Ok...just returned to competitive swimming...doing pretty well (31.3 in 50 METER free, and I'm 54), but think I can do better. At 18, I swam low 28s...Yes, I'm much older, but back then, we never lifted weights (we were told it would make us sink or make us "tight"), and I actually used to smoke cigarettes (not heavily, but at parties) and weed pretty routinely. Would love to get under 30, or under 27 in yards.
I have met my goal of getting in shape, losing weight, and trying to stave off the onset of type II diabetes (was told I was borderline), but in order to be REALLY good, I realize I am going to have to put in more yardage and get some coaching on starts, turns, and mechanics. 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.
I already work a full time job as a school administrator and I also teach college two nights a week. I have a g/f, 3 cats, and a full life (no kids)...suddenly, I have this new passion which I am excited about and it's good for me, but it seems like it will be hard to find time to put in the 3-4 thousand yards 5 or 6 days a week that a lot of folks seem to be doing. How do you find the time? And is it just a small minority who are really that committed? Do I really have to become a fanatic about this to be more successful?
PS...I would also like to the 100 at some point, but I know I need to build up my stamina a lot more for that.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 :)
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.
"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.
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:
