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.
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Former Member
I suspect the original question is about whether lots of low intensity yardage helps pool racing performance. If so, then people who do more yardage should be kicking butt in races.
I don't know if any of these people race, but the top 200 should be able to race a lot faster than me.
www.usms.org/.../gtdparticipants.php
Let's assume that I am the slowest person on that list. I've only been swimming for about 3 years. Before that, I was a decent (not fast) breaststroker, but I could barely swim 50 yards of freestyle.
I don't think any of my yardage is garbage. In 2011, I made the list because I swam 3,000 yards, almost every day. I did that because I wanted to. Swimming is fun. Some days higher intensity, some days more focus on technique. Very little in terms of long, continuous yardage. My 2011 races were all OW or postal swims. I limited my OW races to 1-1.5K because I wanted to improve my speed.
In 2012, I'm well into the top 200 because I'm training for a marathon swim. This year, I do a lot of long, continuous swims. The other practices are about evenly split between high-intensity work and leisurely technique work. None of that's easy. It's all challenging in different ways. The long swims develop endurance and mental toughness. The high-intensity work is fun, energizing, and painful. The technique work takes the most discipline.
In each of the 3 years I've been swimming, I've taken about :10 off my 100-yard pace. I expect to do that again this year. I think that's reasonable progress for someone at my level.
I suspect the original question is about whether lots of low intensity yardage helps pool racing performance. If so, then people who do more yardage should be kicking butt in races.
I don't know if any of these people race, but the top 200 should be able to race a lot faster than me.
www.usms.org/.../gtdparticipants.php
Let's assume that I am the slowest person on that list. I've only been swimming for about 3 years. Before that, I was a decent (not fast) breaststroker, but I could barely swim 50 yards of freestyle.
I don't think any of my yardage is garbage. In 2011, I made the list because I swam 3,000 yards, almost every day. I did that because I wanted to. Swimming is fun. Some days higher intensity, some days more focus on technique. Very little in terms of long, continuous yardage. My 2011 races were all OW or postal swims. I limited my OW races to 1-1.5K because I wanted to improve my speed.
In 2012, I'm well into the top 200 because I'm training for a marathon swim. This year, I do a lot of long, continuous swims. The other practices are about evenly split between high-intensity work and leisurely technique work. None of that's easy. It's all challenging in different ways. The long swims develop endurance and mental toughness. The high-intensity work is fun, energizing, and painful. The technique work takes the most discipline.
In each of the 3 years I've been swimming, I've taken about :10 off my 100-yard pace. I expect to do that again this year. I think that's reasonable progress for someone at my level.
