Hello,
I have read all the Masters Swimming 101 articles and I am still not sure what it means to be in a masters swimming class and how it is different from a regular advanced swim class.
I am able to swim a lap (50 m) without stopping, freestyle and *** stroke. And I swim mainly to work out. I'm looking for someone to help me improve my form and swim more efficiently. It would be nice to participate in some of those swim competitions at some point, but I know I am nowhere close to being ready for that.
My gym offers a Masters Swim class in the mornings. I am usually there during that time, and I've never seen anybody providing any coaching. I just see a bunch of people come in at that time and start swimming on their own. I've tried to ask the gym's swim department for more details, but they have been very vague. They say Masters Swim Class is more coaching whereas their adult swim class is for learning.
Can someone describe what typically happens during a masters swim class? Should it the class be a re-occurring class or is it a one time clinic type of session? Should a coach be physically present or do you just get instructions to do on your own?
Thanks!
I think that you are still in the learning phase. When I joined Masters, I had the expectation that I would need to be at a certain level to practice competently (swimming a mile non-stop, for example). That expectation rang true, and me being able to do > 2000y consistently was not even adequate. For over a month I have been very much in that *learning* phase. Yet I was able to push myself enough to nearly complete the workouts in the allotted 1h 15m.
We swim no less than 3000y for every practice, and my coach says I'm moving into the practicing phase, but this is only freestyle. That said, I'm fortunate to have found a very involved coach who is always talking and happily answers questions.
I say all this to make the simple point: you should probably continue to work on your own before jumping into Masters. You don't want their workouts to bring you down. You're still in the "easy" and early successes part of swimming, where times drop rapidly and distances increase exponentially. Stay there for a while.
I think that you are still in the learning phase. When I joined Masters, I had the expectation that I would need to be at a certain level to practice competently (swimming a mile non-stop, for example). That expectation rang true, and me being able to do > 2000y consistently was not even adequate. For over a month I have been very much in that *learning* phase. Yet I was able to push myself enough to nearly complete the workouts in the allotted 1h 15m.
We swim no less than 3000y for every practice, and my coach says I'm moving into the practicing phase, but this is only freestyle. That said, I'm fortunate to have found a very involved coach who is always talking and happily answers questions.
I say all this to make the simple point: you should probably continue to work on your own before jumping into Masters. You don't want their workouts to bring you down. You're still in the "easy" and early successes part of swimming, where times drop rapidly and distances increase exponentially. Stay there for a while.
