Debating doing College Swimming... Never Swam Competitively
Former Member
Here is the low down guys. I am a Sophomore at a pretty average division 1 university. I am a member of the cross country and indoor/outdoor track teams so i have been competitively racing for almost 6 years. I have never swam on a team before but... I want to! I feel as if I've gone mad. I want to try in college!! Next year, not this year, I need to get my base up i know that. off of 2 swims a week (500yards) i swim 500 yards free in 7:48 as of yesterday (you dont need to tell me how slow that is I already know). I am not afraid of hard work, swimming 2+ hours a day I can do that. I want to try! can anyone tell me what I need to do to see if i can get to around 5 flat in the 500 yard free? or a fast 1000 time it doesn't matter, just good enough to walk on the team. the weird thing is, i think I am a better swimmer than I am a runner. the pool just seems to click for me. can anyone help me out? I am willing to swim every day from now till next swim season to make this dream a reality! ...ps i'm a guy if that matters
Parents
Former Member
Not just daily, but doubles on most days. Plan on 9-10 pool workouts per week.
I still think the best way to gear up is every other day.
If the swim team averages 12K yards a day, I say keep increasing yardage every other day until you are up around 15K. Then a month or two more of every other day to work on intensity, then start in on every day.
BTW, I suspect overtraining is rampant in swimming. Perhaps Michael Phelps could have said, "Tyler Clary works harder than I do. If I worked harder, I wouldn't be able to swim as fast as I do, though."
Not just daily, but doubles on most days. Plan on 9-10 pool workouts per week.
I still think the best way to gear up is every other day.
If the swim team averages 12K yards a day, I say keep increasing yardage every other day until you are up around 15K. Then a month or two more of every other day to work on intensity, then start in on every day.
BTW, I suspect overtraining is rampant in swimming. Perhaps Michael Phelps could have said, "Tyler Clary works harder than I do. If I worked harder, I wouldn't be able to swim as fast as I do, though."
