In my most recent blog entry, "One Man's Garbage..." forums.usms.org/blog.php , I asked my fellow swimmers their respective opinions on the impact long, slow, continuous swimming has on meet performance.
The expression "garbage yards" (and the pejorative overtones such a phrase conjurs) has become so embedded in the forum lexicon that many, I suspect, now consider as indisputable truth swimming this way is a waste of time for anyone with competitive ambitions.
Such a view appears particularly well-entrenched among the many non-credentialed exercise physiology pontificators here on the forums who also have a fondness for sprinting and dry land exercise.
But is the concept of garbage yards truly valid--or a kind of urban legend made up largely by sprinters who would rather be doing something other than spending 90 minutes without stopping in the pool?
I don't mean only practicing this way. But if you are, like me, inclined to enjoy swimming, once or twice a week, long, slow, relatively relaxing, continuous yards, do you believe (and more importantly, perhaps, have any evidence to bolster said belief) that so-called "garbage yards" can have some value for actual racing?
Or do these only teach your body to swim slow?
I invite you to read my recent blog forums.usms.org/blog.php and post your thoughts advice there or here.
At the risk of provoking censure by the forum authorities, I furthermore ask you to leave all civility by the wayside.
Feel free to trash talk and smack upside the head of any and every one who disagrees with your personal bias here!
It's been way too long since these forums have had a good, old-fashioned range war of opinions run amuk and ad hominem attacks!
Go at each other tooth and claw. It will only stir the blood of us all, I say--something we garbage yard enthusiasts probably need a bit more of, I will admit.
I think that you have to workout continuously for a long enough period of time for your heart, lungs and muscles to develope the capacity to work efficiently for long periods of time. Doing this will enable your body to handle the stress of hard training and racing. I can not think of any reason that this can not be accomplished by continuous long swims. I don't think it makes any difference to your body whether you swim 10x200 at 2:40 or just swim 2000 yards holding a 2:40 pace every 200 and just not stopping every 200 yards. You don't stop every 200 yards when you race, do you?
I think that you have to do some sprinting during every workout, but if you intend to compete in events of 200M or more you need at least as much endurance as speed. The longer the event is the more important endurance becomes as a factor in your success.
You also need to swim some of your yardage at a pace similar to your race pace and you have to do enough yardage at that pace to get used to that level of effort and the anaerobic fatigue that you feel when you race. I don't think that the hard yardage has to be the majority of your workout or even has to be done everyday.
I do agree that you can not train effectively by swimming only at a "garbage yardage" pace. If you don't develope the ability to sprint, you will find yourself getting passed on the last lap by the swimmers who are in good enough shape to hang with you and have developed the speed to pull away from you at the end of the race.:canada:
I think that you have to workout continuously for a long enough period of time for your heart, lungs and muscles to develope the capacity to work efficiently for long periods of time. Doing this will enable your body to handle the stress of hard training and racing. I can not think of any reason that this can not be accomplished by continuous long swims. I don't think it makes any difference to your body whether you swim 10x200 at 2:40 or just swim 2000 yards holding a 2:40 pace every 200 and just not stopping every 200 yards. You don't stop every 200 yards when you race, do you?
I think that you have to do some sprinting during every workout, but if you intend to compete in events of 200M or more you need at least as much endurance as speed. The longer the event is the more important endurance becomes as a factor in your success.
You also need to swim some of your yardage at a pace similar to your race pace and you have to do enough yardage at that pace to get used to that level of effort and the anaerobic fatigue that you feel when you race. I don't think that the hard yardage has to be the majority of your workout or even has to be done everyday.
I do agree that you can not train effectively by swimming only at a "garbage yardage" pace. If you don't develope the ability to sprint, you will find yourself getting passed on the last lap by the swimmers who are in good enough shape to hang with you and have developed the speed to pull away from you at the end of the race.:canada:
