I'll start off by saying that I swim every day and this has never happened in the two months since I've started swimming again and it's kinda starting to tick me off. Anyways, I have this workout that I do everyday and when I first started it a couple of weeks ago I could do it all the way through with out any problems. Now when I do it about a quater of the way through my arms start to get really tired and feel like they are pulling through really thick water. I don't understand this. I stretch really good before and after, and usually a least once during my workout, I try and do dryland once a week, I strecth when I watch TV sometimes, and I have a steady kick the whole time so it's not like my arms are doing all the work. But for about the last week then my arms have been sore, both during and after the workouts. I usually just swim through the soreness I stretch when it comes and then make sure I strecth when it comes back. Any ideas about what's going on and how to make it go away:confused: ? Thanx!!!
~Kyra
p.s it's mostly in my biceps and shoulders
Before you decide that the problem is from stretching or from swimming every day, how about a little more information…
What is this work out that you do every day?
Are you getting in an adequate warm-up at the beginning of the swim and warm-down at the end? Getting out without a proper warm-down will most definitely cause next day muscle fatigue.
Were you involved in other physical activities prior to beginning to swimming, which would have worked other major muscle groups?
Soreness in the shoulders can often be attributed to technical imperfections (I’m not sure why your biceps would hurt, unless you’re doing a lot of breaststroke???), has a coach looked at your stroke to see if it is technically sound?
Maybe your arm soreness isn't related to stretching, but to what you are swimming. You say you swim everyday and do the same workout - try varying your workout; maybe you've just hit the same muscle group to frequently - and as you swim everyday, presumably pushing yourself harder with each week/month you swim, all the little muscle fibres which break down never get a chance to heal.
Besides switching strokes, distances, and intensities from workout to workout, you might try not swimming a couple days per week. Cross train on those days with activities that don't involve your arms too much (running, soccer, whatever...)
Massage may help, too.
Good luck!
Hey Seagurl, the key phrase in your post is "I have this workout that I do everyday...".
If you're feeling fatigued, you're overtraining. Michael Phelps may train every day, but he's been training hard since he was very young. Recovery time is extremely important for any exercise program...this is a systemic process and simply takes time. As you continue to train your body up, you'll be able to recover faster and train more frequently.
Unfortunately, for so many years in our sport the idea has been that if training x number of times per week is good, training 2x times per week is better...but it really depends on your overall level of training.
Try this: take three days off. Eat right and sleep enough that you're not tired when you wake up. Then, post again and let me know how you feel the next time you get in the water. I'm 98% sure that you will feel stronger than ever in the water!
Thanx all so much for the feed back...I guess I need to rest some (can't be at a bad though considering I have midterms for school this week!:eek: ). I thought that my workout was good...it included all the different strokes and then I would sometimes switch out the full stroke swim time for drills. I'll try making my own now though and see if that helps. Thank you all very much for your help...I think that this can really help!
~Kyra
Originally posted by Manticora
If you're feeling fatigued, you're overtraining. Michael Phelps may train every day, but he's been training hard since he was very young.
Hey Seagurl - I'll bet you never figured your swimming would be compared to Michael Phelps'!:D
Originally posted by Scansy
Hey Seagurl - I'll bet you never figured your swimming would be compared to Michael Phelps'!:D
This is very true! I was very surprised to read that. It would be nice to be able to swim like him though, no doubt about that! :p
Well, I took a couple days off...which was harder than I thought, it was hard to stay out of the water that long, but I got some studying done.... I even got a massage (highly recommended to all who have never had one, my life has been changed:p ) and my arms feel great! I got back in the pool today and it was great! I still strecthed, but I held the positions for only 2-3 seconds and then loosened my muslces. That seemed to be perfect. I mixed up my work-out, tryed some new drills, and I felt like my swimming has never been smoother. I'm definately gonna be working on keeping my muscles feeling like this and hope that my swimming stays this smooth! So I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for the help that they gave ( and everyone should go get a massage:D )
Thanx again!!
~Kyra
