I just started getting back into a routine of swimming laps so that I can improve my fitness enough to start taking surf lessons within the next month or two. Right now I aim to swim a mile each workout, and in a few weeks I'm planning on adding some sprints and breath control sets to mix it up and get in better shape. I'm not interested in swimming for speed or joining a Master's group, I simply want to swim regularly to build up my fitness and stamina, and also to challenge myself and get some adrenaline pumping. My question is, how do I know if my swim workouts are hard enough for my fitness and stamina to improve? Is it enough for me to just be breathing a little fast, or do I need to kick my own butt and feel pretty out of breath at the end of a set or workout? I try to swim at a vigorous but constant pace, but after swimming a mile I'm not the least bit tired or out of breath. I know that I need to push myself out of my comfort zone to build fitness, but how far is far enough?
IMHO, the best way to build "stamina" is not straight, steady swimming, but interval swims. You want to take yourself to the edge of neural failure, then rest briefly and do it again. My stamina building set today was 20 x 200 yards at a pace that matches my mid-race mile pace (1:19-1:20/100), on 3 minutes. I got about 20-22 seconds rest each repeat. Easy at first, challenging at the end.
IMHO, the best way to build "stamina" is not straight, steady swimming, but interval swims. You want to take yourself to the edge of neural failure, then rest briefly and do it again. My stamina building set today was 20 x 200 yards at a pace that matches my mid-race mile pace (1:19-1:20/100), on 3 minutes. I got about 20-22 seconds rest each repeat. Easy at first, challenging at the end.
