The rookie's workout

There is a workout section to these forums, but most have fairly high yardage; most over 3,000. That too much for me, and likely you also. Its difficult to give you a work out because we have no idea of your fitness level or swimming level. But you did mention that you have 60 minutes max to work out. So I'll use the time you have as a guide instead of times and distances. Try this on for size. Warm Up - Swim free style easy lap after lap for 10 minutes. Then 2 minute rest. Technique - Swim even slower for 10 minutes. Count your strokes on each length of the pool. Think, long strokes,,,, think body position (swimming downhill), think full exhale in the water before your next breath,,, experiment with bilateral breathing,,, think consistent flutter kick that keeps your hips high in the water. You can't concentrate on everything, so pick one for each day you work out, then switch up. See if you can reduce strokes per length as you go. Take 10 seconds after each 50 to assess and concentrate. Alternate stroke - swim backstroke or *** storke (or fly if you dare) for 10 minutes. Faster Swimming - Do 50 yrd repeats. Slow, then medium then fast in set of three with 10 sec rest between. Do as many sets as you can in 15 minutes. Cool Down - Swim slowly for 10 minutes,,, lap after lap. Try to remember the stroke mechanics. That should be a good 50-55 minute workout. Good Luck

I've been going to swimming classes for 5 years, but I only did it because my parents wanted me to. The class is not for competitive purpose, it just teaches you the best strokes and techniques, it doesn't put emphasis on fitness. (I regret that I wasted my time) My fitness level is low because I didn't even have time to do exercise. My swimming level is sort of between beginner to intermediate. Anyway, thanks for ur post, dano.

you can try finding a fitness swimming class. If you're at a college...there should definitely be one. I know NYU has a fitness swimming class and the main purpose of that class is to get you to swim continuously for 16 laps. I've seen the class in action and alot of them are beginning swimmers. And the class won't burn a hole in your pocket if it's sponsored by the college or the Y. Like 30 bucks for a semester. I know for me...it's hard to do a workout by yourself cause I'm not disciplined enough...so taking a class for me where I HAVE to do the workout works best for me. good luck.

The SwimInfo website (www.swiminfo.com) has a database of suggested workouts including some short, relatively low intensity workouts specifically for "fitness" swimmers -- there's a link to them on the left hand side of the SwimInfo site labeled "Find a Workout". Bear in mind that you shouldn't assume you have to do the SwimInfo workouts EXACTLY as written -- you can modify the intervals and number of repeats to suit your own level of ability and leave out or mix-and-match sets (no one will tell. :) ) That's pretty much true of all suggested workouts you find on-line, although my sense is that the ones posted on this website have very specific goals in mind so that I would be more reluctant to modify those greatly. But as Dave said it can be difficult to do a good workout on your own.