How Do You Find the Time to Train?

RE: How Do You Find the Time to Train?

Former Member — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 13:02:59 GMT

I "found" time to train. I realized I was pretty much wasting my time going out to lunch by way of gambling and spending money eating out. I changed that to swimming on my lunch hour. I get about 45 min in the water or 25/20 weights/swim. I worked my way up from 2 days a week to now 6 days a week. When lunch doesn't work out i do my best to flex that workout to early morning before the world is awake (5am) or evening after work.

RE: How Do You Find the Time to Train?

ande — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 11:49:34 GMT

You make time to train. make unbreakable appointments to train pick a convenient pool and time, get in the habit Train with a program so you have a coach Train with training partners who give you crap when you miss Set goals to prepare for something (new next meet) Be flexible, it's OK to arrive late or leave early, something is always better than nothing. Talk things over with the G/F so she knows when you're training. Put your swimming event dates on the calendar months ahead. Understand that there's more important things than swimming and sometimes life gets in the way, do what you need to do then resume your training schedule. Think about how many times per week, what time, what pool/s, how far, how hard and make it happen. You can make time or make excuses. btw excuses are useless.

RE: How Do You Find the Time to Train?

Former Member — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 11:27:39 GMT

I was doing a lot of yardage for two years. I could do 1,000 butterfly or 3,000 free non-stop. I recently switched to doing 25 yard sprints as hard as I can. The timing and the challenges are much different. I do 4 warmup laps, then 16 sprint laps, cool down and get out. Recover between laps, I float on my back to recover. This workout is quick, intense and very effective. They say if you want to swim fast in a meet, swim fast in practice. I am 58. I don't compete. Just my thoughts.

RE: How Do You Find the Time to Train?

Swimosaur — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 09:39:12 GMT

I "found" time to train ... my lunch hour. I get about 45 min in the water ... I "found" the same time! At lunch I am in the water for only 1000 yards, less than 30 minutes, but I've found lots of useful things to do in that time. I like to figure out puzzles, like “How can I swim a 4IM/200 fly?”, or “How can I train myself to even-split a 200 back?” (I'm still working on that one.) It's also good for high-intensity. You can warm up a few hundred, blast out something fast, and you're done.

RE: How Do You Find the Time to Train?

aztimm — Sun, 04 Nov 2012 11:41:27 GMT

If the 63rd St Y isn't far, then you're probably not far from John Jay College. TNYA does some workouts there (I can't remember where else). I swam with them while I was in NYC over the summer. It is a great group, a variety of swimmers from some rather casual pace, to some super fast people. There's a couple of forumites from NYC, check out swimsuit_addict. She knows swimming and knows where to swim in the city...and does a bit of pool tourism so should know the best pools too ;) And no matter how hard I may think I'm swimming on my own, my solo workouts don't come near the intensity I get from team workouts.

RE: How Do You Find the Time to Train?

skiboy58 — Sun, 04 Nov 2012 10:49:29 GMT

Thanks for all the feedback. Well, one thing I forgot to mention is that I usually do intervals and I go pretty hard in most of them. I've never understood getting in the pool and doing a soft pace for 2 miles...but I think I can continue to go hard AND add yardage. I usually concentrate on technique and breathing and pulling hard. In breaststroke I am working on mastering the wave style, which is still pretty new to me (I grew up doing the flat style). I live in Brooklyn and work in Manhattan. The 63rd St Y is not too far from work, and I do most of my swimming there, although on weekends I sometimes hit the Park Slope Y. The good news is that the Park Slope Y is building a new 25 yard pool and there is some talk of starting a masters team. I am planning to speak to the aquatic director. I already did 2000 on Friday, and it didn't seem very hard. I increased my warmup from 300 to 500, then did set of 100s and 50s, all pretty hard. I did a serious dryland workout Saturday with my personal trainer (those deadlifts are leaving me with serious soreness today). Today I didn't get to the pool or the gym.

RE: How Do You Find the Time to Train?

Former Member — Sat, 03 Nov 2012 13:17:05 GMT

Re: How Do You Find the Time to Train? I like the answer that you have to make the time. It's so true and it should never be looked upon with any feelings of guilt. Setting aside several days out of each week with an early morning time slot is the best way to stay consistent. Benefits of having a cat.

RE: How Do You Find the Time to Train?

Former Member — Sat, 03 Nov 2012 13:14:58 GMT

If I can do it, you can too. Three kids under six, a surgery resident (80+hour work weeks), married to a marathon runner, plus life (volunteer work, church, extended family, social calendar, sports for my eldest, school activities for the kids, etc). You just wake up and grab your sh*t and go to the pool. You choose to be proud of every workout rather than lament the ones you miss. The next day, you do it again. 2-3 x per week, be happy with what you can handle. Swim in the mornings. Put some extra food in your cats dish....

RE: How Do You Find the Time to Train?

rxleakem — Sat, 03 Nov 2012 10:43:53 GMT

we own a cat who is well loved -- mostly -- so this is all obviously tongue in cheek. I think you mentioned that before. Dogs do have a different personality ... www.socialpaws.com/.../Dogs-Vs-Cats-Meme.jpg

RE: How Do You Find the Time to Train?

Bobinator — Sat, 03 Nov 2012 09:58:24 GMT

Life is full of choices. Being fit and healthy is a choice that takes commitment and time. "Those who find no time for fitness and health must eventually find time for sickness and despair." I basically swim when I can. If I'm tired or stressed from my workday and not in the mood to swim I try hard to remember how happy and re-newed(mentally/physically/emotionally)I'll be if I go to my workout; even if that means I'm gone that day from 6:15 a.m. till 9:00 p.m. I don't think I can ever remember a workout I regretted participating in, well at least when it was over. :agree:

RE: How Do You Find the Time to Train?

Chris Stevenson — Sat, 03 Nov 2012 08:54:51 GMT

:nono: Keep the cats, only they will bring you peace :thhbbb: I remember this joke... "There's good news and bad news for cat owners." "What's the good news?" "People who own cats live longer than people who don't own cats." "That's sounds great! What's the bad news?" "They have to live with cats." (PS: we own a cat who is well loved -- mostly -- so this is all obviously tongue in cheek.)

RE: How Do You Find the Time to Train?

Glenn — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 10:29:18 GMT

Don't know if you can get to Asphalt Green in Manhattan for their morning w/o but that might be an option. They have an active Masters team. www.asphaltgreen.org/c-2021-p-Masters-Swim-Team.aspx

RE: How Do You Find the Time to Train?

rxleakem — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 09:47:39 GMT

Get rid of the cats. Maybe the girlfriend too. :nono: Keep the cats, only they will bring you peace :thhbbb: I commit to 3-4 days per week in the pool, usually for an hour per swim. Like lots of other masters, I find that killing myself with yardage is not required as shift to train smarter. There are great workouts in the forums and blogs, at varying intensities, so that you will be able to work towards gradually meeting your original health and swimming goals. Team workouts are also fun - keep researching and asking questions, and have fun! :cheerleader:

RE: How Do You Find the Time to Train?

Glenn — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 09:31:54 GMT

Don't know if you can get to Asphalt Green in Manhattan for their morning w/o but that might be an option. They have an active Masters team. www.asphaltgreen.org/c-2021-p-Masters-Swim-Team.aspx

RE: How Do You Find the Time to Train?

TomK3 — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 08:55:26 GMT

"It has to be routine and it has to be a priority." I strongly agree with that. I can't be debating "will I swim today?", I have to do it automatically. Also, I'm in such a good state of mind after a hard workout that I wouldn't call the time spent swimming lost. When I walk into a contentious meeting and I'm the only one in the room who just did 3000Y, it's very easy. I do morning masters practice 3x/week and usually lunchtime drills and sprints by myself on the other 2 days.

RE: How Do You Find the Time to Train?

Allen Stark — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 07:36:52 GMT

I agree with the above.You can make great progress with 4X/wk. You can make fair progress with 3X/wk,but 4 is really better.It has to be routine and it has to be a priority.If you want to do sprints you are going to have to sprint.Leslie's HIT workouts are a great resource.Good luck.

RE: How Do You Find the Time to Train?

swimslick — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 03:58:20 GMT

I put off joining Masters for years because I didn't think I 'had the time'. But once I finally started, I suddenly had a bunch of extra time to devote to the pool....ha! You're passionate and excited about it, so I think this should be easy for you. You say you swim 3-4 days a week now.....I would say keep that weekly frequency and start upping your yardage. You're at the pool anyway, might as well stay an extra 15-20 minutes and spend the time doing 'smart' sets. Stick with it and you'll be suprised at the amount of improvement you're capable of :)

RE: How Do You Find the Time to Train?

Chris Stevenson — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 03:50:49 GMT

Get rid of the cats. Maybe the girlfriend too. Okay, more seriously. (But really, the cats need to go.) There is a pretty big gap between I've been doing 1/2 to 3/4 mile 3-4 times a week, with the occasional mile and even more rarely, maybe 2000. and 3-4 thousand yards 5 or 6 days a week You don't have to bridge that gap all at once. Some might argue that if all you want to do is do a good 50 & 100, you don't need to completely bridge that gap at all. Suggestions: -- find a group to swim with, preferably a group of USMS swimmers. -- make it part of your routine, like brushing your teeth. You don't think about "making time" to brush your teeth, you just do it. -- you only need an hour, tops, to do 3000 yards. Make it a morning thing. My group practices at 5:45am, a lot of people get out by 6:45am after doing at least 3000 yards. Even getting out at 7:15, I'm at my desk working by 8am.

RE: How Do You Find the Time to Train?

sickfish — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 03:25:25 GMT

If your workouts are intense and focused, I think you can improve a lot without having to worry about finding the time to do epic workouts. I did 3-4k/workout, five to eight times a week, for quite a while and eventually just plateaued. I plateaued both in terms of speed and in terms of motivation. There was a lot of stuff in the workouts I was doing that I just found unpleasant, and looking back, it seems ridiculous to think that I would get any better at a 50 free by (for example) swimming a bunch of 300s at a speed much slower than my 50 speed with no rest. Sure, I got good and tired doing those 300s, but it didn't help my 50 at all. Mostly I was bored and pushed just hard enough to get through practice. For the past month I've been swimming 3-4 days a week, about 2000 yards each day. However, instead of different sets of varying distances and strokes and effort levels, I've been swimming at the speed I intend to go in a race. And I feel faster than ever. There's a thread here on the forums called "Ultra short training Rushall" with links to the "research" behind the "plan" I'm using. Theoretically, even though I'm only swimming 25s and 50s, the endurance required for 100s and 200s will come, and I'll have done so many actual race-pace lengths that when race time comes around, the technique and pacing will be almost second-nature. Of course, Rushall could be wrong, and I could be be too optimistic about the possibility of improving anything other than a 50 without increasing yardage. On the other hand, I'm enjoying the shorter workouts a lot more than the old ones, and I have a lot more time to spend doing important things, like sleeping, and eating, and watching TV, and spending time with my wife ;) edit: of course, this takes just as much discipline, if not more, than the more complicated schedule required by more frequent workouts. You need to bring the intensity and effort to make the most out of your shorter pool time.

RE: How Do You Find the Time to Train?

Karlene — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 02:28:11 GMT

I agree with both of Judd's point. You do need to make the time to train. For me that works best by swimming in the mornings. It's easy to come up with a laundry list of excuses why you can't get to the pool after a full day's work. Once you commit to getting out of bed and not rolling over for another hour's sleep, you've conquered 3/4's of your obstacles. Morning swimming leaves you charged up for the day and also allows you to spend time with your GF or do other activities in the evening. For events like the 50 and 100 you don't need a lot of time in the water but the time spent there needs to be specific and focused. I strongly recommend Leslie's HIT workouts. If you're not ready for that level of intensity, there's a thread called "Betsy's One Hour Workouts". You could pare those down slightly and get a good quality workout in 45 minutes. Similar to you, I work full time and have a husband and cats at home. But I swim 4-5 times each week, lift weights once or twice, and play golf with my husband most weekends. I get a bit less sleep than I'd like during the week but the enjoyment and fitness I get from my swims more than compensates for the lost hours in bed.

RE: How Do You Find the Time to Train?

Britt03 — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 02:15:21 GMT

swimosaur got it to the point: you MAKE time. You don't need to train 5-6 times a week to become faster. It's about efficiency. Most people I train with only swim 3-4 times a week, in the mornings before work. If you put in quality yardage and eliminate any garbage yardage, sometimes less is more.

RE: How Do You Find the Time to Train?

Swimosaur — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 02:02:26 GMT

Two points. 1. You never find the time, you make the time. 2. There's a lot of room between "1/2 to 3/4 mile 3-4 times a week" (2500-5000/wk), and "3-4 thousand yards 5 or 6 days a week" (15,000-25,000/wk). What's wrong with 10,000/wk? You can up your game without driving yourself too nuts.