i usually swam evenings to start with,then increased to 3 evenings per week.I tried today(because i work mon to fri,and today is sat)swimming in the morning.I got up at 6 and got to the pool for 7am,i really enjoyed it the only thing was i didn't feel as flexible in the water as i do evenings after work,i tried stretching but still not much improvement..will this improve with more morning workouts or should i stick to nights?
Former Member
I have always been slower in early morning workouts but unfortunately that works best for my schedule. In college my afternoon workouts were a lot faster if I'd made it to the morning practice.
I much prefer to swim at night. I have never been a morning person. Last season due to work conflicts, I would swim a coached workout 2-3 times per week in the morning and on my own in the evening 2-3 times per week. I was stiffer during warm ups in the mornings but after that I did not see a difference in flexibility or swim times between morning and nights.
I swam morning and nights for 5 months and my body never adjusted to getting up for the early morning workouts and I would end up exhausted by the end of the day. The problem was that when I would swim at night I would get done too late. Due to schedules, I often don’t get done swimming until after midnight (does that count as both an evening and morning workout?) Therefore, after swimming late I was unable to get enough sleep and still get up at 5:00 a.m. on the off swim days as I would if I were swimming that morning to build a routine. Note: I never swam at night and then also the next morning.
I think the key is to being consistent with your sleeping and rising times. Over time I’m sure your body will adjust but if you are a true night owl it may take you longer than 3-6 weeks to adapt. For now, I just stick to nights.
When I was swimming in Vancouver a few years ago, I switched from afternoon swims to early morning swims. It was hard for a few months but now I prefer to swim early. I swim from 6:45 to 8:15 or 8:30, then have a BIG breakfast.
My coach in Vancouver, Paul Cross, told me that when you swim early in the morning that you can be 3 to 6 seconds slower for each 50m. This is down to flexibility and blood flow etc being more sluggish. He also told me that after a year or two the body adapts and that the differential is less, 2 seconds / 50m, I think.
The only time that they have lanes in my local pool is in the early morning slot, so if you are serious about training then that is when you swim.
I don't do morning swims well. It's too easy for me to just turn off the alarm and roll over.
I am in the office typically 4 days a week and my pool is a mile away. For some reason, I can get up and get to the office an hour early easier than I can get up and swim. It works well for me to go at lunch. I take a long lunch and make up the time in the morning. Then, I feel my best when I swim and I get an hour or so of concentrated work in the morning before the phone starts ringing etc.
When I am out of the office on the fifth day, I try to go whenever I can get there.
I do both. On my days off from work I swim mornings or sometimes afternoons when its much cooler. When I work I swim nites at a health club. I swim usually 4 days a week around 2,500 to 3,000 a day.
I have been swimming mornings since I was 10 years old. I have hated them all the way through college, but now with my work schedule, it is the only time I can get any yardage in. Oh well, thats swimming for you
