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.
It doesn't mean that none of those things have a place in a well-rounded training program. The optimum mix will depend on the swimmer and the events s/he is targeting. Surely that isn't controversial?
The phrase "garbage yardage" is a useless one, IMO.
Nope.
Mostly agree.
But I think sprinters and marathon swimmers can have less "well rounded" programs.
Excellent! (Said with Mr. Burns intonation, fingers furiously tenting!) I have started a barn burner here!
Leslie, I think you have been insulted.
Dave, I am almost certain you have been slighted.
Who will stand for this!
It's an outrage, really. An outrage, I say.
Off the practice.
Would any one who believes in the "garbage yards" concept give a precise definition a bit more specific than "swimming that does not contribute to your goal."
What if you have a goal that cannot be articulated?
Is it enough to say, "Garbage yards are good for my goal, which I cannot put into words, but is real because, well, just because!"?
Off to swim, but I hope to see massive vitriol upon my return!
PS in my blog on this topic, the legendary Mr. James Kegley has left a comment on Doc Counsilman's use of the phrase "El Garbagio" to describe this kind of practice. I like the phrase, it rhymes with Caravaggio, and has a veneer of Italianate glamour to it.
I propose we replace "garbage yards" forever more by El Garbagio in honor of James Kegley, legendary distance swimmer and frequent reader of my vlog whenever I beg him to.
We're swimmers, not wall-resters, after all.
:applaud:
What may look like garbage yardage to some, is actually silently saving my sanity.
I just love swimming, up & down, hypnotised by the blue (or black) line, no kids to worry about, no dirty dishes to look at, I can mentally write my grocery list, etc. Sometimes its nice to zone out and plod.
I used to list my warmdown as "junk," not implying that it was of no use, but just that I do lots of different junk duing warmdowns - drills, skulling, underwater 25's. Where is the balance between swimming just to swim and needing to have an exact plan for every length? Is one less garbage than the other? I might contend that after dabbling in sprint and distance orientated sets this year that maybe both ideas have a place in every swimmer's repertoire, regardless of which camp you pitch your tent in.
I have read a lot that with our busy lives and families/careers, that we need to make the most of our time in the pool. Sometimes I enjoy a long swim, not for time, to just swim. I'll just chalk those moments of perceived lucidity up to preparing for the 10 miler this summer
:groovy:
I read an article on training recently that had a pretty good quote. It was something like "you should be training to improve your racing performance. You should not train just to get better at training." Now, how exactly you should train to improve your race performance is debatable, but I think this is a good mantra to keep in your mind anytime you get in the pool.
