakes. I tried protein shakes in the past and it never made me feel fitter. I rely on real food. I would believe that everybody feels a bit tired after a good work out. Also, I usually swim 3000-4000 yards. 500 yards is nothing. I have a road bike and cycle a bit each day but at the moment not much. Believe me, it's not the lack of nutrition or anything else. Swimming a decent work out costs energy and if you want to work mentally for about 12 hours it will effect you. I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels this. It's not like I feel totally wrecked, it's just that I don't feel mentally crisp for a long period of time. I'm just referring to my work situation at the moment. Like I said, I worked on various productions during the last 20 years of my career and always kept up my swimming. I was wondering if others take a break if they have too much work on their plate too. I should at least do bodyweight exercises again. I've done them for years(pushups, pullups, plank, superman, dips, burpees, Vups, squads etc). I also want to add that I don't feel tired if I don't work out. I can work highly concentrated for 12 hours straight(with breaks to eat inbetween).

I've been in the opposite mode. I'm currently looking for FT work and have been for quite a while now. However I've kept swimming and training. But since LC Nats I have just lost the will to keep training. Its a downward spiral for me: if I can't afford to go to meets I don't want to train. I just have much more important things to take care of. Currently I haven't swam in almost 3 weeks and feel horrible. I'm gonna have to start completely from scratch almost (and I'm a Top 10 swimmer). I'm gonna start back Monday and try to swim 3x a week, but I am not planning on competing in 2012 unless I get back working and can have a routine. I just can't get my head to push my heart to train right now. It sucks, but life throws you curveballs.

I am a fulltime student and work 40 hrs a week at a grocerie store. I am at school all day twice a week, (my two days off work) and at work the rest of the time. I eventually coerced my boss into letting me come in no earlier than 7am and stay no later than 10pm, allowing me to get 1.5-2 hours in every morning. But since thanksgiving week, i've been working over 45 hours, often not leaving the joint til after midnight....plus its finals week! I havn't been in water in 2 weeks and feel like crap. I plan to be back in the water every day after school ends for the semester in a few days. I'm not the type of person who can function on less than 6-7 hours of sleep. I hate it, and I don't know why i'm like that, but if i don't get a full 7-8 i'm going to try to find time to sleep during the day. Basically if i'm not in bed by 10-10:45pm, I probably won't make it to morning practice. If I do, I'll come back at 7:15am and sleep till 11am! :bed:

I always have had problems balancing priorities. If I am doing well at work, my exercise/fitness and eventually health suffer. If I am doing well swimming/cycling, I am not doing justice at my job. For me, exercise after work suits me best. I take my stuff to work so I do not need to go home to change clothes etc. The intense exercise physically tires me and clears my mind mentally. But then it takes a few hours to relax; and I am prone to oversleeping and getting to work late the next day. First thing in the morning is easier to schedule; but I physically can't seem to get going for a hard workout and it can be hard to drag out of bed when I'm tired, short on sleep and know I have a very long stressful day ahead of me. Swimming can be hard to justify the travel time, fees, time spent changing clothes, etc if you're not even going to do a 2,000 workout. However, you can maintain minimal fitness getting in 3 swims in per week, about a mile each time. I worked out a deal where I would leave the office in time for an evening workout and then work remotely from home afterwards to pick up a few extra hours. But I was just too drained to be productive after exercise; and I also had my car broken into and company laptop stolen. Some of my coworkers were able to find a gym near work and slip out for a long lunchhour workout. Key to that was finding a nearby facility and not spending much time in the lockerroom. I am planning to see if I can fit some lunchhour cycling into my schedule to take advantage of warmer temps and daylight. Fortunately my company has showers at work. Forget the mentality that exercise has to be 100% or nothing. Make a deal with yourself that you can focus on technique drills this year, or focus on some other aspect of your swimming that didn't get proper attention during hard training. Just keep moving.