How to Stick with Masters Swimming - Addressing Monotony

You just hit a hot button for me! and you can drop the qualifier "masters" too. For a sport that is so heavily technique based, I am astounded by the percentage of coaches that either ignore technique entirely, or give lip service to working on technique, but then take minimal action. Most coaches seem to think that their job is to write a workout on the white board, and perhaps occasionally yell at the swimmers to go faster. Really? I can buy a book of workouts of $10 if that's all I want. If I'm paying a coach I'm expecting a lot more. Just about any coach can write a workout that will get your HR up for an hour (or two or three) but those that will actually work with the swimmers to build better, faster strokes are very rare. ...and I agree, it sure looks like there is a lot of low-hanging fruit for many swimmers. I've even talked to some respected coaches about this. The response: The swimmers won't listen and won't try to fix their strokes anyway so what's the point in giving stroke instruction? The good news is that this is one of the things that makes swim training endlessly interesting, trying to eek every last ounce of speed out by improving strokes. Read books, watch YouTube videos, watch swim meets, then try to emulate the best swimmers. Video yourself, identify something you think should be improved, try to fix it. See if it your "fix" lowers your stroke count. See if it makes your top speed faster. See if it makes your pace-work faster at the same level of effort. Video yourself again. Did you accomplish what you set out to do? If no, try again. If yes, what's next to work on? Oh, and I second pwb, working on the 400 IM can be very absorbing (albeit quite uncomfortable at times.) Have fun! This is excellent advice! And I would add - for those individuals needing more guidance to get through the maze of advice on swimming out there - try to find a competent coach, whether through remote coaching or on-deck, who can help you on an individualized basis.

You just hit a hot button for me! and you can drop the qualifier "masters" too. For a sport that is so heavily technique based, I am astounded by the percentage of coaches that either ignore technique entirely, or give lip service to working on technique, but then take minimal action. Most coaches seem to think that their job is to write a workout on the white board, and perhaps occasionally yell at the swimmers to go faster. Really? I can buy a book of workouts of $10 if that's all I want. If I'm paying a coach I'm expecting a lot more. Just about any coach can write a workout that will get your HR up for an hour (or two or three) but those that will actually work with the swimmers to build better, faster strokes are very rare. ...and I agree, it sure looks like there is a lot of low-hanging fruit for many swimmers. I've even talked to some respected coaches about this. The response: The swimmers won't listen and won't try to fix their strokes anyway so what's the point in giving stroke instruction? The good news is that this is one of the things that makes swim training endlessly interesting, trying to eek every last ounce of speed out by improving strokes. Read books, watch YouTube videos, watch swim meets, then try to emulate the best swimmers. Video yourself, identify something you think should be improved, try to fix it. See if it your "fix" lowers your stroke count. See if it makes your top speed faster. See if it makes your pace-work faster at the same level of effort. Video yourself again. Did you accomplish what you set out to do? If no, try again. If yes, what's next to work on? Oh, and I second pwb, working on the 400 IM can be very absorbing (albeit quite uncomfortable at times.) Have fun! This is excellent advice! And I would add - for those individuals needing more guidance to get through the maze of advice on swimming out there - try to find a competent coach, whether through remote coaching or on-deck, who can help you on an individualized basis.