My 500 freestyle time is terrible. need a faster solution

longer sets with less rest yeah thats kinda general, but if you are not about to "chum the gutter" when you finish..... and your "terrible" time is all relative. what is your swimming background? how much do you train now? lots of factors. my times are "terrible" compared to when i was 13.

longer sets with less rest Seconded. At least a couple long aerobic sets (3000+ if possible) a week.

How is your pacing? Do you go out and do the first 100 fast, then lose 5 sec/100? How is your last 100 by comparison? Maybe you could do several sets of 5x100 on 1:30, then 5x100 on 1:25, then 1:20 over time. Or do a couple of sets of 5x100 where your first 100 is your slowest and your last your fastest. Improve by 1-2 secs each 100.

... your "terrible" time is all relative. what is your swimming background? how much do you train now? lots of factors. For sure. We don't have much information here. Were you once faster? If you swam sub 5-mins 5 years ago that's one thing, but if you couldn't swim 2 years ago that is another. How does you time compare to others your age. If you are 33 years old your 7 minutes is quite different than if you are 83. How is your stroke? If you have never been under 7 minutes in your life, I'd bet that the fastest way to get faster is to improve your stroke and turns.

My 500 yd scy freestyle time is terrible. I am not breaking 7 minutes. I would like to know if there are any fast ways to improve my times. My masters coach has given me advice, but the results are very slow. I am not looking for a magic pill or anything like that. I am looking for a workout solution. Any tips?I looked up your previous results ( parkerson was unique?) according to your 100 free results your equivalent 500 time is about a 6:30+. You should realize that 500 swimmers usually have more yardage in their workouts (3-4000 5x a week). A 500 swimmer has a totally different mindset than a 100 swimmer. A previous response was 5x100 sets with short rest the only change I would suggest is the intervals be 1:40, 1:35, 1:30. If you can do 5x100 on 1:20 you should break 7 easily:)

Slow results are results nonetheless. I would be flabbergasted to swim 500 in 7

I'd bet that the fastest way to get faster is to improve your stroke and turns. Seconded. And at the risk of going all Total Immersion on you, the fastest way to improve your stroke is to start counting strokes per length, and work on reducing that number. To a first rough approximation, strokes per length measures efficiency: how far you travel per unit of effort. More efficient = less effort expended on overcoming water resistance = more effort expended on moving forward. It's easy, too. All you have to do is count.

- Long sets (maybe 1000 total yards) with intervals that leave you short rest (5-10 seconds). 3-4k/day, 5 days a week. I see the definition of a "long set" may vary. :) But, really, I think sets like 10x300 where you're getting 5-10 rest between repeats pay dividends for the 500 free. A 1000 yard set just seems really short to me, but it may be a good place starting point for someone who isn't used to long, aerobic training.

I think sets like 10x300 where you're getting 5-10 rest between repeats pay dividends for the 500 free. He's shooting for 7:00, not 5:00 :). Yes, 1000 yards isn't "long" anymore but it sure felt like it back when I started off.

Here's some things that helped me drop my 500 times: - Let your coach and teammates know your goals. They will assist you, cheer for you and help keep you accountable. When others see you working hard for success, it breeds success for the whole team. - Long sets (maybe 1000 total yards) with intervals that leave you short rest (5-10 seconds). 3-4k/day, 5 days a week. - Push yourself but don't get so tired that your stroke gets sloppy. It does little good to swim hard the wrong way. - Learn to pace. Try to make your last interval as fast or faster than your first one. - Time yourself weekly. If you can, get your coach to get your splits for each 100. Write it down so you can track your progress. Good luck and let us know how it goes.