Hi,
I'm a pretty bad swimmer with the following times:
100m Free 2.00
200m Free 4.10
400m Free 8.45
Just how much difference would having a good coach make to those times????I've been swimming several and these are my best performances.
Mark
:(
The cameraderie makes practice so much more fun! I love working out with my friends! We motivate and encourage each other so much. I used to work out on my own. A new masters team started so I joined it. My swimming has improved and I enjoy it much more! A good coached workout makes a HUGE difference.:D
I have looked around. The closest is about 30 minutes away as you said. Right now, I am spoiled with "my" pool being about 5 minutes away. No masters team there though.
I have the same problem with having no coach for the master swim team. I have been swimming all on my own for years without any help. This week I found the Y was having a stroke clinic for the childrens swim team. I asked if I could join them. It has only been one day but I already got some pointer on my stroke and found out some things that I was doing wrong. It is kind of strange getting in with all those kids but if I can improve my technique it is worth it.
I'm in the same boat on the masters coaching--that pool's 30 minutes away and "my" pool offers me my own lane close to home. I've compromised by hiring the masters coach to do one-on-one training sessions with me a few times. Highly beneficial, and I've found that one session with him gives me enough things to work on for a long time. I think I'd like the cameraderie of the masters team, though, so I may try it this summer.
Originally posted by jean sterling
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However, the timing of my kick was way off, so that I would rapidly become horizontal, which isn't a good way to swim fly.
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Hi Jean,
Can you elaborate on what you mean by horizontal fly? I'm wondering if you mean vertical fly as I thought horizontal fly was a good thing?
In terms of increasing your distance how did you go from swimming 25m to 200m? Were you just able to swim further as your technique improved or did you follow a plan? Some of the things I'm considering are:
swimming sets of 8 x 25, starting with lots of rest and slowly decreasing the rest
swimming sets of 200 to 500 continuous, starting with a few strokes in each length and slowly adding more strokes
swimming sets of 25m, then 50m, then 75m, etc.
The second approach is described in an article on the H2ouston site and is similar to how you got to doing 25m, just over longer distances (500m in the article). My main reservation is that I find mixing fly with another stroke or body dolphining etc. makes it harder for me to concentrate on and improve my fly. On the weekend I was doing a set my coach assigned with 2 x (4 x 50, 25fly, 25free) and I found that by the end of the free I didn't have the "body memory" of the fly portion that I need to adjust and improve. I tend to learn better by doing endless repeats of the exact same thing, trying to absorb the feel, experimenting, and making little adjustments. The weak point of only doing sets of 25 at a time was I was dying in the final 25 when I swam the 100m. Perhaps a mix of sets of 8x25 and sets of 4x50 would help...
I think I'm babbling. But do let us know the specifics of how you got from doing 25m to doing 200m.
a great coach and program can make all the difference
you still have to do the work.
part of it is just you believing in the coach and working as hard as you possibly can.
ande
Originally posted by mark_varney47
Hi,
I'm a pretty bad swimmer with the following times:
100m Free 2.00
200m Free 4.10
400m Free 8.45
Just how much difference would having a good coach make to those times???? I've been swimming several and these are my best performances.
Mark
:(
Originally posted by ande
a great coach and program can make all the difference
you still have to do the work.
part of it is just you believing in the coach and working as hard as you possibly can.
ande
I agree, I also think that a good coach would have a good team and as a member of that team you can improve your swimming faster, and with a good coach the team would be more motivated and close together and that would make a stronger commitment of each member to train every day and harder, because the group would motivate each other. Something as the snow ball idea.
:)
Craig is correct, go without a coach or a bad coach and you will instantly realize the value of a good one. I think only great teammates are more important.
I agree with most that a swim coach would be helpful. A coach will be able to give you tips that will improve the inefficiencies in your stroke. Those tips could help shave valuable seconds off your personal bests. Go for it. Find a coach and good luck.
