Hello, swimmers! I'm barely a real swimmer... I come from a running background (middle distance, mostly, and a bunch of post-college 5ks) and a series of injuries forced me into the pool. I actually couldn't swim at all until 2013, but seemed to improve fairly quickly (at freestyle).
So here's my question. Can I keep improving without doing super-long swims?
I do not seem to recover or cope well with long swims. I've gone up to 3500 yards in a single workout (took almost an hour), but it basically wipes me out and I don't think I'm good enough at form to keep good form for the whole swim. But when I reduce my workout volume to 1800-2800 yards per workout (but lots of hard sets that a great triathlon coach writes for me) and swim 6 times per week, I do improve! I've brought my 100 yard time from 1:31 down to 1:21 in the past few months and my 500 from 8:00ish, to 7:28. I already have good muscle strength and aerobic fitness from all the lifting and training I did for running so I think mostly it's my form that holds me back in the swim.
So should I keep swimming shorter swims and wait for form to smooth out? Or should I push the distance (maybe even just once a week?). Will I EVER feel good going long?
One of the issues I have is that my health isn't great . I have an eating disorder history and tend to underfuel and that may be an issue too, though I'm doing much better now and am at a very healthy weight. I feel like my body is kind of exhausted, and while I like swimming, I want to get better at it without overexercising.
Also, how do I do a darn flip turn?? I feel like my times would drop if I could do one, but as is, I'm so clumsy at it that they slow me down.
Thanks, everyone. I hope to make swimming 'my' sport, even though I only began in my 20s and would love some input.
Gary -- your story is amazing! Good on ya!
I've been using USRPT type sets as well, and they work. I get just as tired after an hour as I do with "normal" workouts, and I don't think my average heart rate over the hour is lower. I'm also sore after USRPT workouts because I go to failure, like lifting. But the more time you spend at full speed, the more time you have to learn how to go fast. That is an important aspect.
I've also been coaching a group of 8-12 year olds, despite my daughter moving up to a more advanced group. I started sending out videos from youTube and from other places showing the drills we were going to do that week. Those that watch the videos have made noticeable improvements and at very least most of the kids know how to do the drill. There are a lot of basic videos of Olympic athletes swimming which are valuable to watch, especially the slow motion or underwater ones. You might not be able to swim like Matt Grevers, but you can probably pick up one or two of the good things he does and incorporate those aspects into your practice.
Gary -- your story is amazing! Good on ya!
I've been using USRPT type sets as well, and they work. I get just as tired after an hour as I do with "normal" workouts, and I don't think my average heart rate over the hour is lower. I'm also sore after USRPT workouts because I go to failure, like lifting. But the more time you spend at full speed, the more time you have to learn how to go fast. That is an important aspect.
I've also been coaching a group of 8-12 year olds, despite my daughter moving up to a more advanced group. I started sending out videos from youTube and from other places showing the drills we were going to do that week. Those that watch the videos have made noticeable improvements and at very least most of the kids know how to do the drill. There are a lot of basic videos of Olympic athletes swimming which are valuable to watch, especially the slow motion or underwater ones. You might not be able to swim like Matt Grevers, but you can probably pick up one or two of the good things he does and incorporate those aspects into your practice.
