Hello everyone,
I am a 40 yr old male who has been a distance runner most of my life. I have logged countless miles training for marathons all over. Unfortunately I got old :cane:. About a year ago I had minor knee surgery and decided that my running hobby was no longer something I could sustain if I wanted to have knees left when I get to 60. I took up swimming once the knee healed. I am very thin and have never been much of a swimmer. I apparently don't float which makes swimming hard but I keep plugging away. My goal is to stay in shape and maybe get some of those swimmers broad shoulders :). My question is what kind of program should I be following? I am not very good at any stroke besides freestyle and I currently swim for about 30 min a day/6 days a week and do either weights, yoga or elliptical machine for an additional 30 min a day/6 days a week. Given my age, goals, skill level and time constraints, can someone point me to a good set of workouts?
Thanks,
J
I'm a former runner too; marathon, half-marathon, trail runs. Total endurance junky. So if that's you too I'm guessing just 30 minutes a day is going to keep you in shape, but not going to get you that runner's high or the feeling of satisfaction you have after following build-up program for months at a time to get in shape for those long distance runs.
I'm 42 and in a similar boat (though mine is not sinking anymore! :bolt:).
I've been blogging about my conversion from runner to swimmer here:
forums.usms.org/blog.php
You'll find some of my workouts there; as a former runner I try to keep it really simple... they're probably not the best, but they get my heart pumping and remind me of the interval track workouts I did as a 400, 800, and 1600 runner in my teens.
And I do have some advice that might help you as a runner. My legs are terrible for kicking (but I get great push-off the walls!), though they are in really good shape... it's just not good for the kind of movements you need in swimming. But I found I could overcome the sinking-legs issue by paying attention to the other parts of my body. When I was in my early 30s I started swimming while I was recovering from my first serious running injury and was really frustrated, so I got Terry Laughlin's book on Total Immersion swimming techniques... that was an excellent start for me. And I suggest it for anyone. Technique is so important in swimming and small changes in technique can have a big impact on your enjoyment as well as your speed.
now a decade a later... taking up swimming "full-time" and leaving running behind me, I'm still working on technique. I've found a bunch of good stuff on "swim smooth." If you google both TI and swim-smooth you will find their websites and youtube videos on technique (active.com also has a good set of videos on technique). Then, try to work on one "issue" per practice for a while until it all starts to come together. And have a swimmer or a coach you workout with take a look at your technique from time to time. A longtime swimmer I see occasionally at the Y, just about a week and a half ago pointed out to me an adjustment I could make that helped right away... sometimes it's a real simple thing you can do or focus on... I feel like I've been on a plateau for a while and he said "hey, why don't you try THIS, it might help out THAT" and voila`... I'm knocking minutes off my open water times.
And have fun with it! I know after years of running that my fastest days on land are behind me; but with swimming I feel like I'm still getting better and my fastest days are way out in front of me yet!
I'm a former runner too; marathon, half-marathon, trail runs. Total endurance junky. So if that's you too I'm guessing just 30 minutes a day is going to keep you in shape, but not going to get you that runner's high or the feeling of satisfaction you have after following build-up program for months at a time to get in shape for those long distance runs.
I'm 42 and in a similar boat (though mine is not sinking anymore! :bolt:).
I've been blogging about my conversion from runner to swimmer here:
forums.usms.org/blog.php
You'll find some of my workouts there; as a former runner I try to keep it really simple... they're probably not the best, but they get my heart pumping and remind me of the interval track workouts I did as a 400, 800, and 1600 runner in my teens.
And I do have some advice that might help you as a runner. My legs are terrible for kicking (but I get great push-off the walls!), though they are in really good shape... it's just not good for the kind of movements you need in swimming. But I found I could overcome the sinking-legs issue by paying attention to the other parts of my body. When I was in my early 30s I started swimming while I was recovering from my first serious running injury and was really frustrated, so I got Terry Laughlin's book on Total Immersion swimming techniques... that was an excellent start for me. And I suggest it for anyone. Technique is so important in swimming and small changes in technique can have a big impact on your enjoyment as well as your speed.
now a decade a later... taking up swimming "full-time" and leaving running behind me, I'm still working on technique. I've found a bunch of good stuff on "swim smooth." If you google both TI and swim-smooth you will find their websites and youtube videos on technique (active.com also has a good set of videos on technique). Then, try to work on one "issue" per practice for a while until it all starts to come together. And have a swimmer or a coach you workout with take a look at your technique from time to time. A longtime swimmer I see occasionally at the Y, just about a week and a half ago pointed out to me an adjustment I could make that helped right away... sometimes it's a real simple thing you can do or focus on... I feel like I've been on a plateau for a while and he said "hey, why don't you try THIS, it might help out THAT" and voila`... I'm knocking minutes off my open water times.
And have fun with it! I know after years of running that my fastest days on land are behind me; but with swimming I feel like I'm still getting better and my fastest days are way out in front of me yet!
