Yes, I know there are workouts and blogs with plenty of set ideas, however, I don't know which ones would be best for my needs and situation. I have Mondays and Fridays nailed down: Ande and King Frog's sprint workouts have been great; no problem there. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I train at another pool with my part-time coach who coaches a small group of adults. We do a 3500-3800 yard organized workout; the same one he gives his team of kids in the afternoon. It kicks my :censor: ; no problem there.
So, this is where I need help: On Wednesdays and Saturdays, I do a breastroke 25yd sprint ***/25yd recovery free set (8x50's) that Ande recommends I do each day, as well as the 600 yards (150 fast) of breaststroke kick he recommends I do each day (if I swim a total of 3000 yards). Combined with my 800-yard warm-up of free, IM's, and breaststroke drill, it totals 1800 yards. What I am looking for is 1000-1500 yards of sets that are non-sprint sets- but, non-junk yards, to round things out.
Any suggestions? I'm having the most difficult time trying to determine proper intervals, given my swimming level. Here are some sprint times to go by: My 25yd ***, fly, and back sprints from a push off all average :20-:21 and my free averages :17.
I am a breaststroker, however, I would like to improve my 50's in all strokes, in addition to 100 breaststroke. My weakness in all strokes is my kick. And, yes, I do weights 2-3 times each week, so I'm not looking to spend any more time in the weight room. Specifically, I would like some good recovery sets I could do that won't hurt my sprint times.
Thanks!
:chug:
Well, James, I (partly) took your advice for my last swim of the year. After my usual warm-up, I swam:
20x100 on R:20-
100 br/ 100fr/ 100 kick/ 100br k/ 50br-50fr
5x100fr
100 br/ 100fr/ 100 kick/ 100br k/ 50br-50fr
5x100fr
(Focus: Quick turns, DPS, streamline, getting feet turned out on br. kick. Breaststroke was 8-9 strokes/25yd and free was 14-16 strokes.)
I left backstroke and fly out of the mix to give my shoulders a break and swam the 100's sloooow; 1:40's for the free and 1:43's on the breaststroke.
I ended the year with 42.61 miles for the month/ 382.46 miles for the year; waaay more than my original GTD goal of 275! When my surgeon said I would be able to swim again, I don't think he ever believed I would be able to log in THIS many miles with my shoulders... :bliss:
Anyway, this felt like a good recovery swim. Would it be considered "recovery" or "junk yardage"? I still don't really understand the difference...
This could be considered recovery, or it could be something else depending on how you were swimming it.
You did just fine. I find that variety is a key to success. While it's good to do certain things again to test yourself, you shouldn't be repeating and repeating your same workouts day by day, week by week.
I go to the pool a lot with no workout in mind, and make it up as I go as well.
Garbage yards would be swimming without any purpose at all, kind of like some of my cooldowns. :)
Well, James, I (partly) took your advice for my last swim of the year. After my usual warm-up, I swam:
20x100 on R:20-
100 br/ 100fr/ 100 kick/ 100br k/ 50br-50fr
5x100fr
100 br/ 100fr/ 100 kick/ 100br k/ 50br-50fr
5x100fr
(Focus: Quick turns, DPS, streamline, getting feet turned out on br. kick. Breaststroke was 8-9 strokes/25yd and free was 14-16 strokes.)
I left backstroke and fly out of the mix to give my shoulders a break and swam the 100's sloooow; 1:40's for the free and 1:43's on the breaststroke.
I ended the year with 42.61 miles for the month/ 382.46 miles for the year; waaay more than my original GTD goal of 275! When my surgeon said I would be able to swim again, I don't think he ever believed I would be able to log in THIS many miles with my shoulders... :bliss:
Anyway, this felt like a good recovery swim. Would it be considered "recovery" or "junk yardage"? I still don't really understand the difference...
This could be considered recovery, or it could be something else depending on how you were swimming it.
You did just fine. I find that variety is a key to success. While it's good to do certain things again to test yourself, you shouldn't be repeating and repeating your same workouts day by day, week by week.
I go to the pool a lot with no workout in mind, and make it up as I go as well.
Garbage yards would be swimming without any purpose at all, kind of like some of my cooldowns. :)
