So....here's the thing:
I'm actually getting decent at flipturns. I screw a few of them up, but I always know what I did wrong. The ratio of good flips to bad flips keeps going up. But, because there are usually some bad flips along the way, I haven't set any PRs yet when using flips. I'm at 1:25 100m with (some bad) flips, vs 1:22 with decent open-turns. My 50m is hi-39sec vice hi-38sec.
However....
When flipping, of course we are not breathing through the approach, turn, and pushoff. This is not a problem for me in a hard 50m/100m. But in a hard 400m, I'm dying, Man!! The accumulation of not breathing for this period every 25m has me GASPING after 200m. I crave that open-turn breath.
Maybe I will learn to handle this, but I dunno.
Even if you flip well, should you sometimes do open turns because of the oxygen situation?
Yes, I'll stick with this. I'll manage it better. Trying flipturns every 50m (deep-end) is something that I will concentrate on today.
I really don't think I can be accused of overtraining. I typically swim 4-5x per week, 6-8km total per week.
Honestly, I have no idea if you've overtraining or not. I didn't mean to accuse.
Your main swimming goal seems like a reasonable one to me, given your stated times but if you're 19, they aren't very aggressive and if you are 90, they are likely way too much. So "7 k a week" by itself doesn't mean much either way.
I'm 66. If I ramped up from, say, a mile a week to 6-8 km per week over 3 months? That would be overtraining. For a 30 year old? Probably not.
Where I'm coming from:
In my 50's, I discovered that training days-in-a-row hindered rather than helped a ramp-up for an open water swim. I felt lazy doing 3 days a week instead of 4 or 5, but I couldn't argue with the results. The same might not be true for a 20-something.
When I turned 60, I blew out a shoulder doing 50's as hard as possible and I'm just getting back from that overtraining injury.
In 2015, I read a SI article on Phelps that said he agreed to come back for 2016 only if his coach let him train 50K a week instead of 80k. I became fascinated (and still am) with the idea that overtraining might be endemic in swimming. I took Phelp's 5 golds and a silver in 2016 as an affirmation for that idea.
But I've never done serious training so this is all theoretical to me.
Yes, I'll stick with this. I'll manage it better. Trying flipturns every 50m (deep-end) is something that I will concentrate on today.
I really don't think I can be accused of overtraining. I typically swim 4-5x per week, 6-8km total per week.
Honestly, I have no idea if you've overtraining or not. I didn't mean to accuse.
Your main swimming goal seems like a reasonable one to me, given your stated times but if you're 19, they aren't very aggressive and if you are 90, they are likely way too much. So "7 k a week" by itself doesn't mean much either way.
I'm 66. If I ramped up from, say, a mile a week to 6-8 km per week over 3 months? That would be overtraining. For a 30 year old? Probably not.
Where I'm coming from:
In my 50's, I discovered that training days-in-a-row hindered rather than helped a ramp-up for an open water swim. I felt lazy doing 3 days a week instead of 4 or 5, but I couldn't argue with the results. The same might not be true for a 20-something.
When I turned 60, I blew out a shoulder doing 50's as hard as possible and I'm just getting back from that overtraining injury.
In 2015, I read a SI article on Phelps that said he agreed to come back for 2016 only if his coach let him train 50K a week instead of 80k. I became fascinated (and still am) with the idea that overtraining might be endemic in swimming. I took Phelp's 5 golds and a silver in 2016 as an affirmation for that idea.
But I've never done serious training so this is all theoretical to me.
