Swimming Longer Less Often Vs. Swimming Shorter More Often

It really depends on what you’re training for. But generally I’d go with the weekly 1.5 hour swim. Dan

I could be wrong, but I think that during the last hour or so of a 3 hour session, you are no longer "training".

Unfortunately, frequency is FAR more important than duration. The more often you can get to the pool, the more successful you will be.

I think once a week and wts at home will be good for you.

5-6 times a week or 1once a week for half the time vs 3hrs every other week doesnt help much at all

if you can’t swim frequent enough to establish conditioning for swimming that can be (somewhat) maintained with non-swimming related training, then the primary focus when you do get the chance to swim might be on technique, drills, and video feedback. I don’t know, just a thought.

In my 50's I found out that 3 times a week did more for my swimming than 4 or 5 times a week. Much more. Even though it felt like I was slacking off. Now, I'm 66 and I'm beginning to suspect that once every 3 days might be good for me now. I think it might be an age thing 5 or 6 times a week might be better for a 20 something, I dunno. My sense is that swimming every other week would just be a stress on your body, not an exercise regimen. I vote for more often.

In my 50's I found out that 3 times a week did more for my swimming than 4 or 5 times a week. Much more. Even though it felt like I was slacking off. Now, I'm 66 and I'm beginning to suspect that once every 3 days might be good for me now. I think it might be an age thing 5 or 6 times a week might be better for a 20 something, I dunno. My sense is that swimming every other week would just be a stress on your body, not an exercise regimen. I vote for more often. I'm a 57 year old newbie swimmer. I've struggled with this topic for the 8-9 months that I have been swimming, and I've come to the conclusion that FOR ME, 5x a week is a really good thing, but the sessions are generally on the short side....ie 1200m to 2000m total. This might change for me later on. Maybe I'll want to try 3x3km sessions per week. But at this early stage, I feel that 2-3days off in a row really gets to me....I seem to lose "feel" for the water very quickly. (Slightly off the main topic, sorry.)

Unfortunately, frequency is FAR more important than duration. The more often you can get to the pool, the more successful you will be. I'm a 57 year old newbie swimmer. I've struggled with this topic for the 8-9 months that I have been swimming, and I've come to the conclusion that FOR ME, 5x a week is a really good thing, but the sessions are generally on the short side....ie 1200m to 2000m total. This might change for me later on. Maybe I'll want to try 3x3km sessions per week. But at this early stage, I feel that 2-3days off in a row really gets to me....I seem to lose "feel" for the water very quickly. +1 on valuing frequency, so for the original post, I'd vote for 1.5 hours every week ... but, even better, can you get to the pool twice a week and go for an hour each time? To Skuj's last point, you lose your feel for the water pretty quickly. When I'm training for racing, I try to never take more than 1 day out of the pool; this still might mean that in a week I swim 4-5 times, but I would do it as MWFSunday swim, TTHSaturday off.