For a relatively new fitness lap swimmer, would it be better, from the standpoint of building endurance and improving technique, to swim--for example--1/2 hour 6 days a week or 1 hour 3 days a week?
I enjoy swimming pretty much every day that I can, but don't enjoy constantly driving to the pool, changing, etc. etc. I'm wondering if the same training effect of "x" number of hours a week would change if one goes from every day to every other day.
Thanks in advance for any thoughts on this and thanks to all posters for this interesting an useful forum.
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Former Member
Thanks for the replies.
I've been swimming for about a year--no competitive swimming in my background at all, although I have always been athletic and in shape. Perhaps I should mention I am 58 years old. My technique is decent--maybe a 6 or 7 on a 10 scale--and I am really trying to work on my weak points.
I generally swim intervals of varying lengths to work on aspects of technique with short rest periods in between. I find that I get distracted during longer, continuous swimming and my technique breaks down from fatigue on longer swims. My goal is not so much to go a lot faster or further, but rather to improve my technique and make each workout more enjoyable and less of a struggle to improve.
Ironically, one of the things I like about swimming is that there is that potential to improve through better technique. To me this makes the sport interesting. With distance running, for example, which I did for many years, technique hardly matters--its all about the training hours.
At my age I am not looking to break any swimming records. I'm mostly interested in finding a workout frequency that strikes a balance between too long a gap (where the "training effect" starts to be lost) and too short (where it becomes a "job"). Perhaps this is too individual a matter to answer in a general way.
Thanks again.
Thanks for the replies.
I've been swimming for about a year--no competitive swimming in my background at all, although I have always been athletic and in shape. Perhaps I should mention I am 58 years old. My technique is decent--maybe a 6 or 7 on a 10 scale--and I am really trying to work on my weak points.
I generally swim intervals of varying lengths to work on aspects of technique with short rest periods in between. I find that I get distracted during longer, continuous swimming and my technique breaks down from fatigue on longer swims. My goal is not so much to go a lot faster or further, but rather to improve my technique and make each workout more enjoyable and less of a struggle to improve.
Ironically, one of the things I like about swimming is that there is that potential to improve through better technique. To me this makes the sport interesting. With distance running, for example, which I did for many years, technique hardly matters--its all about the training hours.
At my age I am not looking to break any swimming records. I'm mostly interested in finding a workout frequency that strikes a balance between too long a gap (where the "training effect" starts to be lost) and too short (where it becomes a "job"). Perhaps this is too individual a matter to answer in a general way.
Thanks again.
