So... I've incorporated butterfly sprints into my workout. When I first started, about 3 months ago, I could do one 25yd fly sprint about every 3 minutes (because it took me that long to recover). Later on, I was able to do five intervals of 25yd of fly sprint + 25yd back kick (relaxed), with a 60 second rest in between each interval. Now, I can do ten intervals of 25yd fly sprint + 25yd back kick (relaxed) without resting in between each interval. My long-term goal is to increase my fly sprint distance to 100yd per interval (I haven't decided on how many intervals yet). My short-term goal is to increase it to 50yd per interval. My problem is that I still can't break 25yd. Twenty-five yards of fly sprint kills me every time. The only difference seems to be in the amount of time it takes me to recover from each interval and begin the next.
Anyone have any suggestions? I would greatly appreciate them. I know I'm doing something right because I can do more intervals without resting than I could before but I just can't figure out why I'm still near death at the end of each 25yd sprint.
Thanks for all your replies! A lot has happened since I last posted. First, I decided to drop the sprints for now and just work on building my endurance for a paced fly. Since I last posted this thread, I did manage to increase my fly to 50 yards. I had quite a revelation! I realized that if my mind is already set to do a 50, my body automatically adjusts to the first 25 by relaxing a bit. Before then, my attitude was "I'll try to keep going an extra length if I survive the first." My attitude should have been "I'm gonna swim 50 fly." I couldn't believe how easy that first 25 was when I had my mind set on a 50! So, I started doing 10 x 75 (50 fly, 25 back kick). Today, I'm up to 4 x 100 (75 fly, 25 very slow back kick). All flies are now paced, of course.
Ande! You're so close to me! I'm actually considering the Longhorns. I need to fire off an email to the coach. I swam on the swim team (summers) from about 6 to 12 years old. I stopped swimming up until about 5 months ago. I had gained a ton of weight (into the morbidly obese category) over the years but have lost 98 lbs (still have 25lbs to lose) since November through diet and swimming. If it weren't for swimming, I don't think I would have been nearly as successful getting my health back in shape. Fly was my worst stroke as a child which is why I'm doing it now.
Thanks for all your replies! A lot has happened since I last posted. First, I decided to drop the sprints for now and just work on building my endurance for a paced fly. Since I last posted this thread, I did manage to increase my fly to 50 yards. I had quite a revelation! I realized that if my mind is already set to do a 50, my body automatically adjusts to the first 25 by relaxing a bit. Before then, my attitude was "I'll try to keep going an extra length if I survive the first." My attitude should have been "I'm gonna swim 50 fly." I couldn't believe how easy that first 25 was when I had my mind set on a 50! So, I started doing 10 x 75 (50 fly, 25 back kick). Today, I'm up to 4 x 100 (75 fly, 25 very slow back kick). All flies are now paced, of course.
Ande! You're so close to me! I'm actually considering the Longhorns. I need to fire off an email to the coach. I swam on the swim team (summers) from about 6 to 12 years old. I stopped swimming up until about 5 months ago. I had gained a ton of weight (into the morbidly obese category) over the years but have lost 98 lbs (still have 25lbs to lose) since November through diet and swimming. If it weren't for swimming, I don't think I would have been nearly as successful getting my health back in shape. Fly was my worst stroke as a child which is why I'm doing it now.
