How to Stick with Masters Swimming - Addressing Monotony

Thanks Elaine! I appreciate you sharing with me some of your thoughts and experience on the 400IM subject. Keeping my shoulders healthy is one of my priorities and it does sound like doing all 4 strokes on a regular basis is a way to achieve this. I have found myself just going along with the freestyle open water workouts which, I agree, puts tremendous use and strain on the shoulders. I'm curious, how do you attend Masters workouts during open water season but still train for 400IMs? Do you swim on your own during the summer or find a separate lane in the pool? ​I always train on my own, because the nearest Masters team is located too far from where I live.

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.

Thanks Elaine! I appreciate you sharing with me some of your thoughts and experience on the 400IM subject. Keeping my shoulders healthy is one of my priorities and it does sound like doing all 4 strokes on a regular basis is a way to achieve this. I have found myself just going along with the freestyle open water workouts which, I agree, puts tremendous use and strain on the shoulders. I'm curious, how do you attend Masters workouts during open water season but still train for 400IMs? Do you swim on your own during the summer or find a separate lane in the pool?

Thank you Elaine. This is good to know. I'll try to determine the best path for myself moving forward. That's interesting Airborne. It's funny because I've been swimming for quite awhile but ever since I learned the role that technique plays in swimming I have always been open to doing drills and making any changes that were necessary. I guess it takes a certain mindset. Thanks SwimSpire. That's what I actually do - find a coach to learn from one-on-one. It is very well worth it in the end.

Your stroke will change if you want to change it. Many swimmers on our team do the drills and then go back to their poor habits. Changing the workouts in very important to stop the routine from setting in. This is the coaches job on this matter.

I agree with most of the advice already offered here, Jacques, so what follows may be a bit of rephrasing! 1) Mood improvement. I think a lot of swimmers swim, in part, because of the beneficial effects to stress levels, energy, mood, etc. You might try keeping a diary for a couple weeks noting how you feel before and after practice and how you feel on days when you don't swim at all. I suspect you might see that one of the main benefits of swimming happens not at the exact time of practice but in the aftermath. 2) Habitualize. I read someplace that to make something a habit, you need to do it 28 times! Not sure how they came up with this number, or if it's even true, but on the off chance it is, why not resolve to rethink things after you attended 28 practices? You say you've been swimming for around 2 months. Rough calculation: 2 months = ~ 9 weeks. Assuming you swim three times a week, you are pretty close to the magic number. Maybe try extending it for another 28 times! 3) Camaraderie. I think one of the best aspects of masters is making friends with your teammates. You can't do this swimming solo, which I understand some folks must do (no teams near by.) But if you can strike up friendships any and all teammates, plus possibly little rivalries with swimmers about your same speed, I think you will find this to be powerfully reinforcing. Our team periodically goes out for pizza and beer after Friday practices. It's a good way to get to know your teammates better with their clothes on. 4) The meet participation is, for many, another very powerful motivator. Once you establish your baseline times for different events, you will definitely be inspired to beat these times in the future, and working out hard and consistently at practice is the best way to achieve this. Good luck. I know everyone is different, but the more reasons you can give yourself to go, and the fewer reasons you give yourself to skip, the better the odds you'll become a lifer in this fantastic sport of ours!

Thank you Jim. It's very helpful to read your thoughts on the subject. My goals aren't set yet so I can see the benefit of participating in race events and getting a few into place. I do find the fitness aspect pretty amazing so I think if I focus on this too it can help me stick with the program. I just added Vinyasa yoga to my routine so hopefully this will aid in my swimming.

.... Maybe if I put in writing what I would like to accomplish each month will be helpful. I'll be sure to try this. Thanks :) Jacques - A lot of great advice already provided, but your quote above is really important. Write down, in advance, what you want to accomplish and bring it with you to practice. Share it with your coach, so they can keep an eye out for the change you are trying to make, and reinforce it with you during practices. As a solo swimmer, I have to write my practices out ahead of time, complete with drills, intervals, and goals. I have it at poolside, and keep records on my home computer of dates, sets, times, and how I am feeling. Journalling expectations and experiences will help keep you at it! Good luck!

Thanks red bird. I appreciate your response. While I could see the importance of writing down goals, Etc it never occurred to me to actually bring them with me to every practice. Thank you for bringing attention to this important point.

I stopped pool workouts about 4 weeks ago and shifted over to open water. I joined a triathlon club so I could swim with them. Instead of 5-6 lap swimmers to keep me company, I now have upwards of 100 around me in the lake. I'm unable to run due to arthritis but I walk a few miles 2-3 times a week and bike another 2-3 days. Mixing up workouts like that keeps it fresh.