I swim faster in the afternoon than in the morning

RE: I swim faster in the afternoon than in the morning

Former Member — Tue, 28 Jul 2015 15:02:16 GMT

Right-e-o. Try stretching first thing in the morning. Yow! I'm not flexible in general, but in the morning I'm about as stretchy as a piece of oak. :cane: this is me in the morning!

RE: I swim faster in the afternoon than in the morning

m2tall2 — Tue, 28 Jul 2015 10:07:01 GMT

I notice in the morning I need more warm up to get going. I find more kicking during an AM warmup helps to get the blood moving right and gets me warmed up faster. Sometimes, in the morning I start by kicking only for a good 200-300 before starting the true warmup. No, it is not your imagination. You are probably faster in the afternoon. But you should come really, really close in the morning.

RE: I swim faster in the afternoon than in the morning

Former Member — Mon, 27 Jul 2015 15:19:32 GMT

I wouldn't worry about times being slower. Work on effort, stroke quality, heart rate (which can also be higher in the morning)...

RE: I swim faster in the afternoon than in the morning

orca1946 — Mon, 27 Jul 2015 08:24:54 GMT

Are you a "morning person" or a "evening person"? I am an "evening person" so yes I do swim better after noon time till 10 at night. as a team , we do about 800 - 1000 swim followed by 600 - 800 in drills before the main set. So maybe these two things can help you/

RE: I swim faster in the afternoon than in the morning

Former Member — Wed, 22 Jul 2015 16:23:11 GMT

Just agreeing this is very common, due to sleep cycles and food. There have been studies that athletic performance overall is better in the afternoon/evening. Are you swimming on an empty stomach in the morning? That might be something to look at. How long do you give yourself to wake up? No, I don't swim on an empty stomach. I always eat something. Usually scrambled eggs and a cup of coffee. Nothing too heavy. I eat that about 40 minutes before I swim and get about an hour in total from getting up to diving into the pool. Ideally, I need more time between getting up and getting into the pool but it isn't practical. not doing a proper warm up is certainly not good. i dont know how far you usually go in a workout nor your abilities, but a 500 warmup may not be enough. Deckside stretching or a longer warm up might alleviate it a bit, but I only have about 45 minutes to swim in the morning so I try to get as much main set swim time as possible. I guess it is a trade off. In the afternoon, you are more awake, more nourished, perhaps more stressed (the worse my mood, the faster I swim). Quite! I think this is fairly common and due to sleep inertia. Your body just can't transition from sleep to vigorous activity that quickly. I would suggest warming up a little longer and make sure that warmup includes building to some fast swimming. Sleep inertia! I like that phrase. I remember reading somehere once that Gennadi Touretski used to make Popov do an all-out 100 for time without warming up to stimulate his fight or flight response (to be always on the ready, combat prepared, as it were). Right-e-o. Try stretching first thing in the morning. Yow! I'm not flexible in general, but in the morning I'm about as stretchy as a piece of oak. Oak just about describes it! Oddly enough, on the odd occassion when I have had a late night and gotten into bed in the wee hours in the morning, only to get up a few hours later and go swimming, I have had my best morning practices and come close to my afternoon times.

RE: I swim faster in the afternoon than in the morning

trexleradam — Tue, 21 Jul 2015 07:42:35 GMT

RE: I swim faster in the afternoon than in the morning

smontanaro — Thu, 16 Jul 2015 12:01:05 GMT

I think this is fairly common and due to sleep inertia. Right-e-o. Try stretching first thing in the morning. Yow! I'm not flexible in general, but in the morning I'm about as stretchy as a piece of oak.

RE: I swim faster in the afternoon than in the morning

knelson — Thu, 16 Jul 2015 11:01:36 GMT

I think this is fairly common and due to sleep inertia. Your body just can't transition from sleep to vigorous activity that quickly. I would suggest warming up a little longer and make sure that warmup includes building to some fast swimming.

RE: I swim faster in the afternoon than in the morning

jpetyk — Thu, 16 Jul 2015 10:28:49 GMT

In the afternoon, you are more awake, more nourished, perhaps more stressed (the worse my mood, the faster I swim).

RE: I swim faster in the afternoon than in the morning

sunruh — Thu, 16 Jul 2015 10:16:42 GMT

not doing a proper warm up is certainly not good. i dont know how far you usually go in a workout nor your abilities, but a 500 warmup may not be enough.