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:
Wise Tall Paul has the most awesome posts in this thread!!!! True words of wisdom!!!!
I agree 100%!
And Knelson makes a very good point - you can get very efficient at less-than-max speed and hold for extended sets and yardage, but the next gear, Elusive Speed, takes a different aproach to reach and train. I find that targeting 2 sprint sets a week, and building the week around that, with recovery off days, is the only way I have been able to tap into going true race-pace in a workout. It is so tempting to want to relive the glory the next day (Was I really that fast? Let me see! Just oooonnne more sprint today!) But no, it is better to stick to "The Plan" and make sure in 2 to 3 days, I am absolutely going to hit it again, and not just have a Good Effort Day. And in weeks where you know life will get "in the way", you have to accomodate your training for that, too, such as this past week between xmas and new years. I highly recommend everyone read the article Wise Paul posted earlier. The point is, everyone is different. For me, it's 2x per week. And I am finding I probably also need to take 2 days completely off per week. It really compresses the amount of workouts I do a week! (PS I will have a blog post on this point today!)
Wise Tall Paul has the most awesome posts in this thread!!!! True words of wisdom!!!!
I agree 100%!
And Knelson makes a very good point - you can get very efficient at less-than-max speed and hold for extended sets and yardage, but the next gear, Elusive Speed, takes a different aproach to reach and train. I find that targeting 2 sprint sets a week, and building the week around that, with recovery off days, is the only way I have been able to tap into going true race-pace in a workout. It is so tempting to want to relive the glory the next day (Was I really that fast? Let me see! Just oooonnne more sprint today!) But no, it is better to stick to "The Plan" and make sure in 2 to 3 days, I am absolutely going to hit it again, and not just have a Good Effort Day. And in weeks where you know life will get "in the way", you have to accomodate your training for that, too, such as this past week between xmas and new years. I highly recommend everyone read the article Wise Paul posted earlier. The point is, everyone is different. For me, it's 2x per week. And I am finding I probably also need to take 2 days completely off per week. It really compresses the amount of workouts I do a week! (PS I will have a blog post on this point today!)
